Didyma_Hellenistic Temple of Apollo

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Didyma, Hellenistic Temple of Apollo (Building)

Context: Didyma

Type: Temple

Summary:Monumental oracular temple of Apollo, situated in Milesian territory

in Ionia and connected to Miletus by the Sacred Way.

Date: ca. 300 BC - ca. 200 AD

Dimensions:

Length of stylobate at lowest step 118.34 m., at top step 109.34 m.

Width of stylobate at lowest step 60.13 m., at top step 51.13 m.

Interior width of pronaos between antae 23.785 m. Depth of

pronaos (to front of antae) 15.889 m. Height of wall at rear ofpronaos 1.495 m. Width of opening in pronaos rear wall 5.63 m.

Dimensions of east chamber 14.04 m. wide x 8.73 m. deep.

Dimensions of cella building: exterior length (to front of antae)

87.415 m.; exterior width 29.165 m.; interior width 21.714 m.

Interior length of adyton (rear wall to staircase) 45.419 m. Width of

monumental staircase to adyton (top 20 steps) 15.25 m. Preserved

height of cella walls ca. 22 - 25 m. Height of podium in cella wall

from which pilasters spring 4.92 m. Dimensions of naiskos in adyton:

exterior length 14.536 m.; exterior width 8.590 m.; interior cella of

naiskos: 5.97 m. width x 7.511 m. length; axial intercolumniation ofprostyle columns of naiskos 2.427 m.; distance from adyton walls at

n. and s.: 6.56 m. Dimensions of square column bases ca. 2.69 m.

Width of pilasters on interior adyton walls ca. 3.49 m. Distance

between pilasters on interior adyton walls ca. 1.78 - 1.80 m. Width

of north colonnade (top krepis step to cella wall) 11.005 m.; width of

south colonnade 10.96 m. Average interaxial spacing of colonnade

5.2975 m. Height of columns ca. 19.71 m.; lower column diameter

2.02 m. The dimensions of the temple are based on an Ionic foot

measuring 0.2943 m.

Region: Ionia

Period: Hellenistic/Roman

Architect: Paionios of Ephesos and Daphnis of Miletus

Architectural Order:

Ionic and Corinthian. The columns of the peristyle were Ionic; the two columns in the

east chamber were Corinthian. There were two engaged Corinthian half-columns

against the east wall of the adyton at the top of the monumental staircase.

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Architect Evidence:

attributed to, by Vitr. 7. praef.16

Plan:

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 visitorarrives 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) wallof 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.

Date Description:

As far as the date of the design of the temple, if the Paionios of Ephesus mentioned

by Vitruvius is the same architect who worked on the Artemision at Ephesus, he will

have been free to design the Didymeion after completing the fourth-century

Artemision (in ca. 330 B.C.?) Building inscriptions from ca. 299/98 B.C. refer toSeleucid funding of the construction of the temple, and indicate that work had

begun; there are no building accounts from the period before 300 B.C. The dates and

careers of Paionios and Daphnis are uncertain, and it is unclear how much time

intervened between the planning of the temple and its actual construction. Inscribed

building accounts suggest that the temple was substantially complete by ca. 250

B.C., when oracular pronouncements were made; certainly work continued at the

Didymeion over the centuries, as attested by the style of carving of various

elements. The adyton pilaster capitals and intervening frieze of griffins and lyres are

dated to the early second century B.C. (Voigtlnder 1975a, 112-121). The frieze of

Medusa heads and foliage from the exterior of the temple is dated stylistically to the

Hadrianic period, as are the corner capitals with figural decoration from the

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peripteros Plz 1989, 47-64. The elaborate column bases of the east fac\ade,

ornamented with meander patterns, laurel leaves, Nereids etc. have recently been

dated to the Trajanic/Hadrianic period (Plz 1989, 17-46).The date of the

construction of the naiskos in the adyton is uncertain; the return from Ecbatana of

the cult image of Apollo by Seleukos is undated Paus. 1.16.3; 8.46.3. Presumably the

image will have needed a home, and the naiskos may well have been the first

element of the new sanctuary to be completed, with construction covering the

period ca. 300-270 B.C. (Voigtlnder 1975a, 34-43).

History:

Following the destruction of the archaic temple in 494 B.C., there are no records of

oracular pronouncements for ca. 160 years, although the site may have remained an

active cult center. In ca. 331 B.C. the oracle was revived and the planning of the new

Hellenistic temple was begun. The design of the Hellenistic temple is attributed by

Vitruvius to Paionios of Ephesos and Daphnis of Miletus (Vitr. 7. praef.16). Althoughthe start date for the construction of the temple is disputed, inscriptions dating to

ca. 299/98 B.C. indicate that Seleukos I Nikator, significant benefactor of the town of

Miletus, had provided much funding for the construction of the new temple by that

date; revenue from the east stoa of the South Market at Miletus, funded by

Seleukos' son Antiochos, also contributed to the construction of the temple. In the

early third century B.C., the cult image of Apollo which had been removed by the

Persians was returned to Didyma from Ecbatana by Seleukos I Nikator (Paus. 1.16.3).

