Have you ever been to Paestum? You can transport yourself there with a visit to our new exhibition, Piranesi and the Temples of Paestum: Drawings from Sir John Soane’s Museum bit.ly/1EClfuS Located in a malarial swamp, Paestum includes the remains of a former Greek colony that had been largely ignored until the mid-eighteenth century, when the rediscovery of Herculaneum and Pompeii aroused a new interest in the desolate site. It is particularly known for its three Doric temples, which are among the best-preserved examples of their kind: the Temple of Hera I, (ca. 550-30 B.C.), the Temple of Hera II (ca. 450 B.C.), and the Temple of Athena (ca. 500 B.C.). Aside from remaining archaeological evidence, little is known about the early centuries of Paestum, which was founded as Posedonia by Greek colonists around 600 B.C. Originally, eighteenth-century archaeologists mis-identified the structures. The Temple of Hera I, the oldest surviving temple in Paestum, was initially referred to as the Basilica, a Roman civic structure, until Greek inscriptions later revealed that the goddess Hera was worshipped there. The Temple of Hera II was thought to be a place of worship for the sea god, Neptune (or Poseidon, the Greek god for whom the colony was named), though it is now understood that the temple houses two altars, likely in tribute to Hera and Zeus. The Temple of Athena, located on the highest point of the town, was erroneously known by Piranesi and his contemporaries as the Temple of Ceres, until terracotta statuettes depicting the goddess Athena were uncovered.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 15:00:01 +0000
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