Origins and Design of Terracotta Roofs in the Seventh Century bce

Abstract

The seventh century BCE was a time of exploration and innovation in Greek architecture. By the end of the century, carefully designed and elaborately embellished temples were crafted in stone and terracotta throughout the Greek world. This chapter describes the development of the earliest terracotta roofs in Greek sanctuaries and their revolutionary manufacturing techniques. One of the earliest terracotta roofs was excavated at Olympia. While the Olympia system represents a major transition to a durable, monumentally scaled roof, the early Apollo Temple at Corinth implemented a more impressive roofing system. Both Corinthian and Argive workshops gradually converged on what would eventually become the conventional Corinthian style roof. From the prototype at Aigina, the antefixes were further enlarged and elaborated with stamped relief decoration. The well-preserved roof at Olympia exhibits the major features of seventh-century Laconian fragments. A striking aspect of the fragments from Olympia and Laconia is their circular geometry.

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