An Investigation of the Role of Architectural Orders in Greek Temple Orientation

An analysis of 131 Greek temple orientations is presented with the aim to determine whether specific architectural orders can be linked to certain temple orientations, whilst seeking conventions for a number of Greek temples, which combine two or even all three architectural orders. The results of this study indicate an apparent preference of Doric temples towards the declinations visited by the sun during the year, although not necessarily towards all of the most important annual solar events in ancient cultures (e.g. solstices). The observed data concentration towards declinations within a week from the equinoxes calls us to revisit the importance of this time in ancient Greek thinking and to link its importance to the religious and cosmological spheres, aside from its calendric and timekeeping significance.