Sanctuary of Zeus

Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Dates

Trees were still standing in the 2nd century A.D. when Pausanias visited Nemea.

Garden Description

The grove of trees at the temple of Zeus is known through Pausanias' description of it (2.15.2) and from archaeological excavations in the temple precinct. Excavations in the 1970s uncovered 23 planting pits cut out of the living rock on the south side of the temple (Fig. 1, gray circles on plan). The pits were up to 2 m. in diameter and on average 65 cm. deep. Some of the tree pits were cut in relatively straight alignment with each other, but the overall impression is one of a rather loose arrangement. According to Pausanias, the trees were cypresses. This was confirmed by the excavators who found carbonised remains of cypress wood at the bottom of the planting pits. The archaeological context of the planting pits suggests that the trees were planted in the 5th or 4th century B.C., and indeed literary references of the late 5th century B.C. allude to them (Euripides, Hypsipyle, Prologue lines 99-104; preserved in a papyrus fragment of 2nd-3rd century A.D.). Trees were obviously still standing in the 2nd century A.D. when Pausanias visited Nemea.

Plans

Fig. 1: Plan of the Sanctuary of Zeus at Nemea with rock-cut pits for trees (grey circles) between the temple and other sanctuary buildings.

Credit: Adapted from Miller 1978, fig. 2.

Images

Fig. 2: Balloon photo showing the Temple of Zeus at Nemea with its replanted grove.

Bibliography

S. G. Miller, "Excavations at Nemea 1976," Hesperia 46,1977: 9-11; S. G. Miller, "Excavations at Nemea 1977," Hesperia 47, 1978: 65. (worldcat).
D. E. Birge, L. H. Kraynak and S. G. Miller, Excavations at Nemea. Topographical and Architectural Studies. The Sacred Square, the Xenon and the Bath. Berkeley, 1992, pp. 85-96, figs. 1, 98-103. (worldcat).
M. Carroll-Spillecke, "The gardens of Greece from Homeric to Roman times," Journal of Garden History 12, 1992: 86. (worldcat).
M. Carroll, "The sacred places of the immortal ones: ancient Greek and Roman sacred groves," in J. Woudstra and C. Roth (eds.), A History of Groves. London: Routledge, 2018: 14. (worldcat).

Gardens of the Roman Empire