The Tholos
This
is a circular marble structure 13.5 m. in diameter,
in the Doric
order. The cella (pron. SELL a) walls - inner room
for statue of the god - were surrounded by 20
columns, three of which have been restored with the
architrave,
triglyphs,
metopes
and part of the guttering of the roof. Some more
metopes have survived and are on display in the
museum. On these are depicted scenes from the Battle
of the Amazons and the Battle of the Centaurs. The
cella's interior was exquisitely decorated with 10
Corinthian half columns attached to the wall.
The
Tholos was built at the beginning of the 4th century
B.C. and is considered to be the work of Theodoros
of Phokaia, who also wrote a book explicitly about
it. Several suggestions have been made concerning
the possible purpose of the building. The most
probable being that it was consecrated to the cult
of earth goddess deities.
See
also:
