Ancient Greek temple
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
Photo: western face of the Parthenon
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Greek temples were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in ancient Greek religion. The temples themselves did usually not directly serve a cult purpose, since the sacrifices and rituals dedicated to the respective deity took place outside them. Temples were frequently used to store votive offerings. They are the most important and most widespread building type in Greek architecture. In the Hellenistic kingdoms of Southwest Asia and of North Africa, buildings erected to fulfill the functions of a temple often continued to follow the local traditions. Even where a Greek influence is visible, such structures are not normally considered as Greek temples. This applies, for example, to the Graeco-Parthian and Bactrian temples, or to the Ptolemaic examples, which follow Egyptian tradition. Most Greek temples were oriented astronomically.
See also
- Ancient Greek architecture
- Art in ancient Greece
- Religion in ancient Greece
- Classical order
- List of Ancient Greek temples
- List of Greek mythological figures
- Greek culture
- List of Greco-Roman roofs
- List of ancient architectural records
- Greek technology
- Greek theatre*Greek Revival architecture
