19
well-known but it seems to be absent from contemporaneous, traditional Egyptian
architecture.
Hence, if the true equinox had no relevance in the orientation of monuments of
the megalithic phenomenon, neither in those of other western mother cultures, as
ancient Egypt was, where should we look for it, if anywhere. The mathematical
concept of equinox was fully developed in the Hellenistic world. Instruments like
the sundial of Ai Khanoum, from the third Century BC, clearly reflects it (Hannah,
2009: 121), and perhaps even earlier in the first uses of a gnomon attributed to
Anaximander in the sixth Century BC (Hannah, 2009: 69). However, as Hannah
(2009: 71) argues, the knowledge of the equinox is not reflected at all in Hesiod’s
Works and Days two centuries earlier.
Consequently, it is not surprising to notice that early Greek temples in the Balkan
Peninsula and the Aegean islands lack any sort of equinoctial pattern (Bousikas,
2007–2008). This is, for example, the case for the temple of Apollo at Bassae which
is orientated north-south instead of east-west as would be expected for a solar deity,
among many others studied in Boutsikas’ PhD work, under Clive’s supervision.
This was a sort of unexpected outcome at the land where classical astronomy had
been presumably born and developed and the term equinox invented.
However, the situation is different when we moved to the western shores of the
Mediterranean Sea. Figure 6 shows two interesting cases of equinoctial orientations, combined with conspicuous topographic landmarks. On the one hand, the
temple of Apollo (Temple C) at Selinunte (Sicily) faces a distant peak where the sun
sets at the equinoxes (δ ~ −0¼°). Built in the mid-sixth Century BC, it would be one
of the first Greek temples with such an orientation (Belmonte & Hoskin, 2002: 204).
Why? We do not have the answer but Selinunte was built in an area of Sicily under
strong Punic influence and when the city was conquered by the Carthaginians in
409 BC the area was devoted to the cult of the supreme divine couple of Carthage
integrated by Ba’al Hammon and Tanit, so Punic influence cannot be discarded. In
this sense, other temples of the city, such as the impressive Temple E, also faced the
distant topographic landmark but they were clearly not equinoctial (Belmonte &
Hoskin, 2002: 205).
Interestingly, on the other hand, this same Punic influence can be ascertained
across the sea, in Mactar (Tunisia). In data taken in Africa Proconsularis (Belmonte,
Tejera, Perera Betancor, & Marrero, 2007), where Punic, Roman and local
(Numidian) traditions intermingled, there is one relevant peak centred at c. 0°. This
could be associated with a substantial number of temples devoted to the sun, or deities of solar character, spread throughout the region. This is beautifully illustrated in
Fig. 6b, where the equinoctial rising sun can be seen along the axis of the Apollo
temple in Mactar. This temple was built upon an early temple dedicated to Ba’al
Hammon, the supreme deity of Carthage which was somehow assimilated by the
Numidian kings to the Sun. Although the temple orientation is certainly equinoctial,
the presence of a notch in the distant horizon, where the sun would have risen a
couple of days after the spring equinox (or before the autumn one), and hence at the
day midway between the solstices, opens an interesting question.
What Equinox?
well-known but it seems to be absent from contemporaneous, traditional Egyptian
architecture.
Hence, if the true equinox had no relevance in the orientation of monuments of
the megalithic phenomenon, neither in those of other western mother cultures, as
ancient Egypt was, where should we look for it, if anywhere. The mathematical
concept of equinox was fully developed in the Hellenistic world. Instruments like
the sundial of Ai Khanoum, from the third Century BC, clearly reflects it (Hannah,
2009: 121), and perhaps even earlier in the first uses of a gnomon attributed to
Anaximander in the sixth Century BC (Hannah, 2009: 69). However, as Hannah
(2009: 71) argues, the knowledge of the equinox is not reflected at all in Hesiod’s
Works and Days two centuries earlier.
Consequently, it is not surprising to notice that early Greek temples in the Balkan
Peninsula and the Aegean islands lack any sort of equinoctial pattern (Bousikas,
2007–2008). This is, for example, the case for the temple of Apollo at Bassae which
is orientated north-south instead of east-west as would be expected for a solar deity,
among many others studied in Boutsikas’ PhD work, under Clive’s supervision.
This was a sort of unexpected outcome at the land where classical astronomy had
been presumably born and developed and the term equinox invented.
However, the situation is different when we moved to the western shores of the
Mediterranean Sea. Figure 6 shows two interesting cases of equinoctial orientations, combined with conspicuous topographic landmarks. On the one hand, the
temple of Apollo (Temple C) at Selinunte (Sicily) faces a distant peak where the sun
sets at the equinoxes (δ ~ −0¼°). Built in the mid-sixth Century BC, it would be one
of the first Greek temples with such an orientation (Belmonte & Hoskin, 2002: 204).
Why? We do not have the answer but Selinunte was built in an area of Sicily under
strong Punic influence and when the city was conquered by the Carthaginians in
409 BC the area was devoted to the cult of the supreme divine couple of Carthage
integrated by Ba’al Hammon and Tanit, so Punic influence cannot be discarded. In
this sense, other temples of the city, such as the impressive Temple E, also faced the
distant topographic landmark but they were clearly not equinoctial (Belmonte &
Hoskin, 2002: 205).
Interestingly, on the other hand, this same Punic influence can be ascertained
across the sea, in Mactar (Tunisia). In data taken in Africa Proconsularis (Belmonte,
Tejera, Perera Betancor, & Marrero, 2007), where Punic, Roman and local
(Numidian) traditions intermingled, there is one relevant peak centred at c. 0°. This
could be associated with a substantial number of temples devoted to the sun, or deities of solar character, spread throughout the region. This is beautifully illustrated in
Fig. 6b, where the equinoctial rising sun can be seen along the axis of the Apollo
temple in Mactar. This temple was built upon an early temple dedicated to Ba’al
Hammon, the supreme deity of Carthage which was somehow assimilated by the
Numidian kings to the Sun. Although the temple orientation is certainly equinoctial,
the presence of a notch in the distant horizon, where the sun would have risen a
couple of days after the spring equinox (or before the autumn one), and hence at the
day midway between the solstices, opens an interesting question.
What Equinox?