The Complete Greek Temples (review)

Tony Spawforth's The Complete Greek Temples is part of the publisher's "Complete Series" in which similar overviews have been published, such as The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. Spawforth delivers more than the usual introductory treatment of temple architecture, its embellishments, history and development. He brings the temple alive by exploring its many functions, with particular focus on the religious activities taking place in and around the temple. Parallels are suggested with modern polytheistic religions, thus helping to make ancient ritual more accessible and understandable. While the scope is limited to colonnaded temples, the inclusion of 22 post-Hellenistic temples, usually omitted in similar surveys, make this treatment truly complete.

One of the best features of this book is its illustrations, including excellent maps, which are appropriate and well placed in relation to the text. The many colour photographs, the majority taken by the author and Roger Wilson (Centre for the Study of Ancient Sicily, University of British Columbia), are used with purpose and, for the most part, successfully. Wilson's well-lit shot (130) of the intercolumnar screen of temple F at Selinous, for example, clearly demonstrates its later addition. Temple plans and reconstruction drawings, for which unfortunately no full recognition is given, are helpfully highlighted in buff and appropriate to the narrative. The well-labelled, coloured reconstruction of the Parthenon with human figures to indicate its relative size (76–77) is easily the best illustration to be had of the parts of a Greek temple. The plan of the same temple (142), with recently discovered features such as the window and staircase (reconstructed on 140) and the altar and shrine in the north hall (reconstructed on 50) are valuable additions. In general, the visual aspect of the book is outstanding in quality, quantity and value.

The Introduction includes a general site map, highlighted separate chronologies of "Temple Builders" and of "Temple Highlights" and a list of "The Best Preserved Colonnaded Greek Temples" that surprisingly includes the Syracuse temple of Apollo rather than that of Athena. Spawforth states that his aim is to go beyond the usual aesthetic approach and to reconstruct the temple in its original religious context, to identify its builders and raison d'être, and to examine it as an assertion of Greek identity later to be imitated, plundered, re-used and re-discovered. These goals are largely achieved in the following chapters.

In Part I, "Homes of the Gods," the discussion is an elaboration of the chronologies given in the Introduction in refreshingly unstuffy prose. True to his aim, Spawforth concludes the chapter by outlining the post-antique fate of his subject. An admirably original attempt is made to tabulate known colonnaded temples chronologically and by location. The apt use of quotations from ancient authors and inscriptions here and in other chapters is applauded though full citations, perhaps appended, might have been appreciated.

In Part II, "Building for the Gods," theories on orientation and metaphor enrich the discussion of more mundane practical matters of construction, decoration and finance. Here too helpful tables are supplied: a flowchart for a typical temple building project and another showing the breakdown of trades by civic status for an unidentified temple. Particularly well treated and illustrated is the subject of the use of colour as decoration.

The temple is brought to life in Part III. Simplification of temple terminology is promoted. For example, "shrine" is suggested as a substitute for the more commonly used "cella." While this is a commendable idea for the novice, it adds another dimension to the already confusing vocabulary familiar to the more knowledgeable. The strength of this chapter is the stimulating discussion on how temples functioned, where known, while introducing ideas on the various ways they might have functioned.

Part IV, "Encounters with the Gods," explores the objects of worship, divine and human, temple functionaries and festivals and concludes with the context of the temple. Included is an interesting table, based on admittedly incomplete data, of the top ten "Temples and...