The Philippeion, a Votive with a Message
One could argue that Greek religion was all about dedicating gifts (which I call votives) to the gods. Sanctuaries were raised in honor of a god and everything built in a sanctuary (temenos) can be seen as a votive. Only two parts of a temenos were vital, those were a boundary, either via boundary stones or a wall of some sort, and an altar on which could be sacrificed. The ruined temples we can see today were not a vital part of a temenos, but can instead be considered a votive. We shall start with a short introduction on votives, but if you want to know more about the Philippeion you can scroll down and skip the first part.
Representation of a sacrifice on a red figure vase.
Forms of Sacrifice
Sacrifice was central to Greek religion, this is why altars were mandatory in a temenos. Greek sacrifice could take on many forms, but the most well known is the animal sacrifice of either a cow/bull, sheep/goat, a pig or a combination of these. The animal would be slaughtered and most of the inedible parts would be burned for the god(s), the rest would be eaten by the participating community. Plato saw this sacrifice as giving a gift to the gods (Plato, Euthyphro 14d), so in this way the sacrificial animal can be seen as a votive.
Bloodless offerings can be more easily considered votives, because these were often dedicated wholly to the god. Bloodless offerings included dedications of fruit and cakes or libations (the pouring of a liquid, most often wine mixed with water, on the ground).
The last form of gift giving is the dedication of everything else, from statues to a temple and from some money to a beautifully crafted tripod kettle. The red figure vase in the picture could be a votive as well. This form is however a little bit different than the other two. Where sacrifice was often held as a precaution and to ensure the goodwill of a god for the near future, this last form of dedication followed a do ut des mechanism (If you keep your promise, then I will keep mine). Often this is called the creation of a contract between the worshipper and the god. We should understand that a god would not always make a contract with a person, for one could not make a contract for everything and there were sudden events. In these instances one could say that the deity ordained the event and as such brought his support. The individual was in turn obliged to thank the god and dedicate votives at the sanctuary of the deity that helped him.
The Philippeion belonged in the last category. As such it was dedicated as a thanks for the help of the god (in this case Zeus, who was the main deity at Olympia). But there were other reasons in play as well, we shall look at those more closely in the following part.
Sacrifice was central to Greek religion, this is why altars were mandatory in a temenos. Greek sacrifice could take on many forms, but the most well known is the animal sacrifice of either a cow/bull, sheep/goat, a pig or a combination of these. The animal would be slaughtered and most of the inedible parts would be burned for the god(s), the rest would be eaten by the participating community. Plato saw this sacrifice as giving a gift to the gods (Plato, Euthyphro 14d), so in this way the sacrificial animal can be seen as a votive.
Bloodless offerings can be more easily considered votives, because these were often dedicated wholly to the god. Bloodless offerings included dedications of fruit and cakes or libations (the pouring of a liquid, most often wine mixed with water, on the ground).
The last form of gift giving is the dedication of everything else, from statues to a temple and from some money to a beautifully crafted tripod kettle. The red figure vase in the picture could be a votive as well. This form is however a little bit different than the other two. Where sacrifice was often held as a precaution and to ensure the goodwill of a god for the near future, this last form of dedication followed a do ut des mechanism (If you keep your promise, then I will keep mine). Often this is called the creation of a contract between the worshipper and the god. We should understand that a god would not always make a contract with a person, for one could not make a contract for everything and there were sudden events. In these instances one could say that the deity ordained the event and as such brought his support. The individual was in turn obliged to thank the god and dedicate votives at the sanctuary of the deity that helped him.
The Philippeion belonged in the last category. As such it was dedicated as a thanks for the help of the god (in this case Zeus, who was the main deity at Olympia). But there were other reasons in play as well, we shall look at those more closely in the following part.
A map of the sanctuary of Olympia. The Philippeion is no. 31.
The Philippeion
The Philippeion was built by Philip II of Macedon (ruled 359-336 B.C. and father of Alexander the Great) at the sanctuary of Olympia. It was built after the battle of Chaeronea (338) in which Philip defeated the Theban-Attic alliance. After the battle Philip created the League of Corinth to bind the Greeks together in peace and he was chosen to be hegemon (the commander of the combined forces of the league, de facto it meant that Philip made the Greeks his subjects) of the league. This can be interpreted as Philip conquering the Greeks and subsequently forcing them to acknowledge his newly attained hegemony. We need to keep this in mind as we treat the Philippeion.
