Temple of Zeus at Akragas - Essay Example

Temple of Zeus at Akragas Introduction As the sun sets each morning, it spreads its rays over the vast temples at Akragas, temples that spanned centuries. These temples and other architectural designs of the ancient have left the world to gaze with admiration. To hit the nail on the head, Greece and Rome, apparently the greatest superpowers of architectural supremacy, tops the list of nations with beautiful ancient architectural designs. From architectural ingenuity to temples, people from other nations continue to immortalize the architectural designs of these two nations, something that has left undeviating serration upon architectural design at present. In Agrigento, Sicily, one of the most ancient architectural designs stands there even today, attracting thousands of people from across the globe. Historically, the town is famous for its splendid assortment of more than seven Greek temples that dates back to the sixth and fifth centuries BC. Standing on the southern part of the city of Agrigento, these temples provide a classic example of a historical study about ancient architectural designs, and how they influences modern day architecture (Wilson 7). Many historians believe that the Greek colonialists are the ones who built the city of Akragas in 580 BC. These colonialists had travelled from far, precisely from Rhodes and settled in Sicily. Life during the colonial times was not any easy, as tyranny, persecutions and slavery took the orders of the day. However, these periods happened and democracy settled in slowly and the city dwellers, about 200,000 of them in the fifth century BC, embarked on a journey of developing their city. High-quality wine, olives, and horses decorated the beautiful city, and later on the most famous and beautiful temples stood elected. However, something astonishing happened in 406 BC. The Carthaginians invaded Akragas just barely eight months after the construction of the temples, and mutilated the temples. The Carthaginians ruled the city until 340 BC when Timoleon engaged the Carthage in war and finally defeated them. However, it is important to note that the city had lost its glory and magnificent scene, a scene that stands unrecovered even up to today. The change o one empire to another has not helped in the rebuilding of the temples. However, these temples still have a historical significance to modern day historians and architectural designers (Paton 74-94). In Italy, historians agree that the Olympian Zeus Temple is the prevalent Doric temple ever built and it has some historical significance. However, it is paramount to note that due to various reasons, the construction of these temple never ended. In fact, today, the temple of Zeus lies in ruins as the people responsible for its construction did not do much to compete it. Standing in the Valle dei Templi, other famous temples surround the temple of Zeus thus giving the later a sheer significance. Nonetheless, it is imperative to note that nobody recorded the exact history this temple, and therefore it is quite unclear. This does not however imply that there are no absolute facts about the temple of Zeus. In fact, one of its significance is the commemoration of war pitting Syracuse and Carthaginians (Battle of Himera 480 BC). As earlier noted the Carthaginians had taken control of the city and imposed their rule. Some historians such as Diodorus Siculus point out that the Carthaginians are the ones who built the temple by using slaves. Here, the slaves were mainly the captured enemies parading as soldiers but were now defeated and taken into captivity where they subjected them into hard work and labor (Wilson 48-61). The ancient literature does not say much about the temple of Zeus although many historians mention it in their writings. For example, Polybius, one of the Greek historians records in a memo that although the other temples surrounding the temple of Zeus looked complete and beautiful unlike the temple of Zeus, the later was completely odd in terms of appearance, design and dimensions. He goes on to say that, the reason why the construction of the temple never ended is due to the Carthaginian subjugation of Agrigento city. Instead of spending the time to construct the temple, they spent their time in the battlefield. The temple stood minus the roof during the time of the conquest. Further damages to the temple occurred in the 18th century through earthquakes. Additionally, other people also took advantage of the situation and quarried the temple lengthily. They used the quarried materials to construct other places close to the town. Today, the temple is no more. Only broad stone platform characterized by plummeted stakes and some blocks of stone reminds of the temple of Zeus (Rykwert 120-135). Architecture Unlike other Greek temples, the temple of Zeus appeared different from the rest in terms of architectural structure, the structure that many people debate even today. With a length of 112.7 meters and 56.3 meters wide, the temple stood a height of 