The Temple of Athena at Sounion and Early Classical Ionic Architecture

FAIN: FA-55268-10

Barbara Barletta
University of Florida (Gainesville, FL 32611-0001)

This project entails the completion of research and the writing of a book on the Temple of Athena at Sounion (Greece). It will be the first complete publication of the remains of a temple that stands at the forefront of the architectural change in Athens from strictly Doric to both Doric and Ionic orders. This change is often interpreted as a political statement, but my previous research on the architectural orders points instead to other factors, specifically the increasing exposure of Greeks to more distant parts of their world and a resulting openness to new ideas. The significance of this temple extended also to the Roman period, when it was dismantled and many of its parts were moved to the Athenian Agora, to be re-erected in a prominent location. My publication will elucidate not only this temple but also, more generally, motivations for architectural change and the impact of fifth-century B.C.E. architecture in the Roman period.