Inscribed building accounts indicate that the elements of the temple which were

completed prior to ca. 230 B.C. were the socle wall of the adyton, the naiskos, the

vaulted passages to the adyton, and parts of the crepidoma. Prior to ca. 165 B.C., thepilasters in the adyton, the two staircases (known as labyrinths in the building

accounts), doors and the main portal were completed. Also in the early years of the

second century B.C., a stadium was erected to the south of the temple to

accommodate games associated with the festival of Apollo Didymeus. That the

temple itself was never completed is reported by Pausanias (Paus. 7.5.4), and is

apparent from a number of unfinished columns at the site. The Emperor Gaius

Caligula intended to complete the temple (Suet. Gaius 21). Certain elements of the

temple, such as Ionic capital fragments, architrave fragments, corner capitals with

busts of deities, and the frieze with Medusa heads, date to the second century A.D.,

and are witness to the intermittent periods of construction at the temple over thecenturies. In A.D. 262/3 the temple was besieged by Goths, who failed to capture it.

In the Byzantine period a basilica was constructed above the adyton. Later, the

eastern part of the temple was converted into a fort. In 1493, an earthquake caused

the collapse of all but three of the structure's columns.

Other Notes:

The monumental Temple of Apollo at Didyma contains numerous features worthy of

note, ranging from the unusually elaborate treatment of various architectural

elements, to certain complications of design which are interpreted in the light of the

oracular function of the temple.

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The pilaster capitals of the interior walls of the adyton are varied in design, with an

enclosed panel decorated with griffins, vertical palmettes, or acanthus foliage; these

capitals probably date to the early second century B.C. Between the pilaster capitals

ran a frieze of griffins and lyres, similarly dating to the second century B.C. The use of

Corinthian engaged and free-standing columns in the adyton east wall and the east

chamber is an example of the use of the Corinthian order to provide interior accents,

and underscored the organic nature of much of the decoration of the temple. The

bases of the two rows of ten columns across the east facade are treated in diverse

ways, including dodecagonal bases with panels depicting Nereids and sea creatures

or foliage; circular discs with meanders, laurel leaves, etc. These bases probably date

to the second century A.D. The ceilings of the two staircases preserved in the east

chamber are carved with a meander pattern, on which traces of red and blue paint

can still be discerned. These meanders may have some connection with the function

of the stairs, which are referred to as labyrinths in the building accounts. In spite of

these complexities of design, the temple of Apollo at Didyma employed a system of

proportions based on the standard interaxial spacing; measurements of theelevation were related to this interaxial proportion. Such a design principle may

reflect the influence of such regular, ordered plans as that of the Temple of Athena

at Priene.The high threshold of the opening in the pronaos is interpreted as a sort of

stage from which the prophetess may have given oracular pronouncements. The low

level of the interior of the adyton relative to the stylobate may have been dictated

by the presence of the sacred spring in the adyton, an essential feature of the

oracular cult. It is known that laurel groves grew in the open-air adyton, although

eventually this area was also paved. An additional structure referred to in building

accounts and no doubt connected with the oracle is the Chesmographion, also

known as the Prophet's House. Although the exact location of this structure is notknown, it stood within the temenos, and, as its name implies, may have been the site

where oracular responses were written down. In seeking to explain the complexities

of the design of the temple, scholars have seen the influence of Iranian palace

architecture (Fehr 1972, 14-59) or Ptolemaic temples and residences (Parke 1986,

128, 131 n.31).

Other Bibliography:

Wiegand and Knackfuss 1941, 46-120; Van Essen 1946, 607-616; Krauss 1961, 123-

133; Bean 1966, 231-243; Fehr 1972, 14-69; Tuchelt 1973, 13 ff.; Lawrence 1983,261-265; Voigtlnder 1975a, 14-143; Montegu 1976, 304-305; Tuchelt 1978, 575-

582; Haselberger 1980, 191-215; Haselberger 1983, 90-123; Hoepfner 1984, 353-

364; Parke 1986, 121-131; Tuchelt 1986b, 33-50; Pfrommer 1987, 145-185;

Fontenrose 1988, 1-42; Plz 1989, 6-73; Tuchelt 1991, 12-20

[text copied (Jul. 2013) from: ]

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Didyma_Hellenistic Temple of Apollo