The Treasury of Cyrene (''Treasury of the Cyreneans'') was a building in the sanctuary of Apollo in

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

. The

treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

was possibly built as a token of gratitude for a large endowment of wheat offered to Delphi's inhabitants during a lean period.

Description

The Treasury of Cyrene was probably the last treasury to have been built within the sanctuary of Apollo. It was oriented towards the Temple of Apollo. Its date of construction is estimated at ca. 334–322 BC. It was constructed at the eastern part of the precinct, supported by a base (crepis) made of limestone and consisting of three steps. The elevation of the treasury was made of two kinds of marble with provenance from

Paros Paros (; ; ) is a Greek island in the central Aegean Sea. Part of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos (island), Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about wide. It lies approximately south-east of Piraeus. The Co ...

and Mount Pentelikon. It was built in the

Doric order The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...

distyle in antis In classical architecture, distyle in antis denotes a temple with the side walls extending to the front of the porch and terminating with two antae, the pediment being supported by two columns or sometimes caryatids. This is the earliest ty ...

, with a vestibule and a

cella In Classical architecture, a or naos () is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings: of a hermit's or monk's cell, and (since the 17th century) of a biological cell ...

. The

antae The Antes or Antae () were an early Slavic tribal polity of the 6th century CE. They lived on the lower Danube River, in the northwestern Black Sea region (present-day Moldova and central Ukraine), and in the regions around the Don River (in ...

were provided with semi-columns on their interior side. The building was covered by a marble roof, the

sima Sima or SIMA may refer to: People * Sima (Chinese surname) * Sima (Persian given name), a Persian feminine name in use in Iran and Turkey * Sima (Indian given name), an Indian feminine name used in South Asia * Sima (surname) * Sima (born 1 ...

of which was decorated with

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed Grotesque (architecture), grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from ...

s in alternating forms (lion heads and simple tubes).Bommelaer, J.-F., (1991),Laroche, D., Guide de Delphes, Le site, Paris, pp. 156–157 An inscription on the north anta mentions that the Cyreneans were accorded the promanteia by the city of Delphi, as a sign of gratitude for a heavy load of wheat that the former offered the latter during a period of famine. Cyrene was a wheat-producing region throughout the

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

periods. In front of the treasury there was a small square and to its south was discovered a building which was formerly identified as the

prytaneion A ''prytaneion'' (, ) was seat of the ''prytaneis'' (Executive (government), executive), and so the seat of government in ancient Greece. The term is used to describe any of a range of ancient structures where officials met (normally relating to ...

Bibliography

*Bommelaer, J.-F., (1991),Laroche, D., Guide de Delphes, Le site, Paris, pp. 156–157 *Bousquet, J., 1952, ''Le trésor de Cyrène. FD, II, Topographie et architecture'', Paris *Laroche, D., 1988, L'emplacement du trésor de Cyrène a Delphes, BCH 112.1, 1988, 291–305

References

{{reflist Ancient Greek buildings and structures in Delphi Buildings and structures completed in the 4th century BC Cyrene, Libya

Description

See also

Bibliography

References