1.3 Religion and the City

Greece

Sanctuaries (p. 44)

Sanctuaries could contain numerous buildings that honoured the gods but were surplus to need. However there were a few features a sanctuary had to have, they were a sacred boundary, an altar, and access to water. Click here for an overview of what a Greek sanctuary was (extract from Mikalson, J. (2009) Ancient Greek Religion). Click here for a video on sanctuaries by Michael Scott, this is also appropriate for information on sacrifices. Although it is aimed at A-Level students it is suitable for this unit. 

Greek temples (p. 44) were not the most important part of a Greek sanctuary but did act as a house for the god. The decoration of a temple could be used to show off the importance of the god for which it was built, the city/town that built the temple or the Greeks as a whole civilisation. Click here for a video on the temple. It includes discussion of the pediment, frieze, columns, and the Ionic and Doric orders.

Priests’ (p. 45) duration in office could last for any amount of time and was not always linked to a temple. For one particular offering an Elean town elected a priest for just one month. Click here to read about it (Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.15.10).

Sometimes priesthoods were limited to particular people. In a town in central Greece a the priestess had to be a virgin due to the actions of the cults founder, Heracles. Click here to read about it (Pausanias, Description of Greece 9.27.6). 

In some instances the priest could even be a child - in Elateia a priest to Athene would have been roughly seven years old. Click here to read about it (Pausanias, Description of Greece 10.34.7-8). 

(S&C) Temple Decoration (p. 44)

Temple decoration was an excellent way to show off the wealth of the city/town and the importance of the god. The following pediments are other examples of pedimental sculpture. 

The temple of Artemis in Corfu was constructed around 580BC. It depicts medusa in the centre flanked by two panthers. Medusa’s presence on the pediment may be as a guardian to ward off evil from the temple. The smaller figures in either corner have been variously interpreted. One line of thought suggests that the characters are gods, notably Zeus. Another interpretation is that the seated character is Priam and that the smaller characters represent the Trojan War. 

Chryselephantine statues (p. 51) were made of gold and ivory nailed to a wooden sculpture. For more information on why they were used and how they were made click here.

The western pediment (p. 53) of Zeus’ temple at Olympia depicted the Centauromachy (see p. 100 for more information). 

Sacrifices (p. 46)

Sacrifices were a central aspect of worshipping the gods. They were also an important communal activity for the family, town or city undertaking them. Click here for a video on sanctuaries by Michael Scott, which also contains useful information on sacrifices. Although it is aimed at A-Level students it is suitable for this unit.

Apollo had a sanctuary in Arcadia (a region in the Greek Peloponnese) on Mount Lycaeus. Every year the local people held a festival and sacrificed to Apollo the Helper. Click here to read about the sacrifice (Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.38.8).  

A Greek krater made around 430 to 410BC. The krater shows a sacrifice in which a man holds the sacrificial meat on spit over a smoking altar. Click here for images and more information.

A Greek stamnos made around 430-410BC. The stamnos shows a sacrifice in which the man on the left pours wine on a smoking altar while the figure on the right cooks the sacrificial meat. Unusually the goddess Nike (Victory) flies over the altar. Click here for images and more information.

Greek amphora made around 450BC. The scene shows two women preparing bulls for sacrifice by attaching ribbons to their horns. Click here for more information on the amphora. 

A Greek Krater made around 520BC. The krater shows a sacrifice to Hermes (right) the youth in the middle burns part of a goat in the altars flames. The youth on the left cuts up the rest of the goat. Click here for more information on the krater.

Despite there being a clear protocol to a sacrifice it was clear that men such as Cleomenes, an Athenian general, did not always respect the priests. Click here to read about it (Herodotus, Histories 6.81).

(S&C) Prometheus (p. 48)

Although a Titan, Prometheus sympathised with humans, helping them on several occasions. Initially he tricked Zeus into accepting the bones of a sacrificial animal wrapped in fat. This explained why the Greeks used this as their offering to the gods. Secondly he gave humans the gift of fire, enraging Zeus at a time when he was going to kill all humans. For his perceived crimes Zeus chained him to a mountain and sent an eagle to peck out his liver each day, he liver would then regenerate at night leading to eternal torment. During one of his labours Heracles was said to have come across Prometheus and freed him. The ancient author Hesiod wrote about this. Click here to read it (Hesiod, Theogony 520-569).

The Parthenon (p. 48) 

The Parthenon was the largest building on the Acropolis but was not the focal point of Athena’s worship. The altar to Athena stood between the Parthenon and the Erechtheion and was one of many buildings dedicated to Athena. One of the main functions of the Parthenon was to worship Athena Parthenos (the Virgin) and to house the state treasury of Athens in its rear room or opisthodomos (behind the house). Click here for a video on Pericles and the construction of the Parthenon. Click here for the UNESCO website on the Parthenon. The site has excellent pictures of all the Acropolis buildings including the Theatre of Dionysus. Click here to see the Parthenon section in the Acropolis Museum, Athens. Click here for a detailed discussion of the Parthenon Frieze. For a virtual tour of the Parthenon click here.

