Temple of Apollo Epikauros at Bassae
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The Temple of Apollo Epikourios at Bassae is a Doric-style Ancient Greek temple built at a now deserted area in the state of Phigaleia. The temple's remoteness has worked to its advantage. Whereas other temples like the Parthenon or Zeus at Olympia were destroyed or despoiled by war or forces from other religions, Apollo Epikauros was left untouched and as a result is in excellent form today. Due to its distance from major metropolitan areas it also has less of a problem with acid rain, which is effectively dissolving the Parthenon at an alarming rate. Evidence suggests that there was once a small community living there which was most likely wiped out by a plague. It is likely that the temple was dedicated to Apollo in gratitude for his relieving them from a plague - epikauros means "healer".
The temple was under construction from approximately 430 BC to 407 BC (which is during the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta), although evidence suggests part of it was added on later. The temple was designed by Iktinos, the esteemed architect of the Parthenon. While most temples face east to west, this one faces north. The reason for this is the lack of land that high up in the mountains; the site of the temple is at an elevation of 3710 feet. As a result a door was built into the east side to enable worshippers to face that direction.
Local generic limestone was used in the building's construction, due to lack of enough funds for more valuable marble. This trivia was noted by Pausanias, a reputed second-century AD travel writer who explored much of Greece including this temple, and whose works are still read today.
The temple measures 48 feet by 126 feet around the stylobate. This is a fairly small temple, quite dwarfed by the Parthenon or the colossal Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. It is a hexastyle temple, meaning it has 6 columns across the front. It also has a peristyle (an encircling columned porch), and two extending antae (walls) between which two columns stand. Like most major temples it has three "rooms" or porches: the pronaos, plus a naos and an opisthodomos. The naos most likely once housed a cult statue, which has long since disappeared.
The temple is sparsely decorated on the outside, most likely according to regional custom. The pediments are both empty and there are metopes carved on the porch ends showing Heracles in battle with Amazons and the Lapiths engaged in battle with Centaurs. These metope allegories represent the Greeks' success in battle and the conflict between their supposed civilisation and barbarianism.
The inside of the temple is unusual in that it contains a whole cross-section of classical architectural orders: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. Furthermore, half columns were fitted along the temple walls for decoration, the capitals and bases of which are Corinthian. The Corinthian order is unusual in structures of this era; it did not flourish until the zenith of the Roman Empire. The inside of the temple also has a continuous frieze, which is an Ionic feature.
Although this temple is remote and comparatively insignificant compared to others, it is one of the most studied ancient Greek temples because of its multitude of unusual features.
