Temple of Apollo Didyma
Title
Temple of Apollo Didyma
Date
ca. 300 BCE-200 AD
Identifier
1831
Work Type
plans (orthographic projections)
Work Location
Turkey (nation)
Didyma (historic site)
Miletus (deserted settlement)
Style/Period
Hellenistic
Subject
temples (buildings)
floor plans
Apollo (Greek deity)
Description
Floor plan for the Temple of Apollo Didyma at Miletus, Turkey. "In plan, the temple presents a number of unusual features. It is a monumental, dipteral temple on a seven-stepped crepidoma, with decastyle facade and twenty-one columns along the flanks. The temple is oriented to the east; its pronaos is approached by a flight of fourteen steps between projecting low walls or wings. The temple has no opisthodomos; and its pronaos contains three rows of four columns each. A wall bars access to the cella (or adyton) from the pronaos; above the wall, a wide opening or window allowed the visitor to glimpse the naiskos in the interior of the cella. On the right and left sides of the west wall of the pronaos, doorways lead to two sloping, barrel-vaulted passageways. These passages or tunnels emerge on the third step of a monumental staircase. By descending this staircase, the visitor arrives in the cella; by ascending these twenty two steps, the visitor is brought back up to a room, the east chamber, situated between the pronaos and the cella. The east chamber was entered through three doors in its west wall, and contains two Corinthian columns which supported the roof of the chamber. Two staircases, at the north and south of the east chamber, perhaps led to the roof of this room. The cella or adyton was situated ca. 4 m. below the level of the east chamber, and was hypaethral. The cella walls were articulated by Ionic pilasters supported by a podium; there were nine along each side and three across the rear wall, in addition to the corner pilasters. Between the doors to the east chamber, on the east wall of the adyton, were two engaged Corinthian half-columns. Towards the rear (west) wall of the cella or adyton stood a small shrine or naiskos in the form of a tetrastyle prostyle temple of Ionic order, the location of the sacred spring of the oracle and possibly the home of the cult image of Apollo,"--Perseus Digital Library.
Reproduction Type
jpeg
Copyright Statement
©2013 Lawrence Technological University. These images may be used for personal or educational purposes. They are not available for commercial purposes without the explicit permission of LTU.
ID Number
A1GRDID2-5334BP3A1
- Date Added
- August 29, 2013
- Collection
- LTU Digital Images
- Item Type
- VRA Core
- Tags
- Apollo, plans, temples
- Citation
- “Temple of Apollo Didyma,” LTU Digital Images, accessed May 2, 2024, https://ltuimagecollection.omeka.net/items/show/12925.