20 meters. The walls were completely of stone blocks, something peculiar in the global design industry at that time. It was also the largest building at that time, where, according to some historians, only a single pillar was enough host a human being. The designers made it in such a way that it stood 4.5 meters above the ground surface. It also had a large basement with so many features, while the front part also had several features including semi-columns and a central floor. Unlike the other surrounding temples, the temple of Zeus had outer columns affianced against an incessant drape wall in order to support the colossal heaviness of its entablature. Unlike other temples, the columns of this temple had colossal atlases that provided enough strength to handle the weight of the upper floors. In fact, the atlases of this temple have caused continuous architectural debates on their exact positioning. Many have come to conclude that the atlases stood on a lower-level wall right at the upper part protruding the external wall (Rykwert 75-111). After the earthquakes, some archeologists took some atlases to the nearby museum for further analysis. However, there are some atlases remaining on the ground from the ruins of the temple of Zeus. Since then, it has always been impossible to reconstruct the temple again due to the poor condition of the temple, including the missing basement. The atlases make the temple of Zeus quite exceptional from the rest, and one that many historians and archeologist would like to study. There is no doubt that this architectural design was possibly the most unique at that time and many people associated with very many things. For example, some people believe that the temple is a sign of Greek enslavement during the times of Carthaginian rule. Others believe that the temple of Zeus symbolizes the Egyptian influences that are quite dominant in Akragans. Moreover, the sheer size of the temple of Zeus is a sign of presumed profligacy and acme of exhibition of the Akragans. Archeologists also seem not to agree whether the columns had windows or not. There is agreement however that each wall connected twelve pilasters, the pilasters that formed a cell. Each cell had several entrance points, which served as doors. In the inside, the Phoenician-Carthaginian finishing compounded the stunning outlook of the temple. For instance, the mammoth tripled-aisled antechamber of pillars, and an opening to the sky right at the centre donned the regalia of the temple. As noted earlier, the Carthaginian subjugation came too early before the completion of the roof. Some historians also had aficionado accounts regarding the temple. According to Diodorus Siculus, the eastern wing of the temple of Zeus symbolized gigantomachy, and on the other hand, the western wing displayed the Greek’s victory over the prevailing enemies (Paton 7-36). Description and Symbols The discussion of the Temple of Zeus at Akragas, Agrigento, Sicily 500-460 BC is a vaguely obscure topic, but one with historical significance. As noted earlier, this was the biggest temple in the Doric dominion—constructed on stylobate. On the wrong side of history is the fact that the construction of this temple never reached completion, and incidences such as earthquakes and quarrying let the famous temple a pile of ruins, and today not many people even recognize it. It is paramount to note that between 582-580 BC, Agrigento city was a colony of the Akragas. As a result, it became more prominent and affluent. The Ancient Akragas city had huge tracks of unexcavated land as exemplified by the celebrated Valley of the Temples. Just on, the Valley was distinct sacred places harboring monumental temples, which were build in the fifth and sixth centuries BC. Undoubtedly, the temples were the largest and preeminent potted buildings that not only formed greatest tourist attraction centers, but also popular spots (Ernesto 7). The Olympeion field stood at the end of via sacra, and here, very many sanctuaries that included the temple of Zeus stood. Each of these sanctuaries practiced certain cults, and the Zeus Olympios had everything to do with the temple of Zeus. Various writers have given different historical facts about the construction of the temple. For instance, many believe that the construction of the temple took place in 480 BC. This was the period when the battle of Himera took place. The Carthaginians resorted on revenge mission and eventually captured Akragas city in 406 BC, thus, stalling the construction of the temple. As mentioned earlier on, a number of reasons led to the further destruction of the temple of Zeus. The complete and final collapse of the remaining parts of the temple of Zeus happened in 1401. Otherwise, for a long time, the Greeks used the remains of the peristyle temple of Zeus as a Byzantine chapel. As described above, the temple was he in size, and the designers used small blocks that were not only available, but also recyclable. Astonishingly, once removed from their places, the blocks were still