Apollo, the God of Light, decides to travel through the Greek mountains and find the most special spot for his new home. Wandering around the landscape of ancient Arcadia in Peloponnese, he arrives early in the morning at Bassae, upon a rough mountain ridge with small plateaus around it. The light he saw falling on the landscape was exactly what he was looking for!
Lace up your boots and follow his routes!
The temple of Apollo Epicurious, built around the last quarter of the 5th century B.C. in the mountainous landscape of Bassae (Phigaleia, Peloponnese, Greece) is the first Greek monument that was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1986. A temple remarkable for its architectural features, as its architect Ictinus, who was also one of the architects of the Parthenon in Athens, merged it to its landscape through several design innovations. This is the earliest monument which creatively combines the three Greek architectural orders: the Doric, the Ionian and the Corinthian. The most important innovation was the replacing of the deity’s statue with the earliest known Corinthian capital and illuminating it through an open door at the adyton, a room inside the temple where no light was ever allowed to enter.
The name Epicurious means “helper” in Greek and it was attributed to him by the inhabitants of the area who considered Apollo had helped them get through a difficult period, when they faced a severe plague at some point.
References
a) For Students: If you Want to Learn More
- UNESCO listing - Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/392/
- Aerial and ground views before installing the canopy: https://www.mcgill.ca/classics/mccullagh-archive/greek-world/bassae
- Aerial and ground contemporary views: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2erY4CaCQ8k
- Greek Ministry of Culture listing: http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/eh251.jsp?obj_id=1142
- Mount Lykaion and Zeus’ Sanctuary: https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/excavating-at-the-birthplace-of-zeus/
b) Visual Sources
- Contemporary views of Lykaion and the Apollo Epicurius Temple: Kapadoukaki E., Soumas M. Documentation, Personal Archive, 2013-2017.
- Acropolis restoration service: https://www.ysma.gr
- A closer look at the Acropolis restoration: https://www.ysma.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/slider_3.jpg
- Abu Simbel restoration images: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Simbel#/media/File:Abusimbel.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Simbel#/media/File:Abu_Simbel_relocation_by_Zureks.jpg
c) Other Sources
- Svolopoulos D., The Temple of Apollo Epicurious at Bassae: Architectural study, Ministry of Culture, C.C.T.A.E., Athens 1995.
Kalli T., The Temple of Epicurious Apollo: Travel through space and time, Athens 2000. - Cooper F.A., The temple of Apollo Bassitas, American School of Classical Studies at Athens, Princeton 1992-1996.
- Scully V.J., The earth, the temple, and the gods: Greek sacred architecture, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1962.
- Abu Simbel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Simbel
