Religion and the City: Temples

Introduction to Temples

Temples held great significance in the cities of ancient Greece and Rome, serving as sacred spaces for the worship of various gods and goddesses.
They acted as places of sacrifice, gatherings, votive offering and processional routes; they were integral not just religiously, but politically and socially.

Design and Construction

Temples were built with extreme care, often employing the finest quality materials and designs - attesting to the importance the people accorded to their gods.
Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian were the three primary architectural styles employed in the construction of Greek temples.
Roman temples were influenced heavily by Greek design but had unique characteristics like a high podium and a front entrance.

Temple Functions

Temples served as a “home” for the god or goddess, often housing a statue of the deity.
Sacrifices and offerings were commonly made at temples, with variations in ritual based on the specific god being worshipped. Some also had altars for this purpose.
Temples were also often centres for events, including festivals in honour of the gods, and they also occasionally stored treasures and served as repositories for significant civic documents.

Notable Examples

The Parthenon in Athens, dedicated to Athena, is one of the most well-known examples of a temple in ancient Greece.
The Temple of Zeus at Olympia, with its gold and ivory statue of seated Zeus, was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
The Pantheon is one of the most preserved Roman temples, dedicated to all the Roman gods.

Temple Personnel

Priests and priestesses were primarily responsible for caring for the temples and performing the rituals and ceremonies associated with the deity.
These positions were considered highly prestigious and were often politically significant as well.
There were also several other roles law temple, including cult servants, slaves, and temple musicians.