| Context: | Priene |
| Type: | Sanctuary |
| Summary: | Walled sanctuary containing large altar, situated in eastern sector of city on a massive terrace wall. |
| Date: | ca. 300 BC - ca. 100 BC |
| Dimensions: | Dimensions of temenos 47 m. long x 31 m. wide; dimensions of altar 14.60 x 7.31 m.; dimensions of propylon in north 4.30 m. wide x 4.40 m. deep. |
| Region: | Ionia |
| Period: | Hellenistic |
Plan:
The rectangular temenos enclosure contains a large rectangular altar oriented north-south; a propylon provides access in the northern wall; a portico stood along the west wall. The altar itself was reached via a staircase in the south; the steps projected in the manner of Italian podium temple staircases. There appears to have been no significant superstructure on top of the altar.
Date Description:
Masonry technique of temenos walls; date of earliest inscription found in sanctuary; style of architectural elements of propylon.
History:
The original plan of the sanctuary, dating to the late fourth or third century B.C., was very simple: a rectangular temenos entered from the east, containing an altar. At a later date, a more elaborate propylon was built in the northern wall of the temenos, and a portico was constructed alongside the west wall. Both of these additions may still be pre-Roman. Traces of houses dating to the Middle Ages are found in the northern area of the sanctuary.
Other Notes:
A number of inscriptions (two from altars, one from an anta) make certain the identification of the complex as a sanctuary of the Egyptian Gods. The altars are inscribed as follows:
"Of the neocorate of Serapis, Isis, Anubis, Harpokrates, Herakles Unconquerable..."
Other Bibliography: