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{{Infobox ancient site
|name = Temple of Aphaia
|native_name = {{lang|el|Ναός Αφαίας|italic=no}} {{in lang|el}}
|alternate_name =
|image = Aegina - Temple of Aphaia 03.jpg
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|map_size =
|coordinates = {{coord|37|45|15|N|23|32|00|E|display=inline,title}}
|location = Agia Marina, [[Attica (region)|Attica]],
|region = [[Saronic Gulf]]
|type = [[Ancient Greek temple]]
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|builder =
|material =
|built =
|abandoned =
|epochs = [[Archaic Greece|Archaic Greek]] to [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]]
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|notes =
}}
The '''Temple of Aphaia''' ({{lang-el|Ναός Αφαίας}}) or '''Afea'''<ref>The name Afea appears on all the local signs, Afea being the name of a Cretan woman of unsurpassed beauty. After escaping an unwelcome marriage on Crete, she was rescued by a fisherman from Aegina. In payment for this he also proposed an unwelcome marriage. So Afea headed out of Aghia Marina towards the mountain top where she vanished at the current site of the temple, where it is said that the fisherman established a shrine believing Afea to have been taken by the gods.</ref> is an [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek]] temple located within a [[Panhellenic sanctuary|sanctuary complex]] dedicated to the goddess [[
[[
== Exploration and archaeology ==
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The periegetic writer [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] briefly mentions the site in his writings of the 2nd century AD, but does not describe the sanctuary in detail as he does for many others.<ref>[[Description of Greece]] 2.30.3
<blockquote>
On ''
</blockquote>
<!-- This semi-literal translation is my own, done for Wikipedia. User:Nefasdicere -->
</ref> The temple was made known in Western Europe by the publication of the ''Antiquities of Ionia'' (London, 1797). In 1811, the young English architect [[Charles Robert Cockerell]], finishing his education on his academic [[Grand Tour]], and Baron [[Otto Magnus von Stackelberg (archaeologist)|Otto Magnus von Stackelberg]] removed the fallen fragmentary pediment sculptures. On the recommendation of Baron [[Carl Haller von Hallerstein]], who was also an architect and, moreover, a protégé of the art patron Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, the marbles were
Systematic excavations at the site were carried out in the 20th century by the German School in Athens, at first under the direction of [[Adolf Furtwängler]]. The area of the sanctuary was defined and studied during these excavations. The area under the last temple could not be excavated, however, because that would have harmed the temple. In addition, significant remains from the Bronze Age were detected in pockets in the rocky surface of the hill. From 1966 to 1979, an extensive second German excavation under [[:de:Dieter Ohly|Dieter Ohly]] was performed, leading to the discovery in 1969 of substantial remains of the older Archaic temple in the fill of the later terrace walls. [[Ernst-Ludwig Schwandner]] and Martha Ohly were also associated with this dig, which continued after the death of Dieter Ohly until 1988. Sufficient remains were recovered to allow a complete architectural reconstruction of the structure to be extrapolated; the remains of the entablature and pediment of one end of the older temple have been reconstructed in the on-site museum. Parts of the entablature and some columns of the temple have been restored during 1956-1960.
== Phases of the sanctuary ==
{{external media | width = 210px |
The sanctuary of Aphaia was located on the top of a hill c. 160 m in elevation at the northeast point of the island. The last form of the sanctuary covered an area of c. 80 by 80 m; earlier phases were less extensive and less well defined.
