Deciphering the Greek Temple: Verification with Software Tools of the Solar Design of the Parthenon in Athens and the Temple of Zeus in Olympia

Ezequiel Uson
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Ezequiel Uson: Politechnic University of Catalonia, (UPC), Spain

European Journal of Architecture and Urban Planning, 2023, vol. 2, issue 1, 9-18

Abstract: In Greek temples, compositional order and Pythagorean geometry were used to achieve regularity, proportion and beauty, combining exact magnitudes between the parts and the whole. It is also known that all the temples were oriented with great precision. However, the diverse reasons for their construction makes their astronomical orientation more difficult to interpret. In this research, the Parthenon in Athens (447-436 BC) and the Temple of Zeus in Olympia (470-456 BC) were analysed with solar simulation software. Comparing the results obtained, it is verified that both temples were designed and oriented following a plan: to facilitate the symbolic use of sunlight for the veneration of the goddess Athena and the god Zeus on the dates of the celebration of certain religious rituals. Verification was performed using a process that allows its extrapolation to similar analyses of any other Greek temple.

Keywords: astronomical orientation; Greek temple; greater panathenaea; olympic festival; solar simulation software (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:epw:arch00:v:2:y:2023:i:1:id:619

DOI: 10.24018/ejarch.2023.2.1.19

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