useful. Sadly, weathering and heavy deterioration aggravated the situation even more, as reconstruction of the temple in such places was almost impossible (Broucke 5-16). The construction of the temple had a great historic significance. Greatly perceived is the notion that the Greeks erected the temple as a sign of imitating the vast temples of Asia Minor. The designers opted for different structural designs other than the ones used by the surrounding temples. Additionally, instead of using the available materials, the architect opted for other materials in order to make the temple look unique. The architect abandoned the open peristyle and instead of elongated walls, this one had walls mixed with columns on the outside and pilasters on the inside. Many who viewed the building completely agreed that it was unique as it combined both plans and columns and the result was an inimitable temple, different from the rest. Just in the column drums, the ruins were missing and this took many foreigners visiting the temple by surprise. However, even without the drums, they looked strong owing to the stacked masonry. Another feature about the temple that astonished many is the u-shaped large stones. Many wondered the type of pulley system used to do lift and place the stones at their rightful positions. Irrespective of the height of the temple, apparently 20 meters high, the columns of the temple appeared fluted, in fact, the flutes were spacious enough to host a human being contentedly (Ernesto 56-68). Elsewhere, many historians describe the columns as one with bases, but a critical analysis from archeologists indicates that the columns were fluted to the stylobate, and concludes by asserting that the columns were not complete. In fact, in temple architecture, when constructing columns, fluting is always the last thing, due to the fragile nature of the flutes. It therefore means, after the construction of the columns, it is when designers will stroll the flutes down to the stylobate. To some extent, this almost resembled the Doric structure although there were still deviations in terms of the area covered. It is also important to note that the temple of Zeus, just like many other temples constructed in the 5th century harbored fine-looking refinements and features such as upward curvatures, u-shaped walls and double corner narrowing—features that were common in vey many Sicilian temples. Other features include a myriad of columns and the absence of the middle intercolumniation. In most Greek temples, the central intercolumniation was paramount as it served as the entrance. In fact, it is lucid that unlike the canonical temples, the temple of Zeus had many entrance points and constructing them was easier as compared to the canonical temples. As noted earlier, the temple of Zeus had two sides—the eastern and western sides. The entrance to the temple was on the eastern side. This was also the place for an altar and very many entry points. The temple also has a cella featuring two lines with a dozen piers. Each of the two rows/lines connected a screen wall and other spur walls. Although we do not have, a glimpse of how the roof would have looked like, the cult statue of this temple will remains sumptuous to many minds who dare to imagine about its appearance (Watkin 19-31). Conclusion The study of the temple of Zeus has some myriads of historical significance ranging from the tyranny of the Carthaginians to its structure and features. This temple forms the basis of many archeological and historical debates and hence useful in my study. By studying the temple of Zeus, I have learnt that the architect of the temple wanted to bring uniqueness in temple architecture. Describing the features of the temple gives a learner an insight of the lives of the ancient people. The use of different materials in the construction of the temple other than the locally available materials is a sign of adoption of modern styles of architecture. Additionally, the fact that the Greeks never completed the construction of the temple and by virtue that the poor condition of the place cannot allow reconstruction, leaves so much to think in terms of coming up with pioneering structures. However, the construction of the temple of Zeus is indeed a blessing in disguise. It led to the discovery of ambitious and modern structures, new refinements, and high classical modern architecture. Works Cited Broucke, Pieter. The Temple of Olympian Zeus at Agrigento. Yale: Yale University, 1996. Print. Ernesto, De Miro. Agrigento, the Valley of the Temples. Novara: Istituto geografico de Agostini, 1983. Print. Paton, William. The Histories. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1993. Print. Rykwert, Joseph. The Dancing Column: On Order in Architecture. Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1996. Print. Watkin, David. A History of Western Architecture. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications, 2005. Print. Wilson, Nigel. Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. London: Routledge, 2005. Print. Read More