DH.017 Treasuries in the Sanctuary of Athena

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Creator

Denis Baly

Creation Year

1978

Image ID

DH.017

Subcollection

DH: Delphi

Abstract

The two Treasuries of the Sanctuary, the Doric (left) and the Messalian (right). While the Messalian one was constructed by Greek Colonists and is well studied, less is known about the Doric one and it may have originally been a temple to Artemis.

Description

View of the Doric (left) and Messalian (right) Treasuries from the North, with the columns of the tholos in the background (see DH.11-14). The Messalian Treasury, also known as the Treasury of Massaliots or the Aeolic Treasury, was constructed by the Greek colonists of Massalia, modern Marseille, to commemorate a victory over Carthaginian or Roman adversaries in the 6th century BC. It was incredibly ornate, and, like other Treasuries at Delphi, housed sacred offerings made by that state. Pausanias, in his writings, mentions this treasury specifically and the presence of bronze votive offerings within it. The Doric Treasury, on the other hand, is absent from the extant literature and therefore must have had a short lifespan, probably in ruins by the time Pausanias visited. The archaeological evidence also reveals little about the history of this building, being so scarce that they were misidentified by the first excavators, who thought that the foundation was merely a "great altar." Fingarette proposes that the Doric Treasury was built contemporaneously with the Old Temple, and was originally a temple to Artemis, before falling into disrepair after the same events of 480 and 373 BCE that destroyed the Old Temple (DH.15,DH.16). This theory is also supported by the stelai later placed around both the treasuries, whose inscriptions suggest that one of the buildings within was a dedicatory temple.

Image Notes

Creation date unknown. Photograph processed July 1978. Notes written on the slide or index: Massiolate Treasury and "Doric" Treasury.

Image Format

35 mm slide

Geographic Reference

Delfoi, Greece