Priene Athena North Stoa
Πριήνη Αθηνά Βόρεια Στοά · North Stoa Priene Athena · Priene Sacred Stoa N
Late Classical to Hellenistic·Ionian Greek (Pytheos architect) under Alexander and later Antigonid·🇹🇷 Aydın Province, Söke District, Güllübahçe village, Priene ancient city, Athena Polias temple north stoa, Turkey
About
About Priene Athena North Stoa
North stoa 82 m of the classic Pytheos (Pythius)-designed Temple of Athena Polias at Priene (c.335 BCE, 6×11 Ionic peripteral — Alexander's dedicator, archetype of the Ionic order; Vitruvius I.5's model temple). The north stoa's Doric columnade facing the Maeander plain framed the sacred way and housed the 2-m marble Athena cult plinth moulding; its 14 columns with attic-Ionic capitals (rather than pure Ionic) illustrate Pytheos' proportional reform. Less reconstructed than the temple's 5 re-erected columns, the north stoa preserves in situ stylobate and epigraphic base of Alexander's dedication.
Why it mattersNorth stoa of Vitruvius' model Ionic temple — Alexander dedicator and Pytheos proportional canon archetype at Priene, UNESCO serial 254 (Miletus-Priene-Didyma).
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Pytheos authorship — Vitruvius vs epigraphy
- 02North stoa dating — Alexander or Attalid?
Theories
- 01Priene grid city to temple–stoa urban axis
- 02Alexander's Ionia patronage network
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.335–330 BCE (Alexander dedicator, Pytheos architect), with 2nd c. BCE stoa addition
- Period
- Late Classical to Hellenistic
- Culture
- Ionian Greek (Pytheos architect) under Alexander and later Antigonid
- Builders
- City of Priene (Pytheos of Priene architect)
- Purpose
- Athena Polias city patron cult and sacred-way processional stoa at Maeander-front terrace
- Abandoned
- Late Antiquity
- Rediscovered
- 1765 Chandler Priene; 1895 Wiegand-Schrader Priene excavations; 1965 columns re-erection
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
334 BCE
Alexander funds temple; Pytheos designs
c.330 BCE
Temple dedication and north stoa foundation
1895
Wiegand-Schrader excavation and plan
On the ground
Structures & features
37.6598° N · 27.2970° E · 380 m · 2 mapped features
Priene North Stoa — Stylobate and Column Drums
stoa82-m stylobate with 14 ionic column drum groups and epigraphic plinths, in situ
37.6603° N · 27.2975° EPriene Athena Temple — Alexander Dedication Base
inscriptionMarble plinth with Alexander's dedication inscription (Pytheos) at north stoa edge
37.6593° N · 27.2965° E
Gallery