Ancient Argive Temples

This blog is set in the time of the Archaic Period, a period that had just begun in 750 BCE, following the the classical "Dark Age." At this time, it seems there may have been a sharp incline in population as there seems to be an increased number of graves and grave sites throughout the Greek Peloponnese. The Archaic period also gave rise to the "polis" (which means city/town) and increasing precise territorial boundaries. As a result, with the increase of territorial boundaries came the creation of the tomb cult as a need to mark and allow land ownership. With the development of polises and tomb cult, there came the creation and development of the extra-urban sanctuaries especially along the Argive Polis. These temples (especially one dedicated to Hera) are the ones that will be looked at today.

The Heraion Argive Temple (a temple dedicated to Hera)

Here is the Heraion Argive (or what's left of it anyway)! This temple was located on the edge of the Argive Plain approximately 10 kilometers from Argos. In reference to page 135 of Classical Archaeology, the temple had been the place for civic rituals to have occurred. However, more importantly, Wikipedia states that the Temple was mentioned by Homer in the Iliad as Hera states her preference to the city of Argos. As a result, it seems that the temple may have existed as far back as Homer who may have lived in 850 BCE. Interestingly enough, Pausanias, a Greek traveler had also visited the Temple in the 2nd century BCE (Wikipedia). Pausanias was a geographer as well as a traveler who often made descriptions of Greece based on first-hand perspectives (Wikipedia).

Vocabulary
Temenos: A piece of land divided from the common people's land that assigned to the worshipping of a god or to a king.