MR3

• Why were temples, priests and sacrifice so important to the Ancient Greeks and Romans?
• The sanctuary


  • Holy area in a city or town that contained a temple and an altar to a god
  • Separated from the rest of the city with a wall
  • Could have temples and altars to many gods, not just one
  • Often had a fresh water source at its entrance for people to wash their hands and feet
• Temple


  A building dedicated to a god and used to house the cult statue of that god
• Only the priests were allowed into the temple itself, therefore the majority of the population would never set foot inside the building
• Greek temple


  • Rectangular shape
  • Orientated east to west
  • Built on a solid foundation plinth that provided steps up to the temple
  • Colonnade stood on the foundation plinth and ran around the temple
  • Cella or naos housed the god's cult statue
  • Opisthodomos held treasure and offerings

  
• Temple decoration


  • Pediments - triangular space at either end that could contain sculpture
  • Ionic frieze - continuous strip of stone/marble that could tell a continuous story
  • Doric frieze - continuous strip of stone/marble divided into square spaces called metopes that could tell several stories
• Greek religious officials


  • Hiereus (priest)
  • Hiereia (priestess)
  • Mantis (prophet)
• Greek priesthood


  • Temporary role that required no special training
  • Could last for just one festival, a year, or for life
  • Responsible for undertaking and overseeing the correct ritual at the correct time and assisting in the upkeep of their temple
• The Greeks used soothsayers called manteis to predict the outcome of future events
• Sacrifice


  • Carefully planned ritual with several stages
  • Involved the killing of an animal as a blood sacrifice
  • Divided into preparation, the kill, and the sharing of the sacrifice
• Greek sacrifices


  • Hecatomb - 100 oxen killed as part of festivals like the Great Panathenaia and Olympic Games
• Greek sacrifice procedure


  1. Participants ensure they are clean and wear best clothes

  2. Animal prepared by gilding horns if it has any

  3. Procession leads animal to altar with attendants like a maiden carrying a basket

  4. Participants cleanse themselves again at the altar

  5. Fire lit

  6. Participants throw grain into fire

  7. Animal's throat cut and blood poured on altar

  8. God's portion of bones and fat burned on altar

  9. Entrails read for omens

  10. Meat cooked and shared with community

  11. Animal skin given to sanctuary
• Hesiods theogony, The myth of Prometheus, explains why the Greeks offered the sacrificial animal's bones wrapped in fat to the gods and kept the meat for their own consumption
• Roman religious officials


  • Pontiffs
  • Pontifex Maximus
  • Augurs/Augures
  • Vestal Virgins
• Roman sacrifice procedure


  • Participants wear clean/new clothing and adorn themselves with garlands
  • Animal had to appear willing and be physically perfect
  • Procession to altar included priest/pontifex, maiden with sacrificial basket, water carrier, incense bearer, aulos player
  • Animal supposed to follow willingly, frightened animals were a bad omen
  • Musician's playing was to soothe the animal
  • Circle of barley sprinkled around altar, animal, and participants
• Temples, priests and sacrifice were important to the Ancient Greeks and Romans as they were central to their religious beliefs and practices
• Sacrificial procession


  1. Priest/pontifex

  2. Maiden carrying sacrificial basket

  3. Water carrier

  4. Man carrying incense

  5. Aulos (flute) player
• Roman priest would veil his head with a toga before beginning the sacrifice
• Frightened victims were considered a bad omen and might mean the sacrifice had to start all over again
• The musician's playing was supposed to soothe the animal
• Preparing the sacrificial area


  1. Sprinkling circle of barley

  2. Carrying sacrificial basket and water vessel around the circle

  3. Lighting fire on the altar

  4. Participants purifying themselves by rinsing hands in water
• Preparing the victim


  1. Sprinkling victim with water

  2. Giving larger animals a drink of water
• Participants taking part


  1. Each participant taking a handful of barley from the sacrificial basket

  2. Participants tossing a handful of barley onto the altar and the victim
• Sacrificing the victim


  1. Sacrificer removing knife from sacrificial basket

  2. Sacrificer cutting a few hairs from the victim's forehead and throwing them onto the altar fire

  3. Victim raised over the altar and its throat cut

  4. Women present uttering a high-pitched cry
• Treating the victim's remains


  1. Collecting victim's blood in a basin and spraying it over the altar

  2. Skinning and butchering the victim

  3. Cutting off thighbones, wrapping in fat and burning on the altar

  4. Examining the entrails

  5. Piercing inner organs with forks and roasting on the altar fire

  6. Boiling and sharing the rest of the meat amongst the participants

  7. Laying out the inedible remains on the altar
• Cakes, broth, and other food offerings were burned along with the bones on the altar as offerings to the god
• The bright purple flame caused by the combustion of the wine poured over the fire was thought to signify that the god was present
• The Parthenon was part of the sanctuary to Athena on the Acropolis

  
• The Parthenon did not have its own altar or priest, probably because it was very close to the Erechtheion which was the main temple used for worshipping Athene
• The Parthenon was used mainly as a treasury but also as a monument to Athens' greatness
• Parthenon


  • Orientated east to west
  • Stood on a three-stepped base
  • Surrounded by a colonnade
  • Had a naos and an opisthodomos
  • Had a second frieze supported by columns that was 540 in length and went around the whole of the Parthenon
• The Parthenon's sculpture was a suitable choice for the Athenians

  
• Cult statue of Athene


  • 13 metres tall
  • Designed by Phidias
  • Added to Parthenon 438 BC
  • Made of gold and ivory
  • Situated in the naos

  
• The temple of Zeus was situated within the sanctuary of Olympia at Altis
• The altar's origin was not known but can be inferred from the account left by Pausanias that the altar was one of the oldest structures in Olympia

  
• The main sacrifice that Pausanias talks about was the sacrifice of 100 oxen that took place on the third day of the Olympics, called the hecatomb
• Temple of Zeus


  • Orientated east to west
  • Stood on a three-stepped base
  • Surrounded by a colonnade
  • Had a naos and an opisthodomos

  
• On the eastern pediment was the myth of Oinomaos and Pelops, with Zeus standing as judge in the centre
• The twelve labours of Heracles were sculpted onto the six eastern and six western metopes of Zeus' temple
• Cult statue of Zeus


  • 13 metres tall
  • Designed by Phidias
  • Added to temple in 448 BC
  • Made of gold and ivory
  • Carries a Nike statue in his right hand
  • Carries a sceptre with an eagle on top
  • Wears a highly decorated robe
  • Pool of olive oil at front of statue to help maintain the ivory and create shimmering reflection of the light