page_title: Temple of Artemis, Corfu
section_title: Pediment details
hierarchical_section_title: Temple of Artemis, Corfu / Pediment details
caption_attribution_description: English: Please see filename
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 pediment depicts Medusa in a formulaic, stylised fashion; her feet are arranged in a configuration suggesting rotation, which in turn indicates motion or flight when applied to the attributes of Medusa, especially Medusa's wings. The Medusa is wearing a short skirt which allows her legs freedom of movement while she is fleeing from Perseus. Her motion is further indicated by the formulaic positioning of her legs in the so–called Knielauf position which stylistically resembles a swastika.
  The Gorgon is shown with a girdle of intertwined serpents; the girdle is a fertility symbol traditionally associated with female reproduction and sexuality. The presence of the snakes, however, adds a demonic quality as well as an element of danger. Two more snakes radiate outward from her neck. The Medusa figure closely resembles "Mistress of Animals" deities found in the Near East and also resembles Mesopotamian demoness Lamashtu who was the equivalent of the Greek deity Lamia. 
  Her children, Pegasus and Khrysaor, are at each side of her, despite the fact that they were born after her death. The face of Medusa is repulsive and shows an evil "archaic smile". The panthers, flanking Medusa on each side, serve as temple guardians and they gaze outward as if to visually inspect their domain. The smaller size of the guardian leopards relative to the pediment enclosure and their high relief indicates that the archaic sculptor desired to disengage the animals from their environment.
  The head of the Medusa figure clashes with the pediment outline and evokes a frightening effect. It has also been suggested that since it is unusual for Artemis not to be depicted on the pediment of her own Temple, Medusa may represent the chthonic or demonic side of Artemis, since both entities were patrons of animals. The function of the Medusa and panther figures is believed to be apotropaic, that is, their function was to ward-off evil and prevent it from entering the temple.
  Behind the leopard on the left lies a seated figure. The figure was shown to be attacked by a spear-wielding figure, which has disappeared from the pediment.
  Behind the seated figure, on its left, lies a bearded figure of a dead warrior, facing outward from the pediment. Behind the leopard to the right, two figures are shown. The standing figure closest to the leopard is believed to be Zeus who is depicted in partial profile wielding a thunderbolt against another figure, which faces outward from the pediment. The figure is presented with a beard and is kneeling. To the right of these figures, another relief of a dead warrior is believed to have existed.
  There are reasons to suppose that the seated figure is Rhea, or Cronus, in which case the scenes depicted to the right and left of the leopards might depict a single subject, the Titanomachy, the battle between the gods and the Titans, which would better fit with a beardless (i.e. younger) Zeus, who is rarely depicted without a beard. There are also arguments that the seated figure illustrates King Priam of Troy being slain by the Greek hero Neoptolemos and that the scene on the left is inspired from the Trojan War. If this is the case, then there are two themes present in the pediment: the Sack of Troy and the Gigantomachy, the battle between the gods and Giants.
  Since these figures are not connected to the legend of Medusa, it is thought that the apotropaic function of temple symbols such as the Medusa and the panthers, as guardian symbols of the Temple, is starting to be replaced by the idea of using figures and themes from mythical stories as temple decoration. The decorative function, in time, prevailed over the apotropaic one.
caption: A dead  warrior and seated figure on the left side of the pediment.
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