The Ionic frieze (p. 49) on the Parthenon depicted the Panathenaic procession (see p. 87). For images from the British Museum click here. The continuous strip of marble that made up an ionic frieze was a great area on which to sculpt a procession as it would need to contain hundreds of people in a single scene. Had the sculptors tried to do this on either the pediments or metopes they would have faced the challenge of a much smaller space and difficult angles. The scene would only have been visible to those who stood between the columns of the Parthenon.  

The frieze begins at the western end of the temple, this shows the rear of the procession. The cavalry then chariots are at the rear and are sculpted on the west, north-western and south-western sides of the Parthenon. These are preceded by sacrificial animals, notably heifers (a young cow that has not had a calf yet). The front of the procession is shown on the eastern frieze and contains water bearers, elders and women. In the centre (over the entrance to the Parthenon) the Olympian gods flank several figures, two of which are folding the peplos which is to be given as a gift to Athena. The gods are sculpted larger than the mortals showing their superiority over humans.  

The Temple of Zeus in Olympia (p. 51)

This temple was built roughly between 470-456 BC and is situated in the south west corner of the Altis. Click here for a description, images and history of the temple of Zeus. Click here for the UNSECO site for the sanctuary at Olympia. Click here for the University of Cambridge’s information on the pediments and metopes of Zeus’ temple.

The Altar of Zeus (p. 52) was the focal point of sacrifice in the Altis. Pausanias describes the Altar of Zeus at Olympia during his book of Elis. Interestingly Zeus’ altar in Olympia was built up of the ashes from the hecatomb that took place during the Olympic festival. By Pausanias’ day (2nd Century AD) the altar had reached a considerable size. Click here to read about it (Pausanias, Description of Greece 5.13.8-10).

Rome

Roman religion initially borrowed from the Etruscans and Greeks; however as the city developed, so did their religious identity. Click here for a video and resources on Roman religion including ‘do et des’, augury, festivals, and religion and politics. Click here for a short film made by the makers of HBO's Rome on personal and state religion in Rome. Click here for a short explanation of prayer and sacrifice in the Roman world.

Roman Temples (p. 56)

A Roman Temple differed from the Greek temple in several different ways. Firstly it was set on a podium, secondly it could only be entered by a staircase at the front, thirdly it only had a single cella, or main room; and finally its columns were semi-engaged. Click here for a short video on the Roman temple. Students do not need to know classifications of temples but this would make a good stretch and challenge. Click here for another short video discussing temples in Rome. The Temple of Portunus and Hercules as well as his altar are discussed from 3 minutes 28 seconds.

(S&C) The Temple existed much more frequently on its own in the Roman world, especially in Rome where the cramped city streets left little space for large sanctuaries. Many of the major temples were part of a forum. Click here for a digital plan for the Roman forum, you can learn more about the buildings by clicking on them.

(S&C) The Roman Forum contained several temples. Click here for a short film on the structures in the Forum. 

Cicero (p. 57)

Cicero wrote about how he had to ask the priests for permission to rebuild his house. Click here to read it. (Cicero, On his House 1) 

The Vestal Virgins (p. 58)

The Vestal Virgins were a select group of girls in charge of keeping the state flame burning in the temple of Vesta in the Roman forum. Click here for more information on the Vestals and images of the House of the Vestals and Temple of Vesta in the forum. Click here for a plan of the Roman Forum, click on a building to find out more about them.

The Haruspex (p. 60)

The Haruspex read the entrails of animals and foretold future events. A small Etruscan bronze of an animal liver has been found which may represent how they did it. Note, students do not need to know about the bronze in this much detail, they just need to know what a Haruspex did and why they were important to the Romans. Click here for information on Augers and divination.

The Temple of Portunus (p. 61)

This temple is one of the best preserved temples in Rome. Situated next to the Tiber in the Forum Boarium it centred its worship in Portunus, god of harbours. Click here for a brief report and images from the World Monuments Fund, and click here for a more detailed report starting on p28.

The Pantheon (p. 63)

This temple was situated in the Campus Martius (Field of Mars): an open area where the army met, elections took place, and general exercise took place. Now it is amongst the busy city streets of Rome. Click here for a live webcam of the Pantheon. Click here for contemporary ancient references to the Pantheon.

Comparing Greece and Rome

Sanctuaries (p. 44, 55)

Greek sanctuaries were still used during the Roman Empire. After the Romans conquered the Greeks around 140BC they did not destroy the vast majority of their cities. Instead they either Romanised them or allowed them to continue as they did before. It was the latter of these that was most common.