Thermos (Aetolia)
Encyclopedia
Thermos was an ancient Greek
sanctuary, which served as the regular meeting place of the Aetolian League
. Its focal point was the temple of Apollo
Thermios famous for the archaic terra cotta
metopes
decorated with painted scenes from mythology
which are among the earliest examples of this art form in Greece
.
Thermos was already an important regional centre in the prehistoric
period: a long apsidal building (with one rounded end -'Megaron
A'), elliptical and square houses with finds of pottery in the Middle Helladic
tradition together with imports of high quality Mycenaean pottery
can all be dated to the Late Helladic IIA period c. 1500 BC. This settlement continued to flourish throughout the Mycenaean period
, even after the destruction of the Mycenaean palaces (LH IIIC, 1200-1100 BC) when a fine krater
(large bowl) decorated with warriors in the same style as the well-known Warrior Vase found by Heinrich Schliemann
at Mycenae
was brought to the site.
A large rectangular building (Megaron B) which underlies the Temple of Apollo was long thought to demonstrate the hypothetical development of the Archaic Greek temple form from the Mycenaean palace with the addition of a peristyle
(or surrounding colonnade
). Recent excavations, however, conducted by Professor I. Papapostolou for the Archaeological Society of Athens
(Archaiologike Etairia Athenon) have demonstrated that a) the building is likely to have been constructed after the end of the Mycenaean period c. 1000-900 BC; b) that the curious horseshoe shaped setting of stone slabs which appeared to surround the Megaron was only put in place after the Megaron had gone out of use and c) that the burnt stratum with the typical offerings of the later Geometric period (800-700 BC), attested at many Greek sanctuary sites such as Olympia
and Delphi
, intervenes between the slabs and the foundations of the Archaic temple which carried the painted metopes. Thus, although the site of the temple was obviously of special importance from at least the end of the Mycenaean period, there is no demonstrable architectural continuity.
Thermos was not a city in the sense of a built-up urban centre like Athens
, Argos
or Corinth
and until a late date the Aetolian League was a loose association with a tribal basis rather than a group of city-state
s. It is not known whether the sanctuary had a formal boundary before the Hellenistic period when substantial fortification walls with gates and towers were built on three sides of the enclosure. At the same time, three long stoas (verandah
-like halls) were built within the precinct and the spring just to the south of the temple (perhaps the original reason for the location of the site) was enclosed to form a fine stone-lined pool.
The Aetolia
ns at this period embellished the sanctuary with astonishing numbers of bronze dedicatory statues but today only a few fragments - fingers and toes or horse's hooves - as well as the marble bases on which they stood, survive to illustrate this wealth. Unfortunate political alliances led to the sack of the site first by the King Philip V of Macedon
during the Social War
of 220-217 BC and then by the Romans
in 189 BC which effectively ended its existence.
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
sanctuary, which served as the regular meeting place of the Aetolian League
Aetolian League
The Aetolian League was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered on Aetolia in central Greece. It was established, probably during the early Hellenistic era, in opposition to Macedon and the Achaean League. Two annual meetings were held in Thermika and Panaetolika...
. Its focal point was the temple of Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
Thermios famous for the archaic terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
metopes
Metope (architecture)
In classical architecture, a metope is a rectangular architectural element that fills the space between two triglyphs in a Doric frieze, which is a decorative band of alternating triglyphs and metopes above the architrave of a building of the Doric order...
decorated with painted scenes from mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
which are among the earliest examples of this art form in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
.
Thermos was already an important regional centre in the prehistoric
Prehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
period: a long apsidal building (with one rounded end -'Megaron
Megaron
The megaron is the great hall of the Grecian palace complexes. It was a rectangular hall, fronted by an open, two-columned porch, and a more or less central, open hearth vented though an oculus in the roof above it and surrounded by four columns. It is the architectural predecessor of the...
A'), elliptical and square houses with finds of pottery in the Middle Helladic
Helladic period
Helladic is a modern archaeological term meant to identify a sequence of periods characterizing the culture of mainland ancient Greece during the Bronze Age. The term is commonly used in archaeology and art history...
tradition together with imports of high quality Mycenaean pottery
Mycenaean pottery
Mycenaean pottery is the pottery, produced by Mycenaean potters and divided by archaeologists into a series of stylistic phases, which can be grouped into four major stages, which roughly correspond with cultural/historical stages.-Mycenaean Culture:...
can all be dated to the Late Helladic IIA period c. 1500 BC. This settlement continued to flourish throughout the Mycenaean period
Mycenaean Greece
Mycenaean Greece was a cultural period of Bronze Age Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese of southern Greece. Athens, Pylos, Thebes, and Tiryns are also important Mycenaean sites...
