The partially restored Temple of Sangri
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Alternate name | Temple of Demeter at Sangri; Sanctuary of Gyroula in Sangri |
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Location | Sangri, Naxos, Greece |
Region | Cycladic Islands |
Coordinates | 37°1′45″N 25°25′57.2″E / 37.02917°N 25.432556°ECoordinates: 37°1′45″N 25°25′57.2″E / 37.02917°N 25.432556°E |
Type | Greek temple |
Length | 13.29 m (43.6 ft) |
Width | 12.73 m (41.8 ft) |
History | |
Material | Naxian marble |
Founded | c.530 BC |
Abandoned | 6th century AD |
Periods | Archaic Greece |
Cultures | Ancient Greek |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1976-1985 |
Archaeologists | Vassilis Lambrinoudakis and Gottfried Grubenas |
Condition | Restored |
Ownership | Greek government |
Public access | yes |
The Temple of Sangri is a Late Archaic Greek temple on the Cycladic island of Naxos in the area of Gyroulas, about 1.5 km south of Ano Sangri . The temple was built around 530 BC and is one of the earliest Ionic temples. It was built completely from Naxian marble.
The temple was built around 530 BC. Based on the finds, the sanctuary was probably dedicated to Demeter or perhaps Kore. For this reason and because of its unusual shape, the temple is often referred to as a telesterion. There are also indications of a cult to Apollo on the site. In the 6th century AD, the temple was largely demolished and a three-naved Christian basilica was built from the same stone on the same site.
The temple contains many unusual features. The ground plan is almost square (13.29 x 12.73 m), when Greek temples, especially in the archaic period are usually elongated. The facade was on the south side instead of the usual location on the east or (much more rarely) west side. The temple was built without a foundation platform (the Crepidoma), directly on top of the euthynteria, likewise there is no stylobate for the columns.
The facade was formed of five columns in antis. The columns are in the Samian style, but unfluted. Very unusually, the columns show a slight contraction in width with increasing height, whereas Archaic and Classical Greek columns as a rule increase in thickness towards the top (entasis). The leafy wreathed capitals were not carved in the round, but were instead painted onto the double echinus of the capitals, while the abacus was decorated with a band.