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    Adyton-Opisthodomos and The Inner Romm of The Greek Temple

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    “Adyton," "Opisthodomos,” and the Inner Room of the Greek Temple Mary B. Hollinshead Hesperia, Vol. 68, No. 2. (Apr. - Jun., 1999), pp. 189-218. Stable URL hittp/flinksjstor-org/sici%sici=0018-098X% 28 199904¢2106%2968% 3A2%3C 189%3A%22%22A TIRGSE2.0.CO%SB2T Hesperia is currently published by American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Your use of the ISTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR’s Terms and Conditions of Use, available at bhupulwww.jstororg/about/terms.hunl. JSTOR’s Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of « journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial us. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use ofthis work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at hutp:/www jstor.org/journals/asesa html Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission, JSTOR is an independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to ereating and preserving a digital archive of scholarly journals. For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact support @jstor.org, hupshvwwjstororg/ Wed Dec 13 09:44:18 2006 HESPERIA 68.2, 1999 For Lucy Shoe Meritt 1. This article is dedicated to Lucy Shoe Merit, with gratitude, for her generosity in sharing her expertise in and enthusiasm for Greek architecture In the uncommonly long develop- ment ofthis article, Ihave received ‘exceptional assistance from Susan Kallemeyn Thalmann, who shared her ‘work on the adyton at several stages, and from Naomi Norman, who offered substantial help withthe opisthodomos. Cinder Griffin Miller as also given me access to her unpublished dissertation ‘on cult statue bases. Iam gratfal for the generosity of these scholars, who nevertheless bear no responsibility for the conclusions presented here. A Faculty Development Grant from the ‘Universiy of Rhode Island enabled me to visi several sites in southern Italy and Sicily Al igures were drawn by Mary G. Winkes; the sale forall drawings is ca. 1250. 2. Thalmann 1975 “ADYTON,” “OPISTHODOMOS,” AND THE INNER ROOM OF THE GREEK TEMPLE ‘We know very little of what took place inside a Greek temple. Sacrifice, the focal act of communal religious observance, was enacted outside, on an ‘open-air altar usually opposite the main, east, facade of the temple, while the interior contained objects dedicated to the deity, including a cult statue, In form most Greek temples had a single main interior room, or cella; some had an additional small room behind it, accessible only from the cella, Such a subdivision of interior space suggests that the inner chamber served a special function. This study is designed to ascertain why some temples had inner rooms and how these chambers were used, questions that shed light on the nature of the temple itself Examination of termi- nology used for temple interiors and of archaeological remains of temples with inner rooms, together with literary and epigraphical references to activities that occurred in temples, indicates a larger economic role for ‘many temples and less secret ritual than has been assumed.? ‘Nomenclature is a central issue here, as naming incorporates a set of| assumptions and a specific interpretation. Since the 19th century, the in ner room has been called &BvTov (adyton, “not to be entered”), a term known from ancient sources. The usage of “adyton” in literary and cpigraphical testimonia led scholars to consider the inner room a locus of cult ritual of a chthonian or oracular nature, mysterious rites conducted within the temple, However, the variety of places referred to as “adyton" ‘makes it clear that the term did not denote a particular architectural struc- ture, and so is not appropriate as a standard designation for a part of the Greek temple, a concept fist demonstrated by Susan Thalmann. In some temples, the inner room may have been described spatially, in relation to the cella, as émo868oy0¢ (opisthodomos, “place behind”; see p. 210 be- ow). Opisthodomos,” too, brings its own set of associations, derived from the structure of that name, widely known as a repository of valuables on the Athenian Akropolis. Although ancient sources suggest that “opistho- 7 Ainside est end Argos Pythian Apollo late ebay 6th - x is Athens Zeus Olympion 515 8x20) x a2 Anemis seh : x - —ASOTB Apollo? 