A STUDY OF THE PERISTYLAR PLAN OF THE TEMPLE OF MESSENE AT ANCIENT MESSENE

Abstract

The Doric Temple of Messene at ancient Messene, Peloponnesos, was located in the southwest part of the Agora. It was excavated by the Society of Messenian Archaeological Studies from to 2003 until 2006. The authors participated in its field research and measured the site and blocks to make the drawings. The temple has been all ruined with remains of staircase of several steps on the west front and decades of architectural blocks. This short paper is to analyze the temple plan on its peristyle or its exterior colonnades based on the detailed study of the shape and dimensions of the block. Consequently, the present study brought the result that the temple had six columns in fronts and twelve on the sides. The lower column diameter was 0.808 m and the intercolumniation was 1.922 m. The staircase on the west did not belong to the main body of the temple but formed a somewhat Roman-type podium with nine steps, although it was basically used for the citizens to rise up to the temple easily. The architectural style of Doric temple had been already perfected in the Classical period. Thus, this temple is architecturally interesting from the viewpoint of transitional style of Doric order.