Designing the Temple of Athena at Assos

Recent investigations at the Temple of Athena at Assos, in northwestern Turkey, have brought to light 32 of the original 36 capitals belonging to the temple, most in good condition and found in positions which generally reflect their original placement on the building. Careful examination of the capitals provides new evidence for the way in which the architect(s) designed and supervised the temple's construction. The capitals fall neatly into three groups based on different sets of specifications for the height of each element, and their findspots confirm that each group belongs together on the building. Hence, we must discard the original excavators' conclusion that the capitals varied solely because the masons took a casual approach to the standard and that the differently-shaped capitals were placed haphazardly on the peristyle. Nor do considerations of Doric design explain the differences. The hypothesis of three workshops engaged simultaneously on the temple and using different sets of specifications seems implausible. Only one explanation is satisfactory: the differences among these three groups reflect intentional changes in the design; the groups represent a sequence of design phases, possibly corresponding to building campaigns. The overall resemblance of the capital groups indicates that the phases followed one another in fairly close succession. The changes do not necessarily imply discontinuity in the building program, but they do suggest experimentation within the Archaic model. The "earliest" looking capitals, in Group C, conform to the proportional rules for Archaic capitals proposed by J. J. Coulton; the other groups represent a modified scheme. Their respective placement on the temple suggests that work began at the eastern end and finished at the west. Stylistic differences observed in the sculpture of the architrave may be explained by reference to the same sequence of construction. Although the hypothesis of experimentation may not account for all the variations recognized in the capitals from a single Archaic building, this study cautions against allowing an apparent casualness of execution to obscure evidence of changes of intention, however subtle

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Temple · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Classical Antiquity Studies · History

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