Temples & Their Architecture
What Was a Temple For?
When a Greek or Roman worshipper approached a temple, they were not entering a place of communal prayer in the way a modern churchgoer might. The cella — the inner room — was the private home of the god, accessible mainly to priests. Worshippers gathered outside at the altar, which stood in the open air in front of the temple entrance. The temple’s primary function was to provide a magnificent dwelling for the deity and to house the cult statue. Its grandeur was itself an act of worship, a visible statement of piety and civic pride.
A Greek temple typically consisted of three zones: the pronaos (entrance porch), the cella (inner chamber housing the cult statue), and sometimes an opisthodomos (rear porch, often used as a treasury). The altar stood outside the temple, usually in front of the entrance.
The Three Architectural Orders
Greek architects developed three distinct systems of design, each identified primarily by the style of its column and capital. The Doric order is the oldest and most austere. Its columns rise directly from the temple platform with no base, taper upward and are crowned by a plain, circular capital topped by a square slab. The overall effect is one of weight and power. The Ionic order is lighter and more elegant. Ionic columns stand on a moulded base, and their capitals are decorated with a pair of distinctive scroll-like spirals called volutes. The Corinthian order, rarely used on Greek temple exteriors but popular in the Roman world, features tall, slender columns and elaborately carved capitals decorated with acanthus leaves.
Greek architects generally used a single order throughout a building. They placed the greatest temples — including the Parthenon and the Temple of Zeus at Olympia — in the Doric order, reflecting a preference for strength and solemnity. Roman architects were bolder about mixing orders and developed the Composite capital, blending Ionic volutes with Corinthian acanthus leaves. Roman temples also typically raised the building on a high podium, so that the dramatic frontal staircase became the only point of entry — very different from Greek temples, which could be approached from all four sides.
This difference reflects a shift in the role of the building. Roman temples were often embedded in a forum or public space where the frontal view was what mattered. Greek temples, set on open hillsides or sanctuaries, were meant to be seen from all angles and were integrated into the landscape.
The Parthenon
The Parthenon, built on the Acropolis at Athens between 447 and 432 BC, is the supreme example of Doric architecture. Constructed from Pentelic marble, it measures approximately 70 metres long and 31 metres wide. Eight columns stand across each of the short ends and seventeen along each long side, creating a peristyle — a colonnade running all the way around the building. The outer columns are slightly thicker at the middle (a technique called entasis) to prevent an optical illusion of inward curvature.
Inside the cella stood the colossal chryselephantine statue of Athena Parthenos, crafted by the sculptor Pheidias. The statue was approximately 12 metres tall and made of ivory for the flesh and gold sheeting for the drapery and armour — a display of enormous wealth. The Parthenon also housed the city’s treasury and was adorned with extensive sculptural programmes: the mythological battles on the metopes, the continuous frieze around the inner colonnade, and the pedimental groups at east and west ends.
The Parthenon (447–432 BC) is a Doric temple on the Athenian Acropolis, dedicated to Athena. It had 8 columns on the short ends and 17 along the sides. Its architects were Iktinos and Kallikrates; the sculptural programme was overseen by Pheidias, who also created the 12-metre ivory-and-gold cult statue inside.
The Temple of Zeus at Olympia
The Temple of Zeus at Olympia, completed around 457 BC, was one of the largest Doric temples in Greece. Built from local limestone coated in stucco, it had 6 columns at each end and 13 along each side. Inside stood another chryselephantine masterpiece by Pheidias — the seated Zeus, regarded in antiquity as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The temple’s exterior sculptural programme was also significant: the metopes above the porch depicted the Twelve Labours of Heracles, directly connecting the sanctuary to Heracles as the founder of the Olympic Games.
Roman Temples: The Pantheon and the Temple of Fortuna Virilis
The Pantheon in Rome, rebuilt by the emperor Hadrian around AD 125, is extraordinary because it combines a traditional Corinthian-columned porch with a vast circular rotunda. The rotunda is covered by a concrete dome 43 metres in diameter — the same measurement as its height — with a circular opening at the top called the oculus, approximately 9 metres across. Light from the oculus moves slowly across the interior throughout the day, creating an awe-inspiring effect. The Pantheon was dedicated to all the gods and has survived almost entirely intact to the present day, largely because it was converted into a Christian church in 609 AD.
The Temple of Fortuna Virilis (now identified as the Temple of Portunus), overlooking the Tiber in Rome, is one of the best-preserved Republican-era temples. Built in the late 2nd or early 1st century BC, it stands on a high podium accessed by steps at the front only. It uses the Ionic order, with four free-standing columns at the front and engaged columns (columns built into the wall) along the sides — a feature typical of Roman architecture, creating the illusion of a full colonnade while saving material and space. This engaged-column design is distinctly Roman and distinguishes it clearly from Greek peripteral temples.
Students sometimes imagine Greek and Roman temples as functioning like a church, mosque or synagogue — a space where congregations gathered inside for communal worship. This is a misconception. The cella was restricted, and the main acts of worship (sacrifice, prayer, offerings) happened outside at the altar. The interior was the god’s private home. An ancient Greek would have found the idea of a congregation sitting inside the god’s house deeply strange.
This difference matters for answering source questions: when you describe a temple, always note the relationship between the outdoor altar (where worship happened), the inner cella (where the cult statue lived), and the role of the priests who mediated between the two.