The Astronomical Orientation of Ancient Greek Temples

Alun M Salt

PLOS ONE, 2009, vol. 4, issue 11, 1-5

Abstract: Despite its appearing to be a simple question to answer, there has been no consensus as to whether or not the alignments of ancient Greek temples reflect astronomical intentions. Here I present the results of a survey of archaic and classical Greek temples in Sicily and compare them with temples in Greece. Using a binomial test I show strong evidence that there is a preference for solar orientations. I then speculate that differences in alignment patterns between Sicily and Greece reflect differing pressures in the expression of ethnic identity.

Date: 2009
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0007903

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0007903

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