The Monumental Archaic Roof of the Temple of Hera at Mon Repos, Corfu

by Philip Sapirstein

Hesperia, Volume 81, Issue 1
Page(s): 31-91
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2972/hesperia.81.1.0031
Year: 2012
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ABSTRACT:

At the time of its creation, ca. 610 B.C., the roof of the Temple of Hera at Mon Repos was the most ambitious project of its kind yet attempted. On the basis of excavation records and a new analysis of the fragments, the author restores the monumental architectural terracottas to a single roof of this Archaic temple, rather than to separate subphases or buildings. The reconstruction drawings reveal a hybrid gabled system that incorporates features of hipped roofs, resulting in a proto-pedimental space at the front. Drawing broadly from other Mediterranean styles, the artisans also developed techniques for replicating large and brightly painted lions, gorgoneia, and Daedalic maidens.