GREEK TEMPLES AND THE DATES OP THETR FOUNDATION. 
G5 
Date 
B.C. 
Name of temple. 
Orientation 
angle. 
Sun’s 
depression. 
Name of star. 
Day of 
month. 
It 
470 
Theseum, Athens. 
283 
6 
O 
17 
lb 
Spica, rising . 
Oct. 5 
44.5 
About 
Later Erechtheum, Athens 
265 
9 
12 
0 
a Arietis, I’ising . 
April 9 
3 
430 
About 
*Later Temple, Locri .... 
296 
56 
12 
11 
/3 Tauri, setting. 
Nov. 23 
4 
430 
*Girgenti, Temple of .Inpiter . 
257 
35 
15 
0 
5 c Arietis, rising 
April 14 
5 
425 
About 
*iNew Hei’teum, Ai‘gos 
285 
59 
19 
34 
Aquarius, rising 
Feb. 21 
6 
400 
About 
*Girgenti, Temple of Castor 
266 
0 
13 
9 
Spica, setting 
Sept. 13 
i 
360 
*01ympia, the Metroum . . . 
281 
47 
14 
6 
a. Arietis, setting 
Oct. 9 
8 § 
355 
Ephesus, the last rebuilding . 
284 
35 
15 
30 
Spica, rising . 
Oct. 6 
9|| 
340 
^Athens, new Teinpleof Bacchus 
255 
49 
17 
46 
a. Arietis, rising 
April 23 
10 
174 
^Athens, new Jupiter Olympius 
270 
0 
12 
0 
Spica, setting 
March 27 
In all the above cases, excepting’ No. 2, the depressions are quite unnecessarily 
deep for the purpose merely of .seeing the stars distinctly. Spica or /3 Tauri could 
have been seen setting in the morning twilight with a solar depression of 8°. 
Two explanations may be offered with respect to this alteration of the element of 
the sun’s depression. One is, that attention had been called, as it hardly could help 
being called, to the fact that the heliacal star failed to keep its original connexion 
with sunrise, and that there would be a better chance of permanence if the interval 
between the two bodies were increased ; the other is, that the temple service had 
become more complicated, and that more time was required by the priests for 
preparation. Every additional degree of sun’s depression would add about five 
minutes for this purpose. 
t The fe.stival of the Thesea is supposed to have been held on October 8 and 9. 
t The autumnal return of the sun to the same point of the Erechtheum would take place on 
September 2. There does not appear to be an heliacal star available for that occasion, but the great 
festival of the Niceteria in honour of the victory at Marathon is considered to have been held on the 
3rd of that month, when the sun would shine fully along the axis of the temple. 
§ The foundations of this great temple of Ephesus show that at the last rebuilding the orientation had 
been changed about 9° from the original line, for the purpose of following the movement of the star. 
J| The date of this temple is considered to be that of the alterations made in the adjoining Dionysiac 
theatre, under the direction of Lycuegus. 
VOL. CXC.—A. 
K 