=== Bronze Age phase ===
In its earliest phase of use during the [[Bronze Age]], the eastern area of the hilltop was an unwalled, open-air sanctuary to a female fertility and agricultural deity.<ref name=PW /> Bronze Age figurines outnumber remains of pottery. Open vessel forms are also at an unusually high proportion versus closed vessels. There are no known settlements or burials in the vicinity, arguing against the remains being due to either usage. Large numbers of small pottery chariots and thrones and miniature vessels have been found. Although there are scattered remains dating to the Early Bronze Age such as two [[Minoan seal-stones|seal stone]]s, remains in significant quantities begin to be deposited in the Middle Bronze Age, and the sanctuary has its peak use in the [[Helladic chronology#Late Helladic (LH)|LHIIIa2]] through [[Helladic chronology#Late Helladic (LH)|LHIIIb]] periods. It is less easy to trace the cult through the [[Greek Dark Ages|Sub-
=== Late Geometric phase ===
Furtwängler proposes three phases of building at the sanctuary, with the earliest of these demonstrated by an altar at the eastern end dating to c. 700 BC. Also securely known are a cistern at the northeast extremity and a structure identified as a treasury east of the propylon (entrance) of the sanctuary. The temple corresponding to these structures is proposed to be under the later temples and thus not able to be excavated. Furtwängler suggests that this temple is the ''[[oikos]]'' (house) referenced in a mid-7th-century BC inscription from the site as having been built by a priest for Aphaia; he hypothesizes that this house of the goddess (temple) was built of stone [[Socle (architecture)|socles]] topped with
=== Archaic phase (Aphaia Temple I) ===
[[Image:Facade of the Older temple of Aphaia
Ohly detected a (stone socle and mudbrick upper level) ''peribolos'' wall enclosing an area of c. 40 by 45 m dating to this phase. This
As is the case at the temples of Artemis at [[Brauron]] and Aulis (among others), many temples of Artemis have such back rooms, which may indicate a similarity of cult practice.<ref>Hollinshead disputes that there is sufficient evidence for the presence of an adyton in this temple, and she questions whether similarity of form among temples of Artemis must indicate similarity of cult practice. This feature was not retained in the late Archaic temple, so its centrality to the cult practice is open to question.</ref> The cella of the temple of Aphaia had the unusual feature of having two rows of two columns supporting another level of columns that reached the roof. The [[architrave]] of this temple was constructed in two courses, giving it a height of 1.19 m versus the frieze height of 0.815 m; this proportion is unusual among temples of the region, but is known from temples in Sicily. A [[triglyph]] and [[metope (architecture)|metope]] frieze is also placed along the inside of the pronaos.<ref>Schwandner wants this placement to refute the idea that triglyphs are meant to represent the ends of wooden beams.</ref> These metopes were apparently undecorated with sculpture, and there is no evidence of [[pedimental === Late Archaic Phase (Aphaia Temple II) ===
[[Image:
Construction of a new temple commenced soon after the destruction of the older temple. The remains of the destroyed temple were removed from the site of the new temple and used to fill a c. 40 by 80 m terrace within the overall sanctuary of c. 80 by 80 m. This new temple terrace was aligned on north, west, and south with the plan of the new temple. The temple was a [[hexastyle]] peripteral [[Doric order]] structure on a 6 by 12 column plan resting on a 15.5 by 30.5 m platform; it had a [[distyle in antis]] [[cella]] with an [[opisthodomos]] and a [[pronaos]].<ref>The use of the 6 by 12 plan of the Late Archaic period soon gave way to the Classical period preference for the proportions of the 6 by 13 plan and similar.</ref> All but three of the outer columns were monolithic. There was a small, off-axis doorway between the cella and the opisthodomos. In similar design but more monumental execution than the earlier temple, the cella of the new temple had two rows of five columns, supporting another level of columns that reached to roof. The corners of the roof were decorated with sphinx ''acroteria'', and the central, vegetal ''acroterion'' of each side had a pair of ''[[Kore (sculpture)|kore]]'' statues standing one on either side, an unusual feature. The [[antefix]]es were of marble, as were the roof tiles.
