Three Buildings to Define Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is a complicated mess of warring Poleis, enigmatic leaders, foreign invasions, powerful kings, wicked tyrants and democracy (and all of that is before Phillip V and Alexander the Great even show up on the page of history).

The history of Ancient Greece is filled with famous buildings too. The labyrinthine Palace of Knossos, the citadel of Mycenae and the Temple of Zeus in Olympia (site of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world). But I think there are three "buildings" that help define Ancient Greece and its diverse culture, history and politics.

The Erechtheion

Caryatid from theBritish Museum

The Erechtheion was a temple on the north side of the Acropolis complex in the centre of Athens, named after a legendary king, Erechtheus who is mentioned in the Iliad. It was dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon and is home to the famous Porch of the Caryatids, six female statues used as columns.

The temple was the site of the holy relics of Athens. When the polis was founded Athena and Poseidon engaged in a competition to see who could give the city the best gift and thereby win the opportunity to name it. Poseidon striking the rock formed a well, giving the Polis access to the sea so it could come rich and powerful through trade. Athena created the olive tree as her gift, providing food and oil and allowing the city to grow rich. Athena won and named the city.

The Erectheion was the temple where the marks of Poseidon's trident could be found from the contest, Athena's olive tree and also the burial site of mythical kings. This one building was split into two, serving both the cults of Athena Polias and Poseidon Erectheus.

"Athene finished... and came to Marathon and the broad streets of Athens, 

where she entered the great palace of Erechtheus"

Homer The Odyssey Book 7.80

The building and the mythological items it held within tell the whole story of Athens. A city built on naval power and trade, which led to the city becoming, for a time, the strongest power in Ancient Greece. The Athenian navy spread out over the whole of the Aegean and their story starts in the Erechtheion.

The Walls of Sparta

The agoge school was founded by Sparta's legendary law maker Lycurgus, however it is more likely that the system evolved over the 7th and 6th centuries, as Sparta slowly formed into its classical martial state.

Degas Young Spartans Training fromNational Gallery

The "Walls of Sparta" are not actually a physical defensive boundary. They are a metaphorical building. Sparta was the only city in ancient Greece that did not have defensive walls, Lycurgus had demanded that Sparta's walls be demolished.

"A city will be well fortified which is surrounded by brave men and not by bricks"

Plutarch Life of Lycurgus Chapter 19

The "Walls of Sparta" were forged in the agoge school that trained Spartans males into being the feared fighting force that would dominate the Peloponnese. The symbolism of the "Walls" is shown through the history of Sparta, they were not afraid to move out of their territory to conquer and fight, with their city only guarded by their men.

The Omphalos of Delphi

The Oracle at Delphi is one of the most important sites of Ancient Greece, the place where Apollo killed the fearful Python. The oracle itself shows up in many tales, for example that of rich king Croesus of Lydia, who was told if he went to war a mighty empire would fall, only to find out it was his own.

"the judgement given to Croesus by each of the two oracles was the same:namely, that if he should send an army against the Persians he would destroy a great empire"

Herodotus The Histories Book 1 Chapter 53

However it is the Omphalos that is the important feature. Part of the temple, it marked the centre of the world and the bellybutton of Gaia, Goddess earth. The placing of the bellybutton of the world in Delphi, which is pretty much central Greece, shows remarkable understanding by the Greeks of their geographical place in the world.

Oracle of Dephi

The ancient Greeks spread out east over Asia Minor and west to Italy and Sicily. However, through all this colonisation and expansion, the many poleis knew where the centre of that world was. Not politically or militarily, but as a geographical understanding of their world, the Omphalos shows a sophistication of Greek learning that we still prize today.

 These three "buildings" help define a Greece that was as diverse as it was uniform and as sophisticated as it was archaic. An ancient world that defined itself and its place in history through its buildings.


Thanks for Reading
James