List of Ancient Greek temples

Terminology

Most ancient Greek temples were rectangular, and were approximately twice as long as they were wide, with some notable exceptions such as the enormous Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens with a length of nearly 2 1/2 times its width. A number of surviving temple-like structures are circular, and are referred to as tholos.

The smallest temples are less than 25 metres (approx. 75 feet) in length, or in the case of the circular tholos, in diameter. The great majority of temples are between 30–60 metres (approx. 100–200 feet) in length. A small group of Doric temples, including the Parthenon, are between 60–80 metres (approx. 200–260 feet) in length. The largest temples, mainly Ionic and Corinthian, but including the Doric Temple of the Olympian Zeus, Agrigento, were between 90–120 metres (approx. 300–390 feet) in length.

The temple rises from a stepped base or "stylobate", which elevates the structure above the ground on which it stands. Early examples, such as the Temple of Zeus, Olympia, have two steps, but the majority, like the Parthenon, have three, with the exceptional example of the Temple of Apollo, Didyma, having six. The core of the building is a masonry-built "naos" within which is a cella, a windowless room originally housing the statue of the god. The cella generally has a porch or "pronaos" before it, and perhaps a second chamber or "antenaos" serving as a treasury or repository for trophies and gifts. The chambers were lit by a single large doorway, fitted with a wrought iron grill. Some rooms appear to have been illuminated by skylights.

On the stylobate, often completely surrounding the naos, stand rows of columns. Each temple is defined as being of a particular type, with two terms: one describing the number of columns across the entrance front, and the other defining their distribution.

Examples:

Distyle in antis describes a small temple with two columns at the front, which are set between the projecting walls of the pronaos or porch, like the Temple of Nemesis at Rhamnus.(see left, figure 1.)

Amphiprostyle tetrastyle describes a small temple that has columns at both ends which stand clear of the naos. Tetrastyle indicates that the columns are four in number, like those of the Temple on the Ilissus in Athens.(Figure 4.)

Peripteral hexastyle describes a temple with a single row of peripheral columns around the naos, with six columns across the front, like the Theseion in Athens. (Figure 7.)

Peripteral octastyle describes a temple with a single row of columns around the naos, (Figure 7.) with eight columns across the front, like the Parthenon, Athens.(Figs. 6 and 9.)

Dipteral decastyle describes the huge temple of Apollo at Didyma, with the naos surrounded by a double row of columns, (Figure 6.) with ten columns across the entrance front.

The Temple of the Olympian Zeus, Agrigento, is termed Pseudo-periteral heptastyle, because its encircling colonnade has pseudo columns that are attached to the walls of the naos. (Figure 8.) Heptastyle means that it has seven columns across the entrance front.

Note:

Precise measurements are not available for all buildings. Some have foundations that are intact and have been well surveyed so that the dimensions can be stated with accuracy. For others the size can only be estimated from scant remains. In these cases, in converting, measurements are stated to the nearest whole number. Some measurements may have been made originally in feet, converted to metres for publication, and converted back to feet for this article, with slight differences from some older publication.

The list

Sorting behaviour (by column #):

1. Towns' alphabetical order
2. Towns by region (A-Greece, B-Turkey, C-Italy, D-Italy/Sicily)
3. By coordinates
4. By the deity’s name
5. By date
6. By area size
7. By temple style (1-Doric, 2-Doric with Ionic or Corinthian elements, 3-Ionic, 4-Corinthian)