Archaic Greece Religion

Temples were an innovation in the archaic period. These columns are the remains of the Temple of Apollo at Corinth, the first Greek temple to be built in stone.
Temples were an innovation in the archaic period. These columns are the remains of the Temple of Apollo at Corinth, the first Greek temple to be built in stone.

Evidence from Linear B tablets shows that the gods worshipped in archaic and classical Greece shared names with those worshipped by their Mycenaean predecessors. However, the practice of religion changed significantly in the archaic period.
The Temple of Hera at Olympia was built in the Archaic period, circa 590 BC
The Sphinx of Naxos, on its 12.5 meters Ionic column was built in 560 BC next to the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, the religious center of Ancient Greece.

The most significant change of the eighth century was the development of permanent temples as a regular feature of sanctuary sites, where in the Dark Ages there had probably been no building specifically used for cult purposes. In the seventh century, this development of temples continued with the appearance of the first monumental stone temple buildings, beginning with the temple of Apollo at Corinth. These temples were probably built to house cult statues of the god. Except on Crete, where there may have been a continuous tradition of cult statues from the Mycenaean period, these cult images were a new development in Greek religion – there is no evidence that Greek Dark Age cult on the mainland used cult images.

Along with the introduction of temples came an increase in the number of dedications at cult sites. In the seventh century, the number of surviving dedications decreases again, but there is also a marked change in the character of dedications, from the figurines of animals common in the eighth century to human figurines. In the eighth century, some sanctuaries – for instance at Olympia – begin to attract dedications from outside the local area.

Source: Wikipedia

Temples were an innovation in the archaic period. These columns are the remains of the Temple of Apollo at Corinth, the first Greek temple to be built in stone.
Temples were an innovation in the archaic period. These columns are the remains of the Temple of Apollo at Corinth, the first Greek temple to be built in stone.