Greek Temples?

Question

What was the function of Greek Temples?

Answer 1

A gathering place and a place to worship the Gods.

Answer 2

The nature of the Greek temple

Development of the temple

When we think of the Greeks, one of the first images to come to mind is a Greek temple, with its gleaming white columns of marble. The image appeals to us in its simplicity and grandeur. But Greek temples in their original form were not simply gleaming white: they were painted, and had, when the builders could afford it, a great deal of sculptural decoration. They would have looked very busy to modern eyes.

Greek temples as we know them developed during the Archaic Period. The Minoans and Mycenaeans used smaller shrines which did not resemble the later forms. During the early part of the Archaic Period temples were made mainly of wood, but as the Greeks became more prosperous and more ambitious, and learned from contact with the Egyptians what could be done with stone architecture, they began to use stone, preferably marble, when they could afford it.

The Archaic Greeks came to build temples largely in one of two styles, the Doric and the Ionic orders (later on the Corinthian style would come on the scene). The Doric was the first to develop. It largely represented the petrification of wooden forms. Many of the decorative details of the Doric order are petrified remains of what were functional elements of a wooden temple. The fluting of Greek columns, for example (the fact that their surfaces are cut into grooves), probably represents a fairly rude job of taking the bark off of a tree trunk. The triglyph and metope pattern beneath the roof-line of Doric temples represents the ends of beams, and the spaces between them, in the wooden original structures.

The Ionic form was influenced by eastern architectural forms; where the Doric is stately and solid, the Ionic is a bit lighter and more graceful. The Doric form was preferred in regions of Greece which spoke Doric dialects (for example, the Peloponnese), the Ionic in areas where Ionic was spoken (especially Ionia, but also in Attica).

Both forms, once they were set in the later Archaic Period, changed very little. Greek architects were remarkably conservative, and indeed the entire idea of an architectural order, the idea that there were a few set patterns of doing things, dominated classical architecture.

What were temples for?

Temples and religion

Greek temples didn't't function as Christian churches, Muslim mosques, or Jewish synagogues do: worship didn't not routinely take place within them. The most important ritual of Greek religion, animal sacrifice, would take place at an altar located outside of the temple. Often the altar would be found in front of the temple; the crowd would stand in between the temple and the altar, facing toward the east. Thus the temple would largely be a backdrop.

Temples were considered homes for the gods, or at least alternative homes, for they lived on Mount Olympus (and in other temples) as well. Temples also housed statues of the god, normally a large cult statue. While sometimes people got excited when statues appeared to "cry" or sweat, for the most part the Greeks did not think the statues embodied their gods in any way; unlike some other peoples, the Greeks did not have rituals for bringing their statues to life. But such large statues were a relatively late feature of Greek religion, and some gods, notably Zeus and Poseidon, didn't require statues--or even temples--for their worship.

Temples and cities

The temple was funded and managed by city government; it was, after city walls, the most expensive and most prominent structure of the city. The classical Greeks did not build palaces or city-halls; they have thus been called a "temple culture," as the temple was their most prominent building. Why--given its relatively limited religious function?

The temple was in some sense a public offering to the god, and laid claim to a sort of stability and permanence individual citizens could not aspire to. Individuals could set up smaller statues in sanctuaries, or make similar offerings, to demonstrate their piety and hope to leave something behind them, but the temple allowed the city as a whole to do so. I suppose that temples became symbolic representations of the greatness of the city, playing a role something like that played by memorials in our society (or at least the more successful ones: the Lincoln Memorial, for example), or, say, the Statue of Liberty. Our own government buildings have often been modeled on Greek and Roman temples: they still symbolize something grander and more lasting than any other sort of structure. Many a bank was built according to classical lines for the same reason: your money must be safe in this sort of building.

Given the symbolic stability and permanence Greek architectural forms have come to embody, it is appropriate enough that their origin in is the petrification of wooden forms.

Answer 3

The Temple was the site of religious rituals. It was where people came to make sacrifice and pray (just like they still do at Shinto temples in Japan). They were places where oaths were taken and oracles were given to spiritual seekers. There were special feast days with processions where the statue of the god/goddess were paraded around the city (just as Roman Catholics still do with statues of their saints).

Answer 4

For Greeks to worship their various gods.

Answer 5

To fulfill the "whatever feels good do it" philosophy. Not only were they for worship of many gods they also had temple prostitutes who would give pleasure for a price.

Answer 6

It's where they used to worship their Gods

Answer 7

More details required