Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae
The ultimate temple in the wilds
The most famous Greek temple is the Parthenon, and the same architect who designed it designed the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae not much later. Bassae means 'The Gorges', and the temple was built on a wild height overlooking many gorges, with no other human settlement in sight. Its formal name was the Temple of Apollo Epikourious, the 'healer', in thanksgiving for the departure of a plague, thought to have both been sent by Apollo and removed by Apollo. On a good day you can see from it all the way to the distant seas to the west and to the south. Iktinos' Parthenon is the ultimate temple at the center of a great city; his Bassae Temple is the ultimate temple in the wilds. What does this suggest about classicism in context?