, even after the destruction of the Mycenaean palaces (LH IIIC, 1200-1100 BC) when a fine krater
Krater
A krater was a large vase used to mix wine and water in Ancient Greece.-Form and function:...
(large bowl) decorated with warriors in the same style as the well-known Warrior Vase found by Heinrich Schliemann
Heinrich Schliemann
Heinrich Schliemann was a German businessman and amateur archaeologist, and an advocate of the historical reality of places mentioned in the works of Homer. Schliemann was an archaeological excavator of Troy, along with the Mycenaean sites Mycenae and Tiryns...
at Mycenae
Mycenae
Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 11 km to the south; Corinth, 48 km to the north...
was brought to the site.
A large rectangular building (Megaron B) which underlies the Temple of Apollo was long thought to demonstrate the hypothetical development of the Archaic Greek temple form from the Mycenaean palace with the addition of a peristyle
Peristyle
In Hellenistic Greek and Roman architecture a peristyle is a columned porch or open colonnade in a building surrounding a court that may contain an internal garden. Tetrastoon is another name for this feature...
(or surrounding colonnade
Colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....
). Recent excavations, however, conducted by Professor I. Papapostolou for the Archaeological Society of Athens
Archaeological Society of Athens
The Archaeological Society of Athens is an independent learned society. Also termed the Greek Archaeological Society, it was founded in 1837, just a few years after the establishment of the modern Greek State, with the aim of encouraging archaeological excavations, maintenance, care and exhibition...
(Archaiologike Etairia Athenon) have demonstrated that a) the building is likely to have been constructed after the end of the Mycenaean period c. 1000-900 BC; b) that the curious horseshoe shaped setting of stone slabs which appeared to surround the Megaron was only put in place after the Megaron had gone out of use and c) that the burnt stratum with the typical offerings of the later Geometric period (800-700 BC), attested at many Greek sanctuary sites such as Olympia
Olympia, Greece
Olympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC...
and Delphi
Delphi
Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
, intervenes between the slabs and the foundations of the Archaic temple which carried the painted metopes. Thus, although the site of the temple was obviously of special importance from at least the end of the Mycenaean period, there is no demonstrable architectural continuity.
Thermos was not a city in the sense of a built-up urban centre like Athens
Classical Athens
The city of Athens during the classical period of Ancient Greece was a notable polis of Attica, Greece, leading the Delian League in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta and the Peloponnesian League. Athenian democracy was established in 508 BC under Cleisthenes following the tyranny of Hippias...
, Argos
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
or Corinth
Ancient Corinth
Corinth, or Korinth was a city-state on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece, roughly halfway between Athens and Sparta. The modern town of Corinth is located approximately northeast of the ancient ruins...
and until a late date the Aetolian League was a loose association with a tribal basis rather than a group of city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
s. It is not known whether the sanctuary had a formal boundary before the Hellenistic period when substantial fortification walls with gates and towers were built on three sides of the enclosure. At the same time, three long stoas (verandah
Verandah
A veranda or verandah is a roofed opened gallery or porch. It is also described as an open pillared gallery, generally roofed, built around a central structure...
-like halls) were built within the precinct and the spring just to the south of the temple (perhaps the original reason for the location of the site) was enclosed to form a fine stone-lined pool.
The Aetolia
Aetolia
Aetolia is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania.-Geography:...
ns at this period embellished the sanctuary with astonishing numbers of bronze dedicatory statues but today only a few fragments - fingers and toes or horse's hooves - as well as the marble bases on which they stood, survive to illustrate this wealth. Unfortunate political alliances led to the sack of the site first by the King Philip V of Macedon
Philip V of Macedon
Philip V was King of Macedon from 221 BC to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of Rome. Philip was attractive and charismatic as a young man...
during the Social War
Social War
The Allied War was a war waged from 91 to 88 BC between the Roman Republic and several of the other cities in Italy, which prior to the war had been Roman allies for centuries.-Origins:The Early Italian campaigns saw the Roman conquest of Italy...
of 220-217 BC and then by the Romans
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
in 189 BC which effectively ended its existence.
External Links
- Perseus Site Catalogue.
- Prehistoric Thermon.
- Polybius Histories Book 28.
- Planetware "Temple of Apollo".
- The League of the Aitolians by John D. Grainger
See also
- Thermo, GreeceThermo, GreeceThermo is a municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece. It is located in the southeastern part of the peripheral unit, largely between Lake Trichonida and the southern border of Evrytania. It has a land area of 333.701 km² and a 2001 census population of 9,299 inhabitants. Its municipal seat...