The Altar of Zeus

The Altar of Zeus, also known as the Pergamon Altar, was built in the Greek city of Pergamon during the second century BC by king Eumenes II. This structure is one of the most successful examples of  Greek Hellenistic sculpture because of its lively and exciting scenarios, as opposed to the more calm and harmonious style of more classical Greek sculptures.

The Altar is comprised of  a main staircase on the west side of the structure that was 20 meters wide, and the overall structure was 35 meters wide and 33 meters deep. The stairs lead up to a colonnaded terrace that wraps around both sides of the structure. The base of the altar is 20 feet high with 9-foot high friezes which depict the Greek Gigantomachy; which is the Greek myth of the battle between the gods and the titans, or old gods. Each side of the frieze depicts different scenes of gods fighting giants, and even shows specific gods and giants which can be identified. The upper inner courtyard also houed the fire altar and the telephus reliefs. 

There were also theories of what the altar was built for specifically. One theory suggests whether or not the altar was related to any the the military victories of Eumenes II. These, however, were disproven by analysis of the friezes and other artifacts which were actually related to military victories of the time. Most of the theories relate the altar to a victory of Pergamon. No theory has been accepted to be fact as of this date; what is known, however, is that it was an altar and not a temple and could have been related to the temple of Athena in the Acropolis.

            There was interaction with the altar many times throughout the years leading up to its preservation by many different peoples. It wasn’t until the Prussian engineer Carl Humann advocated its preservation that the Altar of Zeus was disassembled and reassembled in the Berlin Museum. Parts of the marble and stone were being quarried by the local people to use in their homes. Humann wanted to find a way to prevent this from happening. With the help of other people and the German government, he was able to bring the Hellenistic masterpiece over to Berlin. The altar was also known by some as the Seat of Satan due to the use of it by Adolf Hitler. His chief architect Albert Speer used it as inspiration for the design of Hitler’s parade ground. It was an incredibly successful idea that heightened the popularity of Hitler.

Unfortunately the entire altar is not visible in the Berlin museum, only the front of it is. This is still, however, a grand example of Hellenistic sculpture to see. 

Works Cited:

"Altar of Zeus at Pergamon (c.166-156 BCE)." Pergamon Altar of Zeus. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.  

Bilsel, Can. Antiquity on Display: Regimes of the Authentic in Berlin's Pergamon Museum. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. Print.

Ridgway, Brunilde Sismondo. Fourth-century Styles in Greek Sculpture. Madison, WI: U of Wisconsin, 1997. Print.

Tekfur Sarayi

Tekfur Sarayi

           Tekfur Sarayi, means "Palace of the Sovereign" was constructed during late 13th century or early 14th as part of the Blachernae palace complex, situated in the walls of the city and was annex to the great Palace of Blachernai, a complex of buildings which stood further down the hill towards the Golden Horn. The palace was situated at the very highest point within the city walls and was visible over a wide area.

           It is the only well preserved of Byzantine domestic architecture at Constantinople. The top story was a vast throne room.The facade was decorated with heraldic symbols of the Palaiologan imperial dynasty and it was originally called the House of the Porphyrogennetos- which means "born in the Purple Chamber." It was built for Constantine, third son of Michael VIII and dates between 1261 and 1291.  It suffered damage during the cannonades of the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople (1453), and later served as part of the sultan's menagerie, later as a brothel, then as a pottery workshop and a poorhouse before being abandoned in the later 1700.

          During Ottoman times, the palace was used as a menagerie by the Sultans. They had several around the city and one in Tekfur Sarayi housed two huge elephants, giraffers and other 'docile' creatures. One can see houw the courtyard and ground floor could easily accomodate cages for animals as big as elephants and giraffes. 

           Here are two accounts from people who saw the Sultan's menagerie in the 16th century: A man named Belon wrote. "There one saw the ruins of a very ancient palace, which the vulgates called the palace of Constantine. The Turks used it to feed their elephants."

           Monsieur d'Aramon. Ambassador of the French King, reported. "There was also a certain place where one saw a monstrous number of savage beast which were well guarded and among theme were lions, lionesses, tamed wolves, wild wolves, wild cats, leopards, lynx, wild donkeys, and ostriches in quantity. In another place, one saw a certain beast which the residents called a sea pig and others called sea cow, in the same place they had two elephants, marvelously large."

          It is hard to know exactly when the palace lost its peaked roof and wooden floors, from a maps of the 18th century we can still see a roof, so when the place was 'ruined'- and what ruined meant at various stages-we don't know exactly.

       Source: https://www.pallasweb.com/deesis/tekfur-saray-blanchernai-byzantium.html 

          

The Theater of Priene

  The Theater of Priene

Centered View From Second Seating Tier

The horseshoe-shaped theater at Priene represents one of the best-preserved and earliest forms of Hellenistic theaters built in Turkey. Ten kilometers north of Miletus, the ancient site of Priene sits on the northern edge of the Meander River just outside the small city of Gullubahçe, Turkey.

