Pausanias Analysis

Passage 5.16.1

← 5.15.12 5.16.2 →

Passage 5.16.1: Temple of Hera at Elis: a Doric peripteral temple notable for one oak column.

Historical Non-skeptical

Greek Text

λείπεται δὲ τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο ἡμῖν τῆς τε Ἥρας ὁ ναὸς καὶ ὁπόσα ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ ναῷ πρέποντα ἐς συγγραφήν. λέγεται δὲ ὑπὸ Ἠλείων ὡς Σκιλλούντιοι τῶν ἐν τῇ Τριφυλίᾳ πόλεών εἰσιν οἱ κατασκευασάμενοι τὸν ναὸν ὀκτὼ μάλιστα ἔτεσιν ὕστερον ἢ τὴν βασιλείαν τὴν ἐν Ἤλιδι ἐκτήσατο Ὄξυλος. ἐργασία μὲν δή ἐστι τοῦ ναοῦ Δώριος, κίονες δὲ περὶ πάντα ἑστήκασιν αὐτόν· ἐν δὲ τῷ ὀπισθοδόμῳ δρυὸς ὁ ἕτερος τῶν κιόνων ἐστί. μῆκος δέ εἰσι τοῦ ναοῦ πόδες ἐννέα καὶ ἑξήκοντα καὶ ἑκατόν, εὖρος δὲ τρεῖς καὶ ἑξήκοντα , τὸ δὲ ὕψος τῶν πεντήκοντα οὐκ ἀποδεῖ· τὸν δὲ ἀρχιτέκτονα ὅστις ἐγένετο οὐ μνημονεύουσι.

English Translation

Next, it remains for me to describe the temple of Hera and all that is within the temple worthy of mention. The Eleans themselves say that the people of Skillous, a city in Triphylia, built this temple, about eight years after Oxylus had gained the kingship in Elis. The style of the temple is Doric, with columns standing all around it; however, one of the columns in the opisthodomos is made of oak. The length of the temple is one hundred and sixty-nine feet, its breadth is sixty-three feet, and its height nearly fifty feet. The name of the architect who built it is not remembered.

Proper Nouns

Hera (Ἥρα) deity
Dorian (Δώριος) other
Also in: 5.10.2 5.15.12
Skillountioi (Scilluntians) (Σκιλλούντιοι) person
Eleans (Ἠλεῖοι) person
Oxylus (Ὄξυλος) person
Triphylia (Τριφυλία) place Q472032
Elis (Ἤλις) place Q217667
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