Loyola University Chicago

Instructor: Dr.Giovanni SCICHILONE

Meeting Day: Monday

Meeting Times: 9:30 am - 12:30 pm

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course discusses the architectural type of "temple", as developed in Ancient Greece, far beyond its well known visible form. Special attention will be given to the formation of a Greek idea of temple and, to do so, reference will be made to all available sources – historical, literary and archaeological as well. Through space and time, the course reviews the manyfold existing evidence on cult and cult-places in the Greek lands in Bronze Age, before and after the advent of Greek-speaking tribes and certainly far before the creation of the earliest known temples.

While following the rise of an entirely Greek idea of temple (as much else than a building for practical cult), due attention is given to the interaction of Greek communities with their Mediterranaean neighbours, assessing the contribution that Greek architects received from theircounterparts working in other contexts of the ancient world. At all points through the course students will be reminded that our focus is not the changes in an architect’s sketchbook but the relationship among a cult-place, its architectural forms and a living community.

Through the study of individual sites (ranging from such glorious -sanctuaries as Olympia or Delphi to almost "invisible" and little-known buildings) students will evaluate the wealth of information available on the process that eventually led to such to such a temple as the Parthenon in Classical Athens or to the endless list of religious buildings spotting still today the Mediterranaean rim. In a perspective of History of Religion, reflection will be given to the interplay of different needs and functions related to cult (the placement of a sacrificial table; the role of priest and worshippers; the presence of a "divine dwelling" or God’s house; the type of cultual action expected in a given space; etc). In fact every effort will be made to see temples –sophisticated and "beautiful" as they may be- as part of a much-more-than-architectural effort.

In so far as design and styles are concerned, they are discussed side by side with both limitations and achievements of technology and engineering of the ancient world, in Greece and beyond. A fuller appreciation of several exceptional creations of Greek Architecture in Classical times will therefore be reached through much more than a purely visual approach. In general, the course tries to stimulate critical ability, visual sensitivity and an interest for the appreciation of Architecture –across time and space- into its full context and with p roper attention to its functional roots.

The architectural evidence will be reviewed through a wide selection of passages from the last available edition of the standard handbook by the late Prof.William B. Dinsmoor (The Architecture of Ancient Greece; New York, 1975), still the best general source available in English for the subject, to be used along with abstracts from other sources and with class-notes. Every lesson will be richly illustrated by original slides from the instructor’s collection; occasionally readings from ancient written sources in translation will be offered. In all cases, class-discussion and participation to class-work are to be considered crucial and are highly encouraged and valued by the instructor. Moreover, since the variety of points and comparisons developed in class can only in part find a substitute in the required readings, CLASS ATTENDANCE IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.

During the month of February, the students will choose, under the instructor’s guidance, the topic for an individual project in writing (a brief essay or a book-report for the equivalent of 4 to 6 typed pages) ideally reflecting a personal interest within the scope of the course. Such "home-projects" are to be given to the instructor by March 19 at the very latest. In this context it’s worth to remind students that will be taken for granted their knowledge of our University’s policy on matters regarding academic integrity (see: http//www.luc.academics/undergrade/catalog/standards.html).

Lessons 1 & 2 Greek temples: their current image today, their original function and their forerunners in the ancient Mediterranaean world. The Mycenaeans of the Bronze-Age as the ancestors of the Greeks: a brief review of archaeological evidence. Bronze-Age sites of Greece and the evidence for cult: an overview (DINSMOOR, Introduction & pp.17/24)

Lesson 3 Settlements and cult-places in the Dark-Ages of Greece, 11th to 9th c.B.C. Techniques and materials of early Greek architecture. Sanctuaries at Sparta, Samos and elsewhere. Temple models and their possible meaning (DINSMOOR, pp.36/50)

Lesson 4 The Greeks in the Mediterranaean world circa 800 to 700 B.C. : an overview. The overseas enterprises of Greek cities and the rise of pan-hellenic cults and cult-places (ABSTRACT 1 for the course, in our Library)

Lesson 5 Ritual functions and spatial arrangements in Greek cult-places. Samos & Olympia before 600 B.C. Carpentry and the architecture of early Greek temples (DINSMOOR, pp.50/58 & class-notes)

Lesson 6 Formalizing a concept: the "Doric style" in Greek temple-construction. Temples in Corfù & Corinth. The beginnings of the "Ionic style" of Greek Architecture (DINSMOOR, pp.58/64, 69/75, 123/136)

Lesson 7 Tools, techniques, materials and origins of stone architecture in Greece. The adoption of stone in Greek religious architecture. Architecture as a Profession: the early evidence (Seminar-class; class-notes indispensable)

Lesson 8 Architectural design, composition and "decoration" in the early 5th c.B.C. The sanctuary and the temple of Aphaia in the island of Egina (DINSMOOR,pp.105/107)

Lesson 9 Destructions and reconstructions in Athens, 480 to 450 B.C. A new design for Zeus in Olympia. The role of sculpture in Greek classical temples (DINSMOOR, pp.147/153)

Lessons 10 & 11 Redefining orders, styles and designs: the reconstruction of the sacred precincts of the Athenian acropolis. Propylaea, Parthenon & Erechteum: ancestry & meanings. (DINSMOOR, pp.159/179, 185/195, 199/205)

Lesson 12 Temple architecture in the late 5th c.B.C. and beyond: new attitudes in cult and in religious architecture. The legacy of Greek temple- architecture in the West (DINSMOOR, pp.154/159, 216/238)

GRADING: The final grade for this course will be calculated in accordance with the following percentages:

• Midterm................................................................30%
• "Home Project"......................................................20%
• Active class participation....................................... 10%
• Final test...............................................................40%

The grading scale adopted will be:

(A) 100-93 (A-) 92-90 (B+) 89-87 (B) 86-83 (B-) 82-80 (C+) 79-77 (C) 76-73 (C-) 72-70 (D+) 69-67 (D) 66-60 (F) below 60

IMPORTANT NOTE: The mid-term test will take place on February _____, 2009.