Far Right View Towards Center

The city of Priene is estimated to have been established around 350 BC, and the theater is believed to be constructed soon after, 332-330 BC. The project is accredited to the architect Pytheos, the same designer of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. Although time, weather and varying political control has altered the ruins, they still retain many of features associated with the Hellenistic theaters. Since the Hellenistic Age formerly begins after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC the theater at Priene can be seen as a forefront design scheme that most likely greatly contributed to the Hellenistic age amphitheater archetype. The arching seating area excavated into the slope of a hill behind, while a two-story structure creating both a backdrop for the actors and chorus as the stage was placed directly at the base. It is also likely that the structure may have been used by the performers to enhance the experience of the theater as a sort of backdrop, backstage or as a set itself. The theater was relatively small in scale compared to later versions to come elsewhere, it could accommodate over 6000 people in its 47 rows of seating. Remarkably, the theater was in use for over five-hundred years.
It is also likely since Vitruvius mentions this technology that it was implemented in the Priene theater as well, that the theater hosted many large vessels filled with a certain volume of water and mathematically placed throughout the theatron (seating area) in order to assist the actor’s voices to resonate further.

The theatron supports forty-seven rows of seats. There are 25 in the lower division and 22 in the upper seating area, the pathway dividing the two areas is termed the diazoma and it navigates the length of the semicircular seating. The upper area is divided once more by were divided by 23 staircases vertically, klimakes. Archeologists suggest that square holes in the marble seating are in fact post-holes to suspend a shading canopy. The lower 22 rows of seating is divided by 13 klimakes, and these seats were most likely reserved for more distinguished guests; however, the lowest row of seating,nearest the stage, was assuredly reserved for important guests, patrons, public officials, etc.. This area is termed as the prohedria and many of the seats here were elegantly carved throne-like chairs.

It is also believed by many archeologists that the theater was also a host to political speeches and debates as the theater hosts a water timer that was commonly used for such events.




It is interesting to note how successful these early Hellenistic theaters are, that their design strategies are still in prolific use today in a vast variety of different scales as well. Pictured to the left is the Hollywood Bowl, an outdoor amphitheater constructed in the early twentieth century as a clear tribute to the Hellenistic Theaters, such as the Theater of Priene, to which it owes its design. 

Works Cited:Valière, Jean-Christophe, Bénédicte Palazzo-Bertholon, Jean-Dominique Polack, and Pauline Carvalho. "Acoustic Pots in Ancient and Medieval Buildings: Literary Analysis of Ancient Texts and Comparison with Recent Observations in French Churches." Acta Acustica United with Acustica99.1 (2013): 70-81. Web.
Heffernan, Amanda. "Priene.Theatre." Priene.Theatre. Whitman College, 2003. Web. 29 Oct. 2016.

Watkin, David. A History of Western Architecture. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1986. Print.

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

              The temple of Artemis was a temple that rebuild three times in ancient Turkey and is considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The reasons were mob, fire, and flood. The temple was built to honor Artemis, one of the three maidens of the goddess of Olympus. Artemis was an Olympian god and the daughter of Zeus and Leto. The temple was once served as a cultic place to worship for the Greek goddess Atermis, while other times it was used as a marketplace. In 800 B.C. the first temple built and it took 10 years to built it. It was built around a marhsy strip near the river of Ephesus which is now present day Turkey. In 750 B.C. the first version of the temple was destroyed due to either a flood while other people believed it was due to a war. 

     

Floor plans of each temple when they rebuilt it. 

               

Then, they built the second temple around 550 B.C. by the architects Cherisphron and his son Metagenes who were Cretan. The second version of the temple was approximately four times larger in area than the previous one. The architects made high stone columns but Cherisphron was afraid that the would break so he ordered his workers to put the columns into its right place. The materials they mostly used for to build the temple is mainly marble.The second version of the temple was destroyed by a man named Herostratus. Herostratus set the temple on fire because he wanted to put his name to fame in history. But if anyone mentioned his name that he set the temple on fire, they would get sentenced to death. Also, what happened that day is the when Herostratus set the temple on fire is the day Alexander the Great was born. 

Temple Of Artemis Ruins

               Years later after the temple was destroyed, Alexander the great visited Ephesus and he offered to help rebuild the temple the third time but with one condition, to make sure they put his name on the temple. The townspeople were so upset about the offering that they did not engrave his name on the temple. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C., the temple was finally rebuilt. The third time the temple was built, the size was approximately 450 feet long and 225 feet wide. The height was 60 feet and had at least 127 columns. But then in 268 A.D. years later, a tribe of East Germany called the Goths, destroyed the temple once more. This version of the temple lasted more than 600 years. 

             The temple of Artemis was never rebuilt after it was destroyed by the goths. The reason being is because the cost was too high. In 401 A.D., a man named St. John Chrysostom ordered the people to torn down the temple. Now where the temple once stood, its now a swamp. Some of the pieces of the temple can be seen in a British museum in England. Building back then was a lot harder then it is as of today. 

Works Cited:
[1] http://www.crystalinks.com/templeofartemis.html

[2] Dinsmoor, William Bell, and William J. Anderson. The Architecture of Ancient Greece; an Account of Its Historic Development.