“The Great Temple of Apollo on Naxos”
The great temple of Apollo on Naxos, as it would be, if its construction had not stopped.
Digital model by D. Agathopoulos ©2021, after drawings and instructions by M. Korres, based on the studies of G. Gruben.
Around 535 BC, a marble temple of Apollo was under construction on the small peninsula of the port of Naxos with dimensions unprecedented for the Cyclades. Ten years later the work stopped abruptly before the huge foundation of the exterior colonnade was even completed.
With the predominance of Christianity, the unfinished cella (the enclosed chamber) was transformed into a church. Later, mainly during the Frankish occupation, almost all the marble blocks, whole or cut into various sizes, were reused in the Castle and the buildings inside. Thus, only the giant door ("Portara") remained in its place, to intrigue the imagination and to inspire the admiration and scientific curiosity of the educated travelers.
In 1923 G. Welter revealed and interpreted the foundations of the cella. In 1968-1971 G. Gruben, assisted by W. Koenigs, studied the previously unknown foundations of the exterior colonnade and composed a restored plan, which also includes parts that were never carried out due to the cessation of construction.
The digital model was made (2021) by D. Agathopoulos after drawings and instructions by M. Korres, based on the studies of G. Gruben. Since the outer columns were never made, they are presented here in their most probable form: Ionic without volutes. In the pronaos (the space in front of the monumental doorway) most probably the columns should have been fashioned with volute-capitals.
Main dimensions: width and length of stylobate 26x56m. Axial spacings of external columns (and corresponding lengths of the architraves) 4.85m and 4.93m. Diameter of external columns at the base 1.77m, Diameter of columns in the pronaos, but also of their counterparts at the other end of the cella, 1.55m. Diameter of columns inside the cella 1.77m. Height of columns 10.5m. Square ionic capitals 1.77x1.77x0.65. Length of volute- capitals 2.20m. Thickness of side walls and antae 1.36m.
Dimitris Agathopoulos collaborated intensively with Manolis Korres for five months to produce the final 3D model of the temple on Naxos. A 3D animated short video of the temple was exhibited at the National Museum of Contemporary Art (ΕΜΣΤ) in Athens during the International Exhibition of Architecture and Contemporary Art, 'Symbols and Iconic Ruins,' which took place from May to October 2021. This exhibition was part of Greece’s official celebrations for the 200th anniversary of the Revolution of 1821.
Exhibition Link: https://www.emst.gr/en/exhibitions-en/symbols-and-iconic-ruins
https://www.citylab.edu.gr/symbols
Subsequently, the video of the temple also exhibited in 'SYMBOLS II: Memory,' the International Exhibition of Architecture and Contemporary Art, hosted at five historical landmarks in the Old Town of Chania: the KAM, the Giali Mosque, the Sabbionara Gate, the chapel of Agios Rocco, and the Hammam on Katre Street, from May to June 2023.
Exhibition Link: https://www.chania-culture.gr/services/events/ekthesi/symbols-ii-memory/
