Many temples and sanctuaries have been discovered throughout the Mediterranean region that were dedicated to the god Apollo, including Delphi, Bassae and Epidaurus in Greece, Pompeii in Italy, and Didyma in present-day Turkey. However, the Temple of Apollo at Corinth in Greece is one of the oldest temples dedicated to this god and is even one of the oldest temples in Greece in general. It is also unique in that its dedication to Apollo has been in question for centuries, as well as its functions in given time periods.
The temple of which remains still stand today was built around 560 B.C.E., while the majority of other temples to Apollo were built a century later. This structure was built over the site of an even older temple built in the 7th century B.C.E., which was one of the first temples to have a tile roof rather than thatch. Worship of Apollo was in fact present in Corinth as early as the 7th century B.C.E.
Dedication to Apollo
The first excavator of the site of this temple was Wilhelm Dorpfield in 1886. At that time Dorpfield considered the identification of this Archaic temple unknown, and it was simply known as the “Old Temple.” After other discoveries in the area in 1897, the area referred to as “Temple Hill” and the temple itself were related to the writings of Pausanias, a 2nd century C.E. geographer responsible for the “Description of Greece.” Therefore, by 1898, the temple was identified as one to Apollo. Pausanias’ description provided evidence suggesting this temple was dedicated to Apollo:
“Upon leaving the agora by another road, the one toward Sikyon, it is possible to see on the right of the road a temple and a bronze statue of Apollo and a little further on a fountain named for Glauke…Beyond this fountain has also been constructed what is known as the Odeion…”
His description also goes on to mention a theater in the immediate area. This description as a whole fits the area of this temple entirely, and the late 19th century excavations included a discovery of a roadway to Sikyon leading toward Acrocorinth and passing to the east of the temple, putting the temple to Pausanias’ right, as he wrote. The bronze statue mentioned is also a very good indicator of its dedication.
Temple Description and Dimensions
The temple that remains at this site in Corinth today is the most striking structure in the area, at least from antiquity. The temple’s architecture is that of the Doric style, its large limestone columns over 20 feet tall (7 meters) and each including 20 flutes. The temple was also considered hexastyle, with the portico on each end having six columns and 13 columns standing along each side of the structure. Only seven columns are left standing where a total of 38 once stood, the five creating the corner still supporting part of the architrave. Another four columns lie where they fell, and the foundations of four others are present, those columns having been destroyed for a new building. On the fallen columns there is evidence of plaster from a Roman restoration.
Apollo, Artemis or Treasury
The interior had two rows of columns for support and two unequal chambers divided by a wall – one room faced east, with another smaller chamber behind it. The western chamber could have held some sacred treasure, and the temple was probably used as a place for dedications of a winner of games. However, also in the western chamber the foundations of a statue base were found near the interior wall. This chamber could have possibly housed a cult statue of another deity, perhaps Apollo’s sister, Artemis, suggesting a double cult temple. Also a possibility is that the earlier 7th century B.C.E. temple was originally dedicated to the goddess Athena or others, and this later temple was solely for Apollo. Based on other similar temples, including the Parthenon, it is more likely this temple’s smaller western chamber was simply used as a treasury.
Temple’s Significance to Corinth
During excavations, the earlier temple, destroyed probably around 580 B.C.E., has given clues about the later temple as well. One of the earliest inscriptions found from Corinth was on a limestone block that listed sacrifices for a given month, such as “four pigs.” This block, discovered in 1898, was later linked with other blocks found in 1970. These blocks likely made up an exterior wall of the first Archaic temple at that site. Other similar sacrificial calendars on a lead tablet were found shortly after at the same excavation that mentioned offering an ox. No other such calendars were found anywhere else in Corinth, suggesting that maybe the temple, at least the earlier one, was used as a storehouse for state religious documents.
Unfortunately, no names of specific deities are mentioned on these calendars, but they are at least evidence of the importance of the temple to have such a prominent calendar, which further suggests the likelihood of this temple’s dedication to Apollo, a very important deity to the ancient Greeks.
Sources:
Blue Guide Greece: The Mainland. New York: WW Norton and Company, Inc., 2006.
Bookidis, Nancy and Stroud, Ronald S. “Apollo and the Archaic Temple at Corinth.” Hesperia, Vol. 73, No. 3 (July – Sep., 2004), pp. 401-426.
Powell, Benjamin. “The Temple of Apollo at Corinth.” American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Jan. – March, 1905), pp. 44-63.
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