The Tholos, a circular building with 20 columns and its entrance to the South. The purpose of this structure is unknown, as is which diety it may have been sacred to. The three columns that stand, along with the stone resting on them, is a reconstruction done in 1938.
A view of the tholos in the Sanctuary of Athena, seen from the North. We do not know its purpose or which deity it was dedicated to. It was constructed in 390 BCE, and was the first circular, peristyle tholos of its kind. It was composed of 20 doric columns, with an entrance facing South. At the top sat two rows of metopes, comprising 80 panels altogether, with acroteria and carved gutters above them. Inside sat gold and ivory statues, among an inner row of 10 corinthian columns. Tholoi of this type were later emulated at Epidauros (DL), Olympia (DJ), and Samothrace. The three columns visible in the image, along with the entablature resting atop them, are reconstructions dating from 1938.
Creation date unknown. Photograph processed July 1978. Notes written on the slide or index: Tholos.
