|
|
Question
#58074. lanfranco
asks:
This elegant little building, located in an ancient sanctuary, boasted sculptures depicting the Trojan War, a fight between Apollo and Heracles for a certain treasure, and a Gigantomachy -- a battle between the Gods and the Giants. What is this structure, where is it located, when was it built, and why?
|
griffinj
|
As this has sat here this long, I will hazard a guess at the Great Altar of Zeus (formerly) at Pergamon. It was built between 197 and 156 b.c.e. according to this site  http://www.prophecynet.com/showthread.php?t=117&goto=nextoldest. My other references give slightly different dates. While it was located in the sanctuary at Pergamon, it's now in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
The altar is most certainly elegant, but, at 371 feet, could only be considered small in relation to some Roman amphitheatres or the temples of Zeus at Olympia and Diana at Ephesus. The reasons for its erection don’t seem to be totally clear-cut, but include commemorating the Trojan wars and legitimization of the ruling house. Apollo and Heracles are not exactly fighting over a treasure, but ganging up to kill the giant Ephialtes, who could only be killed when a god and human struck in tandem. http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Arts/ZeusAltarE.htm
Jul 04 05, 2:26 AM
|
lanfranco
 |
Not a bad guess, griff, but not what I had in mind. The altar is most interesting but far too large.
Consider another, quite famous sanctuary.
Jul 04 05, 8:37 AM
|
|
Fun Trivia | 
Quizzes | 
Games
| 
People | 
Services | 
Help | 
Me
Sign up for your FREE FunTrivia ID! Compete,
play free games, and meet people! Click here...
Have a question that you want answered? Are you able to answer questions from other FunTrivia guests? Then you have come to the right
place!