- Temple of Hera (Olympia)
The Temple of Hera, or the Heraion, at Olympia,
Greece , is an important monument of the ruins of Doricarchitecture . The Temple of Hera was destroyed by an earthquake in the early 4th century AD, and never rebuilt. In modern times, the temple is the location where the torch of theOlympic flame is lit, by focusing the rays of the sun.The temple was dedicated to
Hera , the wife ofZeus and one of the most important female deities in Greek religion. For other temples also dedicated to Hera, see the: "Heraion (disambiguation) ".Description
The Heraion at Olympia, located in the north of the altis (the sacred precinct), is the oldest peripteral temple at that site, and one of the earliest Doric temples in Greece. There may have been an older cult place in the same location. The temple was erected circa 600 BC, probably as a dedication by the Triphylian
polis of Skillous. It is suggested that this dedication by a nearby city was originally in honour of the main patron deity at Olympia, Zeus. In that case, the temple would have rededicated to Hera at a later point, perhaps after 580 BC, when control of Olympia had passed from Triphylia toElis , or in the 5th century BC, when the famousTemple of Zeus was built. The temple of Hera was destroyed by an earthquake in the early 4th century AD. No repairs took place after that event.The temple measures 50.01 x 18.76m at
stylobate level; such elongated proportions are a common feature of early Doric architecture. It has aperipteros of 6 by 16 columns. These were originally wooden and were only gradually replaced with stone ones. As the replacements took place at widely differing periods between the Archaic and Roman periods and were carved under the influence of their respective contemporary styles, they differ considerably in proportions and detail. As late as the 2nd century AD, the travel writer Pausanias saw one wooden column in theopisthodomos . The walls had a bottom course of stone with amudbrick superstructure, another feature typical of early Greek architecture. Holes in the protrusions at the ends of the walls (the so-calledantae indicate that a wooden cladding protected them from the elements. Theentablature above the columns must have been wooden, since no remains of it were found. The temple had a Laconian-style roof; its pediments were decorated with disk acroteria of 2.5m diameter, each made in one single piece (one is on display at the Olympia Museum).Pausanias reports two cult statues inside the
cella or naos, of the temple: a seated Hera and a standing Zeus. An Archaic stone head on display in Olympia museum may belong to the statue of Hera. At the time of Pausanias, the building was also used to store numerous other objects, including many further statues of deities andvotive offerings. Among the few of these objects to survive is the statue generally identified as the Hermes ofPraxiteles , one of the most important preserved examples ofGreek sculpture . The temple also held the table on which the olive wreaths for the victors were displayed during the Olympic Games. Today, the temple is the location where theOlympic flame is lit.Replica
The
Jasmine Hill Gardens atWetumpka, Alabama (USA ) contain a full-sized replica of the (ruined) Temple of Hera.References
* [http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/classics/students/Smucker/heraeum.html The Heraeum - The Temple of Hera] at
University of Richmond .ource of translation
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