Ancient Greek Temples/Temples In Ancient Greece

Ancient Greek temples were known as the home of the Greek gods and the goddesses. The Greek people believed that their gods protected them, through all natural calamities and also helped to sustain their community. The Greek people wanted to please their gods, so the temple was equipped with a staff of servants, to look after the needs of gods. People offered daily offerings of food and drinks, their share of profits, share of harvest and so on.

Marbles and limestones were used for constructing the columns, upper portions of the temples and public buildings. For decorations, the Greeks used bronze and other metals and terracotta was used for the roof tiles. Greek temples were built according to some set rules, depending on the dimensions of the foundation levels. Greek temples were painted using blues and reds against white stone backgrounds. The finance for the temple construction was sponsored by cities or by the administrations and Hellenistic rulers.

A temple was built in the form of a house, found in Bronze Age, known as megaronn. In the center of the temple, was a rectangular room called cella with a porch called pronas. The pronas had projecting walls called antae. At the back of the cella was a special area called adyton, which was only accessible to the priests and not to the general public.

The roof of the building was supported by two or more columbs. The building was constructed on a low platform named stylobale. The first temple such as Lefkandi was built out of wood but later on it was replaced by stone. The great statues of Zeus at Olympia or Parthenon in Athens were made of ivory and gold.

The priests were only allowed in adyton, where they performed the rituals on behalf of the community. The temple was build inside a sacred area, called temenos which had a spring, a bunch of trees, caves and so on. This is the area where the general public was allowed to contribute in the ancient Greek temples. The public offered gifts like jewellery, cutlery of gold and silver and so on.

Information on: Ancient Greece Temples, Temples in Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek Life History / Ancient Greece Facts for Kids

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