page_title: Temple of Artemis, Corfu
section_title: Temple architecture
hierarchical_section_title: Temple of Artemis, Corfu / Temple architecture
caption_attribution_description: English: Remnants of Artemis Sanctuary in Corfu
context_page_description: The Temple of Artemis is an Archaic Greek temple in Corfu, Greece, built in around 580 BC in the ancient city of Korkyra. It is found on the property of the Saint Theodore monastery, which is located in the suburb of Garitsa. The temple was dedicated to Artemis. It is known as the first Doric temple exclusively built with stone. It is also considered the first building to have incorporated all of the elements of the Doric architectural style. Very few Greek temple reliefs from the Archaic period have survived, and the large fragments of the group from the pediment are the earliest significant survivals.
  The temple was a peripteral–styled building with a pseudodipteral configuration. Its perimeter was rectangular, with width of 23.46 m and length 49 m with an eastward orientation so that light could enter the interior of the temple at sunrise. It was one of the largest temples of its time.
  The metope of the temple was probably decorated, since remnants of reliefs featuring Achilles and Memnon were found in the ancient ruins. The temple has been described as a milestone of Ancient Greek architecture and one of 150 masterpieces of Western architecture.
context_section_description: The temple had a massive altar which was built precisely rectangular and stood in front of the temple. It was 2.7 m. wide and 25 m. long. Only 8 m. of its northern section survive. The rest of the altar disappeared under the foundations of the Saint Theodore monastery which was built on the site of the temple. The temple was located to the west (right) of the altar.
  The building was supported around its perimeter by colonnades consisting of two rows of eight columns each for the front and back of the building, while the sides were supported by two rows of seventeen columns each.
  At the centre of the temple, there was a rectangular inner chamber or cella 9.4 m (31 ft) wide and 34.4 m (113 ft) long, which was subdivided in three spaces by two colonnades consisting of ten columns each. The temple of Artemis in Corfu and the Parthenon are the only Greek temples with eight columns between antae.
  The outer colonnade of eight by seventeen columns, also called the peristyle, had enough separation from the inner chamber that a second colonnade could be added in the interior. The Corfu Temple, however, does not have this inner colonnade, for economy reasons. This configuration of a single colonnade, in a space allowing for a second, is called pseudodipteral. The Artemis Temple in Corfu is the earliest known example of this architectural style.
  The front and back of the temple featured two pediments, of which only the western one survives in good condition, while the eastern pediment lies in fragments. The pediments were decorated with mythical figures, sculpted in high relief. This is the first known example of a decorated pediment in Greece. Both pediments appear to be decorated in an identical manner and they feature a large relief of the Gorgon Medusa, more than 9 ft. high. The pediment measures 9 ft. 4 inches high at the centre. The sculptures incorporated in these pediments are considered the first substantial specimens of Greek sculpture from a Doric building. The western pediment along with other architectural fragments are exhibited at the Archaeological Museum of Corfu. The pediment has been described by The New York Times as the "finest example of Archaic temple sculpture extant".
caption: Remnants of the Artemis Sanctuary in Corfu
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