The Parthenon and the Temple of Hera I



The Temple of Hera I



The Temple of Hera I is an Archaic temple built around 550-540 BCE in the former Greek colony of Poseidonia near modern Naples, Italy (Stokstad 108).  This peripteral temple was dedicated to Hera and built according to Doric stylistic conventions, bearing a rectangular floor plan, Doric columns, and low steps on all sides (Stokstad 108).  The fact that the temple was built with one specific architectural style in mind, rather than a blend of styles, separates it from the Parthenon and many other Classical Greek works.  The Parthenon is influenced by both Ionic and Doric styles, exemplifying the balance of luxurious lifestyles and strong political power in Classical Greek society emphasized after the Persian Sack of Athens.  The inclusion of both styles also represents Athens’ political sovereignty in both the Cyclades and mainland Greece in the time proceeding Athens’ separation from Persia.  The Temple of Hera’s clear-cut style marked by robust Doric columns, each four times as tall as they are wide; a wide architrave; and a broad, blocky abacus symbolize the “stability and permanence” and the power of Greece (Pollitt 63), but do little to convey Ancient Greece’s love of luxury, excellence, and the ideal (Stokstad 108).

Columns in the peristyle of the Temple of Hera I are not arranged according to the formula used in Classical temples, with length of the temple being lined with twice as many columns as the width, plus one, a ratio deemed “perfect” and most harmonious by the Greeks.  Instead, the plan focused on an uneven ratio of 1:2, with the width of the temple bearing nine columns on each side and the length bearing eighteen on each side (Seindal).  The temple’s cella is also characteristically divided down the center into two rooms, each believed to glorify a different aspect of Hera’s identity:  “warrior and protector of the city and mother and protector of children” (Stokstad 108).  The Parthenon, similarly dedicated to Athens’ patron deity, celebrates Athena’s two identities by depicting the Athena Promachos on the temple’s external sculptural structures and Athena Parthenos within the temple.  In this manner, the temple maintains a better sense of order and avoids awkwardness in its design, such as caused by the divided cella in the Temple of Hera I.  For the design of this Archaic temple is characterized by many peculiar architectural details because of the division, such as an uneven number of columns (three) before the two entrances of the temple, an aspect included in order to maintain the temple’s axial design (Seindal).  Also, the internal and external columns all bear the same dimensions, an unusual characteristic because the columns of a temple’s peristyle are typically largest.  An enhanced reliance on mathematic principles to convey a sense of order is evident in the Parthenon; for example, instead of actually designing the Parthenon with perfectly straight elements throughout, its exterior façade is arched specifically to make the temple seem larger and statelier than reality through optical illusion.  Unlike the archaic temple, the importance of harmony, excellence, and precision in Periclean thought is evident in the Parthenon, even in the details of its floor plan.



The Parthenon



The Temple of Hera, also unlike the Parthenon, has no carved metopes, suggesting less concern with realistic, humanized figures during the period it was built (Seindal).  It was also constructed of local sandstone with a wooden roof (Seindal).  The Parthenon, on the other hand, was built with the finest white marble and designed and decorated with the sculptures of prominent artists, such as Pheidas (Stokstad 128, 130).  It was constructed by men more particular as to architectural details and materials; they used materials harder to acquire, yet available because of the power and wealth Athens attained after achieving victory over the Persians.  The Parthenon dually functioned as a treasury and temple, while the Temple of Hera I served primarily as a place of religious ritual (Stokstad 108, 130).  In its function and artistic direction, the newer structure blended concepts of patriotism, religion, and community.   Such ideas were not as stressed in the Archaic Temple of Hera I, as they reflect Athens’ renewed desire for excellence—amplified by her freedom from Persia—in all endeavors, in eyes of Athena and of Athens’ neighboring nations.

Temple of Hera I floor plan

Parthenon floor plan

Works Cited

Pollitt, J.J.  Art and Experience in Classical Greece.  New York:  Cambridge University Press, 2006.  Print.

Seindal, Rene.  “Temple of Hera I.”  Rene Seindal’s Photo Archive.  Rene Seindal, 2010.  Web.  25 Oct. 2010.  <http://sights.seindal.dk/sight/91_Temple_of_Hera_I.html>.

Stokstad, Marilyn; Michael W. Cothren.  Art History:  Ancient Art.  4th ed.  Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Pearson Education, Inc., 2011.  Print.