Examination procedure
<p>Seminar or written essay, to be defined with the professor</p>
Examination procedure notes
<p>During the teaching term, there are occasions for in-depth investigations about some topics of the discipline through readings and discussions about some essays and articles: students are invited to contribute to, according to their level. Didactic visits and training in museum and archaeological sites will permit to evaluate the level of learning and acquisition of notions.</p>
Prerequisites
The course is intended primarily for PhD students.
Syllabus
The course focuses on the main expressions of ancient architecture, with a particular emphasis on sacred architecture and the temple within a sanctuary. Reading excerpts from Marcus Vitruvius Pollio's De Architectura, the only technical and specialized treatise to survive among ancient sources, will familiarize students with certain theoretical issues, technical vocabulary, and aesthetic discussions, including the architects and monuments that are paradigmatic according to Vitruvius, from the Heraion of Samos to the Tholos of Delphi, from the Temple of Athena at Priene to the Arsenal of Piraeus, and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. This introductory section will be followed by an in-depth analysis of individual Mediterranean cases, from the Geometric to the Hellenistic periods, analyzing the methods and processes of construction in the ancient world, the peculiarities and characteristics of geographical areas, from Asia Minor to mainland Greece, Sicily, and Magna Graecia, and the specificities of certain sacred places, such as the Panhellenic sanctuaries in their agonistic dimension, expressed at times in athletic and musical competitions, at times in the pursuit of self-representation by cities and citizens through donations and votive offerings within the sacred space.
Bibliographical references
Alcock S.E., Osborne R. (a cura di), Placing the gods: sanctuaries and sacred space in ancient Greece, Oxford 1996;
Gruben G., Die inselionische Ordnung, in Des Courtils J., Moretti J.-Ch. (a cura di), Les grands ateliers d’architecture dans le monde égéen du VIe siècle av. J.C., Actes du colloque d’Istanbul, 23-25 mai 1991, Paris 1993, pp. 97-109
Gruben G., Griechische Tempel und Heiligtümer, München 2001
Hollinshead M.B., Adyton, opisthodomos, and the inner room of the Greek temple, in Hesperia 68, 1999, pp. 189-218
Mazarakis Ainian A.J., Early Greek Temples: their Origin and Function, in Hägg R., Marinatos N., Nordquist G.C. (a cura di), Early Greek Cult Practice. Proceedings of the fifth International symposium at the Swedish Institute in Athens, 26-29 June 1986, Stockholm 1988, pp. 104-119
Hägg R., Marinatos N. (a cura di), Sanctuaries and cults in the Aegean Bronze Age, Proceedings of the first International symposium at the Swedish Institute in Athens, 12-13 May 1980, Stockholm-Lund 1981
Lippolis E., Mysteria. Archeologia e culto del santuario di Demetra a Eleusi, Milano 2006
Marinatos N., Hagg R. (a cura di), Greek Sanctuaries: New Approaches, London 1993
Romano E., La capanna e il tempio: Vitruvio o dell'architettura, Palermo 1987