Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece: history, architect, photo

Among the twelve gods of Olympus, each of whom patronized a certain area of life of the ancient Greeks, care for marriage and motherhood fell to the lot of Hera - the wife, and on a number of sources, and the sister of Zeus himself. It can not be said that this person was distinguished by a quiet and benevolent temper. On the contrary, the myths depict her as a jealous, imperious, and sometimes cruel lady. Temple of Hera in Olympia, whose ruins have become a kind of tourist Mecca, serves as a monument to it.

Where in the world did the Olympics come from?

The Temple of Hera in Olympia, the reconstruction of which took place with the participation of UNESCO specialists, is located in the legendary place where the Olympic Games began their journey across the globe. This is not difficult to guess from the very name of the city. Also a testament to this is the tradition that guides invariably tell curious tourists.

Once the god of time, Kronos, an absurd and evil old man, was angry for something about his young son Zeus. To save the future Thunderer from his father's anger, three brothers came from Crete. The oldest of them, as it turned out later, was called Hercules. Nashodivshego youth brothers hid in the sacred grove Altis, and themselves, to kill time, began to compete in the race.

Victory went to Hercules, and he was awarded a wreath of wild olive. Subsequently, the area in which the sacred grove was located, was named Olympia, and the innocent fun of the brothers gave rise to the international Olympic movement. In this regard, the temple of Hera in Olympia has become one of the most famous ancient sanctuaries.

Temple, worthy of the goddess

The Temple of Hera in Olympia, whose history is almost three millennia, is today one of the earliest monumental buildings of Ancient Greece. It is located on the southern slope of the hill, called Kroni, and is separated from it by a powerful walled terrace. The site for the construction of the sanctuary was chosen in the northwestern part of that sacred grove Altis, where the first Olympic victory was won by Hercules.

Ancient Greek writer and geographer Pausanius attributed the erection of this sanctuary to 1096 BC, however, as it follows from his work, it is a speech about a different construction, standing on the site of the present ruins. It was also the temple of Hera in Olympia, the description of which draws us a structure distinguished by strictness and completeness of lines. It consisted of an internal part called cella, as well as a pronaos - a small annex in front of the building - a sort of vestibule.

Sanctuary, turned into a museum

Columns, without which the ancient Greek architects did not think of their art, were originally made of valuable wood species, mainly Lebanese cedar, but then replaced with stone ones. In general, over the long centuries of its existence, the temple of Hera in Olympia has been rebuilt many times, and today the guides tell of at least six of its known constructions.

This continued until the Romans turned it into an ordinary museum, where all sorts of historical curiosities were brought. We can not say that they were indifferent to marriage and motherhood, but they had this sphere of life knew by another goddess - Juno, who pushed into the background the temple of Hera in Olympia. The order, according to which it was built, and it was a vivid example of the classical Corinthian style, only gave solidity to the Roman museum.

Contests dedicated to the goddess

The Temple of Hera in Olympia was a witness of a very peculiar rituals performed in honor of the goddess, revered by all. Pausanias, for example, tells how, just in four years, the sixteen of the most skillful weavers of Greece gathered in the temple and weaved garments for Hera. Between them there was competition - something like modern contests "Best in the profession." But this program was not limited to ritual.

The next stage was the running competitions at the Olympic Stadium, called "gerei". Only women participated in them. Participants, broken down by age categories, started in groups - beginning with very young girls and ending with ladies of very respectable age. The historian writes that both grandmothers and granddaughters ran though different distances, but in the same short tunics that do not reach the knees, with loose hair and a bare left breast.

Obviously, this spectacle was very much liked by the goddess, because marriages were regular, and the fertility of the Greek women could only be envied. The winner of the race was waiting for the coveted prize - she was given half of the sacrificial cow, and also the right to decorate the temple of Hera in Olympia with her own statuette with the corresponding inscription was given. Today, among the ruins of the temple for tourists, theatrical performances are held in memory of those old competitions.

Sculptural decoration of the temple

As evidenced by archeologists, in the center of the temple there was a sculpture of Hera herself, who sat on the throne. In its original form it did not reach our days, but according to the surviving fragments, it can be assumed that its height reached three meters. Near the throne was placed a manly figure carved in full growth. Her belonging causes controversy among researchers. On a number of grounds, it could have been the image of Zeus, Hera's husband, but some scholars believe that this is her son Ares.

If it is difficult to judge the artistic merits of this composition in view of the fact that only a few fragments have been preserved from it, another statue, which for centuries kept the temple of Hera in Olympia, is an acknowledged masterpiece. This is a sculpture of Hermes with the baby Dionysus in the hands of the Praxiteles - an outstanding ancient Greek sculptor of the IV century BC. It is important to note that this work was performed in a single copy and does not have copies or analogs, as a rule, made by ancient masters.

Collection of works by masters of ancient Sparta

The Temple of Hera in Olympia, whose architect, to our great regret, remained unknown, during the heyday of Ancient Greece was the richest collection of sculptures made of ivory and gold. This we also learn from the works of Pausanias. He was filled with images of the celestials that inhabited Olympus and were indispensable heroes of mythology.

Among them one could see the warlike Athena with a helmet and with a spear in his hand, Horus the divine ruler of the Sun, sky and seasons, depicted as a man with a hawk's head, as well as beautiful nymphs - Gasperid, keeper of golden apples, and many others whose The names were familiar to every inhabitant of that era. Most of the works belonged to the masters of the warlike Sparta, which refutes the prevailing opinion about the undeveloped art among its people.

The Temple of Hera in Olympia was a place where a unique casket was kept, which is not only an outstanding work of decorative and applied art, but also a historical relic. A legend is associated with it, which is mentioned in his writings by another ancient Greek historian, Herodotus.

The Legend of the Lame Bride

It says that among the inhabitants of Corinth - a very ancient Greek city - there was a certain girl named Labda, who was the daughter of the local king Amphion. Despite such a high background, she could not find a decent groom, because she was not only angry and quarrelsome, but also lame, for which everyone laughed at her.

Of course, she worried, spending days and nights in sobbing. As a result, in order not to torment the girl, she was married to a commoner. And on the eve of the wedding, the court oracle publicly predicted that a son would be born from this marriage, which would avenge the residents of the city for the tears of his mother.

Vindictive young man

The Oracle knew what he was saying, and at the appointed time a boy appeared who received the name Kipsel. Townspeople, generally blindly believing all kinds of predictions, the crowd came to the palace to kill the newborn. And this is where the very casket made of cedar, decorated with ivory and gold embossing, appears on the stage.

It was in him that the desperate mother hid her first-born, which saved his life. Needless to say, having reached the age of maturity, having ascended to the throne and becoming the first Corinthian tyrant, Kipsel lived up to universal expectations, flooding the city with blood. The casket, which served the Corinthians so badly, was then placed in the temple of Hera as a reminder of what political short-sightedness might lead to.

Ruins - a monument of the former greatness

Time, earthquake that happened in the IV century, and most importantly, the historical cataclysms, witnessed by the ancient Hellas, did their thing. Today, the temple of Hera in Olympia, the photo of which is presented in the article, is a venerable ruins, surrounded by bright southern vegetation. Tourists can see only the foundation with the remains of the once powerful orthostat - a series of vertically laid slabs that surrounded the basement of the building, and several columns.

Part of them managed to stand and, towering among the ruins, serves as a reminder of the former greatness. The rest cover the earth with their debris. The Temple of Hera in Olympia (Greece) was the victim of the most ruthless of the celestials - the god of time Kronos.