[[Image:
Dates ranging from 510 to 470 BC have been proposed for this temple. Bankel, who published the complete study of the remains, compares the design features of the structure with three structures that were near contemporaries:
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*The temple of Artemis at Delion on Paros
Bankel
If still in use by the 4th
== Pedimental sculptures ==
[[Image:Aphaia pediment Laomedon E-XI Glyptothek Munich 85.jpg|thumb|
The marbles from the Late Archaic temple of ''Aphaia'', comprising the sculptural groups of the east and west pediments of the temple, are on display in the [[Glyptothek]] of Munich, where they were restored by the Danish neoclassic sculptor [[Bertel Thorvaldsen]]. These works exerted a formative influence on the local character of [[Neoclassicism]] in Munich, as exhibited in the architecture of [[Leo von Klenze]]. Each pediment centered on the figure of Athena, with groups of combatants, fallen warriors, and arms filling the decreasing angles of the pediments. The theme shared by the pediments was the greatness of ''
[[Image:Aphaia pediment warrior W-VII Glyptothek Munich 79.jpg|thumb|
Ohly had contended that there were four total pedimental groups (two complete sets of pediments for the east and west sides of the temple); Bankel uses the architectural remains of the temple to argue that there were only three pedimental groups; later in his life, Ohly came to believe that there were only two, which was shown persuasively by Eschbach.<ref>N. Eschbach, Die archaische Form in nacharchaischer Zeit: Untersuchungen zu Phänomenen der archaistischen Plastik des 5. und 4. Jhs. v. Chr.” Unpublished Habilitationschrift, University of Giessen.</ref> There were shallow cuttings and many dowels used to secure the plinths of the sculptures of the west pediment (the back of the temple). The east pediment used deep cuttings and fewer dowels to secure the plinths of the statues. There were also a number of ''[[geison]]'' blocks that had shallow cuttings and many dowels like the west pediment, but that did not fit there. Bankel argues that sculptures were set on both the east and the west pediments with these shallow cuttings, but that the sculptures of the east pediment were removed (along with the ''geison'' blocks cut to receive them) and replaced with a different sculptural group. This replacement appears to have been carried out before the raking ''geisa'' were installed on the east pediment, since the corner geisa were not cut down to join to the raking ''geisa'': i.e. the 1st phase of the east pediment was replaced with the 2nd phase before that end of the temple was completed. As the eastern facade of the temple (the front) was the most important visually, it is not surprising that the builders would choose to focus additional efforts on it.
=== Eastern pediment ===
[[File:Aphaia Eastern Pediment.jpg|thumb|right|370px|Colourful
[[File:Aphaia east pediments Glyptothek Munich.jpg|thumb|right|370px|Aphaia east pediments in the Glyptothek as it is now]]
The first [[Trojan war]], not the one described by [[Homer]] but the war of [[Heracles#Heracles'
=== Western pediment ===
[[File:Panorama of the west pediment of the temple of Aphaia
The second [[Trojan war]] – the one described by [[Homer]] – is the theme, with [[Ajax the Great|Ajax]] (son of [[Telamon]]) figuring prominently. The style of these sculptures is that of the Archaic period. The composition deals with the decreasing angles of the pediment by filling the space using a shield and a helmet.
== See also ==
*[[Greek temple]]▼
*[[List of Ancient Greek temples]]
*[[Ancient Greek architecture]]
▲*[[Greek temple]]
==References==
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*[[:de:Dieter Ohly|German Wikipedia page for Dieter Ohly]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070807065227/http://www.unil.ch/esag/page26236.html Ferdinand Pajor, "Cockerell and the 'Grand Tour'"]
*[
*[http://www.stiftung-archaeologie.de/index.html Adolf Furtwängler on the temple's polychromy, 1906]
*[http://www.stiftung-archaeologie.de/Aphaia_Pediment_fullsize.html Reconstruction of the polychrome Western Pediment]
*[http://www.goddess-athena.org/Museum/Temples/Aphaea/index.htm The Museum of the Goddess Athena]
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[[Category:Greek temples|
[[Category:Ancient Greek sanctuaries in Greece]]
[[Category:6th-century BC religious buildings and structures]]
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