No temple was ever built within the Rhodian sanctuary of Zeus Atabyrios, whose open-air cult focused on a monumental altar. Excavated in 1926, the sanctuary has been recently studied by the Archaeological Institute of Aegean Studies in cooperation with the Polytechnic University of Bari. Thanks to the analysis of several architectural fragments reused in a Christian basilica and a monastery built on the same site, the altar has been now reconstructed as a “court altar” of Ionic type, accessible by a ramp. It dates back to the 3rd cent. B.C and is marked by an architectural scheme featuring elements analogous to those of the altar in the agora of Kos. Besides, a hestiatorion-thesauros has been identified nearby, through comparison with similar buildings in other sanctuaries. The overall architecture of the altar and some architectural aspects of the hestiatorion-thesauros, with the preference for simplified profiles and bossed surfaces, aim to create a sort of “naturalistic” look and find comparisons in rural buildings in Rhodes and in the Carian coast, revealing a deep interconnection between these areas.
The sanctuary of Zeus on Mount Atabyros in Rhodes: preliminary notes on its architecture / Livadiotti, Monica; Rocco, Giorgio. - STAMPA. - (2023), pp. 220-231. (Intervento presentato al convegno Religion and Cult in the Dodecanese during the first millennium BC tenutosi a Rodi (Grecia) nel 18-21 ottobre 2018).
The sanctuary of Zeus on Mount Atabyros in Rhodes: preliminary notes on its architecture
Monica Livadiotti
Writing – Original Draft Preparation
;
2023-01-01
Abstract
No temple was ever built within the Rhodian sanctuary of Zeus Atabyrios, whose open-air cult focused on a monumental altar. Excavated in 1926, the sanctuary has been recently studied by the Archaeological Institute of Aegean Studies in cooperation with the Polytechnic University of Bari. Thanks to the analysis of several architectural fragments reused in a Christian basilica and a monastery built on the same site, the altar has been now reconstructed as a “court altar” of Ionic type, accessible by a ramp. It dates back to the 3rd cent. B.C and is marked by an architectural scheme featuring elements analogous to those of the altar in the agora of Kos. Besides, a hestiatorion-thesauros has been identified nearby, through comparison with similar buildings in other sanctuaries. The overall architecture of the altar and some architectural aspects of the hestiatorion-thesauros, with the preference for simplified profiles and bossed surfaces, aim to create a sort of “naturalistic” look and find comparisons in rural buildings in Rhodes and in the Carian coast, revealing a deep interconnection between these areas.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
