The astronomical orientation of ancient Greek temples.
Despite its appearing to be a simple question to answer, there has been no consensus as to whether or not the alignments of ancient Greek temples reflect astronomical intentions. Here I present the results of a survey of archaic and classical Greek temples in Sicily and compare them with temples in...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2009-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2775669?pdf=render |
| Summary: | Despite its appearing to be a simple question to answer, there has been no consensus as to whether or not the alignments of ancient Greek temples reflect astronomical intentions. Here I present the results of a survey of archaic and classical Greek temples in Sicily and compare them with temples in Greece. Using a binomial test I show strong evidence that there is a preference for solar orientations. I then speculate that differences in alignment patterns between Sicily and Greece reflect differing pressures in the expression of ethnic identity. |
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| ISSN: | 1932-6203 |