625-400 x 2 Apollo Jace 5h 6x15 x 2 Actemis 2nd quarter 5th x De Dodona Ze? Jase quarter 3d pose =~ His Aixonides Apollo Soo/mid ath added 5 x OTB, throne in cella Hala Araphenides Artemis ahah oxi : ; Tasion, Aten Pythion 4h x x AB Kalapodi NI Artemis 457-426 ox1d * a Kalapodi NII Artemis AQéetate ath x14 x >: Kombothels Artemis oth ; x > finds ela inner room Longa,Messenia (Building G) last quarter6th_ 6120) x > Nemes Zeus Sed quarter 4th — 612 x x Oropos Ampbiacsos th ; x x OTB inealla Parlin, Boia? 700 : x > Perachora Hera Akria Sad quater 6h - > x ——_Bininner rom Symphalos Artemis? Hen? Hellenistic x > Batbackof ella Teen Athena Alea late 7th 6x16 x > Cycrapes 1a, Nawos Dionysos 570 - pomle ox 0 - Nort Arnica Cyrene Apolo rid 6h 6x11 (added) - xe Cyrene Apolo sid 4th 6xil : xO NaukratisT Aphrodite 7 : ; x Naskraie Aphrodite late Sth ; : ss Asia Mixon Didyma Apollo 550 9x17 x x maisos ove spring Didyma Apollo 331 wx x x naiskos over spring Klsros Apollo Sd exit x x Kyme Aphrodite? eh : x po: Samos (om Building) mid 6tiae ch -/513 x > peristye added Maona Grazcta Crimisa (Ciro) Apollo Qdhalfoth 7150) > finds in inner room Crimisa (Ciro) Apollo Isequarer3ad 8x19 : > Foce del Sele Hlera 510-500 8x17 x x OT or Bin cella TABLE 1, CONTINUED “ADYTON,” “OPISTHODOMOS,” AND THE INNER ROOM 197 Site Deaiation Daten Promaos Altar —_Fetures* Franesilla Building) nda - x Marita, Hipponion (Belvedere Temple) ca. 500 6x? x > LLocriBpizephysii Athena carly Sth : x pF Metapontum Hera (Temple B) 560/540 9x77 15? x Bincelh? Metapontim Hera 520-510 6x12 x A a (Tale Palatine) Paestum Hera Basilica”) ($60) 530 9x18 x x Be)atcella rea? Stenuy Acgigento (East ofGate5) Sed quarter 6h - - ‘Camaina Athena? early Sth ; : Gela Bulking - - - Himers A Athena? 025 ; ; Bin inner room Himera B Herakdes? 575 - - Monte Adranone Demeterand early dth - - round Bin cells A? Persephone ‘Monte lato Aphrodite Sedquarer6h - 2 deposits in inner oom Morgantina =? Snd quarter6th = > ps Selinous, Acropolis (Meyaron) carly 6b Sch x >t Salinows, Acropolis (Temple) ea. 550 6x17 x x aes for OT or Bin cell? Salinous, Acropolis (Temple) 535 6x13 x x BE) cuttings inane oom Salinous, Acropolis Temple A) rid Sth 6x14 x > Beutings in inner room Selinous, Acropolis (Temple) last quarer Sth 6x14, x > Selinous, East Hill Hera (Temple E) 2nd quarter Sth 615 x x Selinous, East Hill (Temple GT) 2adhalf6th 8x17, x : Selinous,Gaggara Demeter 580 ; x x Matophoros Selinous,TioloN Hera sequarer6th —- 2 As,Bin cela inner room Syracuse Apollo ely 6th oxi7 x pe Possinte INNER Rooms, Remains INsurFictENT, Aigina l Conf Conf, Roda Delphi Ephesos Kephallenia Skala Longs Plataca Selinous, East Hill Selinous, East Hill, Silyon “Tegea Aphsia Axtemis Apollo Artemis Hera Hera (Temple E') (Temple F) Artemis Knakeatis "A «altar, OT = offering table, B = base 198 MARY 8, HOLLINSHEAD of specific goddesses, such as Demeter and Kore or Artemis, with the presence of inner rooms in temples have been based on the assumption that the dark, inaccessible cavelike nature of inner rooms suggests ties to the underworld and chthonian deities, a premise supported by labeling such rooms “adyta.” Presumably, private and mysterious rites took place in this sanctum sanctorum of the temple. Such an interpretation may be ques tioned on both general and specific grounds. Several scholars have chal- lenged the strict categorization of gods as chthonian or Olympian. Van ‘Straten cites Rudhardt’s work demonstrating that “it is not possible to single out one particular sort of sacrifice that is typical of chthonian dei- ties." Scullion and Schlesier have explored the validity of these distine~ tions even farther.” Nevertheless, scholars have considered sanctuaries dedicated to Demeter and Persephone, or even just to Demeter, as potentially chthonian in the character of ritual.” A statement by Cicero (Ver Il, 4.48.106), vetus est hace opinio ... insulam Siciliam totam esse Cereri et Liberae conseeratam, and Diodorus’ account locating Persephone’s abduction at Enna (5.3-5, 68-69) have suggested that worship of the mother-daughter pair was char- acteristically Sicilian, Citing Cicero and Diodorus, Langlotz, Gruben, and ‘others have supposed that the frequent occurrence of inner rooms in Sicil- ian temples reflects the chthonian nature of Demeter and Persephone, and of their worship." In fact, Table 1 demonstrates that worship of Demeter does not show significant association with temples with inner rooms in Sicily or elsewhere. Only three temples dedicated to Demeter have inner rooms, Sanctuaries (few of them with temples) dedicated to Demeter and Persephone have been identified in Sicily at Agrigento, Camarina (Fig. 1), Eloro, Enna, Gela, Megara Hyblaea, Morgantina, Selinous, Syracuse, and Vassallaggi." However, only one Sicilian temple, dedicated to Malophoros 530, Van Straten 1974 176, “offtandes vegas, tantht des vietimes refering to Rudhardt 1992, p. 251 animals, selon des modes dives “Les sactifces destings aux diewx

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