207
2.61–3). There is much to discuss on the connotations associated with the importance
of this balance in a number of contexts, which for example, can be also conveyed to
political values of equality like democracy or ancient Greek admiration of the temperate climates found in the equatorial regions, praised by Herodotos and others
(e.g. Herodotos 1.142.1–2; Hippokrates, On Airs, Waters, and Places, 12). Although
these links can offer support to the importance of the concept, they would take us
away from the scope of this paper, so it will suffice to state here that for the Greeks,
the equinox signified more than just an observation of sunrise or sunset in the distant
horizon. It more importantly stood as an ideal state of balance and equality.
Ancient Greek astronomers defined the equinoxes as the time when the day and
night are of equal length; we know that a variety of methods were used to calculate
the time of the equinoxes. The philosopher Anaximander for instance, is believed to
have used the shadow cast by a gnomon, in the sixth century BCE (Couprie, 2011:
31, 34–35). The equinoxes were watched for in ancient Greece also for calendric
purposes, as this time marked the beginning of the year in a number of Greek cities:
in Chios and fourth-century-BCE Miletos for instance, the year started around the
spring equinox, whereas in Sparta, Rhodes, Crete, and pre-fourth-century-BCE
Miletos around the autumn equinox, etc.
We observed the clustering of Doric temple orientations around declinations
visited by the sun within a week from the equinox, but not at the equinox. In cultures where the identification of astronomical occurrences relies on observation, an
important parameter needs to be considered: accuracy. Let us briefly explore one
such example. Pliny, in a section of his Natural History, reports the time of observing the setting of the Pleiades according to three different ancient Greek observers
(Hesiod, Thales and Anaximander). Following Pliny’s testimony, Couprie calculated that the autumn equinox occurred between 28 and 30 September in the years
between 700–350 BCE. According to this calculation, at Hesiod’s time, in the seventh century BCE, the equinox occurred on 30 September of the Julian calendar.
This is a calculation assigned to Hesiod following Pliny’s testimony, but Hesiod’s
original work, from which Pliny argues to have taken this quote, does not survive
(Naturalis Historia 18.213, DK 12A20; on this see also Couprie, 2011: 17). In the
sixth century BCE, the time of Thales and Anaximander, the event occurred on 29
September. Couprie, has furthermore estimated that by the fifth and fourth centuries
BCE (the time of the other two significant Greek astronomers Euktemon and
Eudoxos), this occurrence took place on 28 September (Couprie, 2011: 18). But the
situation is not as simple as it may seem. Couprie made these calculations based on
the mentions of these ancient works, which use the autumn equinox in order to
count the number of days after the autumn equinox when the cosmical setting of the
Pleiades became visible. So Couprie is working backwards: Anaximander places
the setting of the Pleiades ‘on the 29th day from the equinox’ (White, 2002: 10) and
Thales on the 25th day after the autumn equinox. Couprie knows exactly when the
occurrence would take place in ancient Greece during the centuries that these observations were made, and so counts backwards to estimate the time of the equinoxes.
This method, however, complicates matters, as the setting of the Pleiades was determined through direct observation in antiquity and cannot be compared to modern
An Investigation of the Role of Architectural Orders in Greek Temple Orientation
2.61–3). There is much to discuss on the connotations associated with the importance
of this balance in a number of contexts, which for example, can be also conveyed to
political values of equality like democracy or ancient Greek admiration of the temperate climates found in the equatorial regions, praised by Herodotos and others
(e.g. Herodotos 1.142.1–2; Hippokrates, On Airs, Waters, and Places, 12). Although
these links can offer support to the importance of the concept, they would take us
away from the scope of this paper, so it will suffice to state here that for the Greeks,
the equinox signified more than just an observation of sunrise or sunset in the distant
horizon. It more importantly stood as an ideal state of balance and equality.
Ancient Greek astronomers defined the equinoxes as the time when the day and
night are of equal length; we know that a variety of methods were used to calculate
the time of the equinoxes. The philosopher Anaximander for instance, is believed to
have used the shadow cast by a gnomon, in the sixth century BCE (Couprie, 2011:
31, 34–35). The equinoxes were watched for in ancient Greece also for calendric
purposes, as this time marked the beginning of the year in a number of Greek cities:
in Chios and fourth-century-BCE Miletos for instance, the year started around the
spring equinox, whereas in Sparta, Rhodes, Crete, and pre-fourth-century-BCE
Miletos around the autumn equinox, etc.
We observed the clustering of Doric temple orientations around declinations
visited by the sun within a week from the equinox, but not at the equinox. In cultures where the identification of astronomical occurrences relies on observation, an
important parameter needs to be considered: accuracy. Let us briefly explore one
such example. Pliny, in a section of his Natural History, reports the time of observing the setting of the Pleiades according to three different ancient Greek observers
(Hesiod, Thales and Anaximander). Following Pliny’s testimony, Couprie calculated that the autumn equinox occurred between 28 and 30 September in the years
between 700–350 BCE. According to this calculation, at Hesiod’s time, in the seventh century BCE, the equinox occurred on 30 September of the Julian calendar.
This is a calculation assigned to Hesiod following Pliny’s testimony, but Hesiod’s
original work, from which Pliny argues to have taken this quote, does not survive
(Naturalis Historia 18.213, DK 12A20; on this see also Couprie, 2011: 17). In the
sixth century BCE, the time of Thales and Anaximander, the event occurred on 29
September. Couprie, has furthermore estimated that by the fifth and fourth centuries
BCE (the time of the other two significant Greek astronomers Euktemon and
Eudoxos), this occurrence took place on 28 September (Couprie, 2011: 18). But the
situation is not as simple as it may seem. Couprie made these calculations based on
the mentions of these ancient works, which use the autumn equinox in order to
count the number of days after the autumn equinox when the cosmical setting of the
Pleiades became visible. So Couprie is working backwards: Anaximander places
the setting of the Pleiades ‘on the 29th day from the equinox’ (White, 2002: 10) and
Thales on the 25th day after the autumn equinox. Couprie knows exactly when the
occurrence would take place in ancient Greece during the centuries that these observations were made, and so counts backwards to estimate the time of the equinoxes.
This method, however, complicates matters, as the setting of the Pleiades was determined through direct observation in antiquity and cannot be compared to modern
An Investigation of the Role of Architectural Orders in Greek Temple Orientation