 | |
  Temple of Isthmia Shown within Greece | |
| Location | Kyras Vrysi,Corinthia,Greece |
|---|---|
| Region | Corinthia |
| Coordinates | 37°54′57″N22°59′35″E / 37.91583°N 22.99306°E /37.91583; 22.99306 |
| Type | Sanctuary |
| Length | 40.05 m |
| Width | 14.018 m |
| History | |
| Founded | 690 to 650 BC |
| Abandoned | 470 BC |
| Periods | Archaic Greek |
| Satellite of | Isthmia |
TheTemple of Isthmia is an ancientGreek temple on theIsthmus of Corinth dedicated to the godPoseidon and built in theArchaic Period. It is about 16 kilometers (9.9 mi) east of ancientCorinth, at the site of ancientIsthmia. It appears to have been constructed in the seventh century BC though was later destroyed in 470 BC and rebuilt as the Temple of Poseidon at Isthmia in c. 440 BC during theClassical period.
Around the turn of the 8th to 7th century BC, it is apparent that there is the emergence of a new period in bothGreek architectural andartistic history.[1] Corinth was at the centre of this with its development of newpottery design, settlement planning, military organisation and most significantly being the possible birthplace of monumental buildings and a new style of architecture known as theDoric order.[2] The date of the Archaic temple’s construction is important then as it establishes when monumental architecture began as well as when the transition fromIron Age architecture toDoric occurred. This was also the point where theGreek temple as a whole became a defined form.[3]
The site of the Temple of Poseidon at Isthmia was one of great activity up until the 3rd century AD. It was aPanhellenic sanctuary and the last location of one of the fourPan-Hellenic Games from the sixth century (around 581 BC[4]) to be found,[5] and had numerous buildings constructed in its vicinity. These ranged fromRoman baths to atheatre and most importantly two temples. TheArchaic temple was the first erected and was destroyed by fire in 470 BC;[6] the site of the temple was then rebuilt upon, resulting in a larger temple constructed directly on top of the Archaic in theClassical period, which was also destroyed by fire, this time in 390 BC.
The Isthmian Games which were held near the Temple of Isthmia in honour of Poseidon was one of the four great Athletic Festivals of Ancient Greece, alongside those of Zeus at Olympia and Nemea, and those ofApollo atDelphi.
Pausanias described the sanctuary in the second century:
If still in use by the 4th-century, the temple would have been closed during thepersecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire. The temple of Poseidon was most likely sacked and destroyed in the invasion of thePeloponnesus by theVisigoths in AD 396.[8]
Excavations of the site were conducted in both the original 1952 excavations, and again in 1989. The latter excavations helped to uncover evidence relating to all the areas of development of Isthmia from theBronze Age to theRoman period, but in particular focused on the Archaic temple, partly because this is the most complete of the buildings found at the site despite being one of the oldest.[9]
The site was originally found byOscar Broneer in 1952 withexcavations continuing until 1967.[10] He published his findings in a series of three volumes starting in 1971,[11] and in articles in theHesperia Journal. He dated the temple to about 700 BC and produced a reconstruction of the temple which featured a woodenperistyle in theDoric style.[12]
Between August 16 and November 29, 1989 a new period of excavation was undertaken, mostly to clear up some of the disputes that had arisen over the conclusions Broneer had made on his finds.[13] The first report of the 1989 findings was published inHesperia in 1992,[14] with subsequent reports following in later years and has contributed to the debate which primarily focuses around the dating of the temple, but also includes the nature of its layout and general usage and development.
The debates that occurred after the first publication of Broneer's results focused on his inclusion of a woodenperistyle of the Doric order, and a construction date of c. 700 BC. Historians such as J. B. Salmons in his bookWealthy Corinth (1984) stated that the temple was constructed under the reign ofCypselus;[15] this contradicted Broneer's suggestions as Cypselus did not achieve power until 657 BC, and so would put back the creation of the temple by about 50 years.[16] Furthermore, it was disputed whether the temple was even Doric in design and the proposed plan of Broneer detailing the temples foundations had little evidence in support.
The 1989 excavations contained important discoveries that helped to establish that the temple was actually constructed later than Broneer had anticipated, and puts it at a date that ranges from about 690 to 650 BC.[17] This date would mean that it could have been possible for it to have been constructed during Cypselus’ reign, as well as suggesting a later date for appearance of monumental buildings. The excavations achieved their results through a variety of methods. Prior to the excavationstopographical andstratigraphical investigations were carried out of the known buildings under the surface. When digging commencedtrenches were made, for the most part extensions on Broneer’s original trenches. The soil that was collected was then both dry sieved and wet sieved and from this many finds were made. Deposits containing large amounts ofpottery, ashes as well as stone foundations were all found which helped to determine answers to many of the questions that had been raised. The Ceramics recovered helped to ascertain a more accurate date, this was through the finding of pottery such as that of thearyballoi style, which is an effective means of dating owing to their introduction at the beginning of the seventh century.[18] Furthermore, the ground plan and surrounding features of the site were now able to be mapped with a good degree of accuracy.[19] In the reports, this fact that the templefloor plan could be reconstructed accurately is mentioned as the most important find of the 1989 excavations.[20] The ground plan showed a temple that was of unrivalled proportions for its time and of a layout that was almost entirely new.[21] This therefore showed the origins of monumental buildings on the Greek mainland and provided an approximate date. Also though it further established that there was no evidence for the employment of the Doric style as suggested by Broneer.[22] Although Broneer stated of his reconstruction that it was speculative, and still appears to have no evidence in support its existence, this does not mean the temple was not one of the pioneering buildings featuring Doric architecture.[23] This is because all that is known from the temple is what has been found in deposits of pottery and the stone foundations, as the temple was completely destroyed in 470 BC (also known from pottery discovered during excavations, particularly burnt pottery[24]). There is little that remains other than the floor plan, or at least that has been found thus far, and so the actual style is hard to put any firm conclusion to. It is however apparent from the excavations though, the layout of supportingpillars anddimensions, which beyond doubt can tell us that it was a temple of epic proportions for its time.
