Temple of Ceres

Temple of Ceres

510 BCE

Temple of Athena

Aluzzo, Adrienne (photograph)

built works

Italy (nation)

Pesto (inhabited place)

Archaic (Greek)

temples (buildings)

columns (architectural elements)

Doric order

View of the temple of Ceres later acknowledged as the Temple of Athena at Paestum, Italy. "The temple contains a number of unusual and innovative features in its design. The combination of materials in the frieze of the temple is an unusual feature. The absence of a horizontal cornice, and the presence of carved coffers under the eaves created by the extension of the raking cornice are also eccentric. For the first time in Italy, Ionic columns are incorporated in a Doric temple. The Ionic columns stood on bases with a circular disc surmounted by a torus molding. Their capitals are of archaic design, with a convex cushion, and a large convex eye in the center of the volute. An egg-and-dart molding appears below the cushion of the capital. Additional Ionic features in the temple are the presence of Ionic moldings, including an egg-and-dart, on the exterior of the building above the frieze, and the emphasis on the east facade of the temple through the use of a wider ambulatory than on the flanks. The east facade is further emphasized through the elaboration of the pronaos with its Ionic columns. The capitals of the exterior colonnade were decorated with carved anthemion designs, possibly reflecting the influence of the Temple of Hera I nearby. The Doric columns also employ entasis, although not as pronounced as the entasis of the columns of the Temple of Hera I. The identification of the temple as belonging to Athena, not Ceres/Demeter as proposed in the eighteenth century, is now secure based on the discovery of over one hundred terracotta votive figurines depicting Athena, and a later pottery sherd with the archaic Latin inscription [M]ENERV[AE]," from Perseus Digital Library.

stone (rock)

digital photograph

jpg

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