The Philippeion was built at the important sanctuary of Olympia. This sanctuary hosted the Olympic Games, one of the four panhellenic games. Therefore this sanctuary was important throughout Greece and was frequented by many of the Greek poleis (city states) and ethne (tribes or clans). The Philippeion was, in a way, built in the center of the Greek world.
The building itself was built in a round shape, called a tholos. This is opposed to the more generic rectangular Greek temples. Besides this the building was the first to be built in a new style. Whereas the older buildings of the sanctuary were built in the so called Doric style, the Philippeion had a facade in the Ionic style. Both were definite breaks with the older tradition and enhanced the 'shock' value of the building to ensure that the Philippeion would have a lasting impression on the viewers. It also meant that the building fits in the competition aspect of Greek votive giving as it was very conspicuous, it was meant to be seen.
The next important thing is the placement of the building. Which is right in front of the entrance (see the map). This very blunt placement ensured that the first thing you would see upon entering the sanctuary was the Philippeion. It was not merely meant to be seen, but you were forced to see it as well. It also placed the Philippeion in the old part of the sanctuary, linking it with the administrative, ritual and mythical center of Olympia.
As such I believe that the Philippeion was built to show the newly gained power of Philip II over the Greeks. It showed Philip's power by forcing the visitors of the sanctuary to see the building and by being able to built the Philippeion in the old heart of the sanctuary. It broke with the earlier tradition of the sanctuary to show the beginning of a new era under Philip's dynasty. It also enhanced Philip's position as being not just a Greek, but the hegemon of the Greeks. The Philippeion was built at Olympia to show that Philip's hegemony was ordained by Zeus, and specifically Zeus Olympios (the ruler or the judge, this form of Zeus was especially worshipped at Olympia). It showed Philip as the judge of the Greeks, forcing them in line with his policy.
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The Philippeion was built by Philip II of Macedon (ruled 359-336 B.C. and father of Alexander the Great) at the sanctuary of Olympia. It was built after the battle of Chaeronea (338) in which Philip defeated the Theban-Attic alliance. After the battle Philip created the League of Corinth to bind the Greeks together in peace and he was chosen to be hegemon (the commander of the combined forces of the league, de facto it meant that Philip made the Greeks his subjects) of the league. This can be interpreted as Philip conquering the Greeks and subsequently forcing them to acknowledge his newly attained hegemony. We need to keep this in mind as we treat the Philippeion.
The Philippeion was built at the important sanctuary of Olympia. This sanctuary hosted the Olympic Games, one of the four panhellenic games. Therefore this sanctuary was important throughout Greece and was frequented by many of the Greek poleis (city states) and ethne (tribes or clans). The Philippeion was, in a way, built in the center of the Greek world.
The building itself was built in a round shape, called a tholos. This is opposed to the more generic rectangular Greek temples. Besides this the building was the first to be built in a new style. Whereas the older buildings of the sanctuary were built in the so called Doric style, the Philippeion had a facade in the Ionic style. Both were definite breaks with the older tradition and enhanced the 'shock' value of the building to ensure that the Philippeion would have a lasting impression on the viewers. It also meant that the building fits in the competition aspect of Greek votive giving as it was very conspicuous, it was meant to be seen.
The next important thing is the placement of the building. Which is right in front of the entrance (see the map). This very blunt placement ensured that the first thing you would see upon entering the sanctuary was the Philippeion. It was not merely meant to be seen, but you were forced to see it as well. It also placed the Philippeion in the old part of the sanctuary, linking it with the administrative, ritual and mythical center of Olympia.
As such I believe that the Philippeion was built to show the newly gained power of Philip II over the Greeks. It showed Philip's power by forcing the visitors of the sanctuary to see the building and by being able to built the Philippeion in the old heart of the sanctuary. It broke with the earlier tradition of the sanctuary to show the beginning of a new era under Philip's dynasty. It also enhanced Philip's position as being not just a Greek, but the hegemon of the Greeks. The Philippeion was built at Olympia to show that Philip's hegemony was ordained by Zeus, and specifically Zeus Olympios (the ruler or the judge, this form of Zeus was especially worshipped at Olympia). It showed Philip as the judge of the Greeks, forcing them in line with his policy.
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References
Katherine Denkers, The Philippeion at Olympia: The True Image of Philip? from Open Access Dissertations and Theses (Hamilton, 2012).
Plato Euthyphro via www.perseus.tufts.edu.
Michael Scott, Delphi and Olympia, The Spatial Politics of Panhellenism in the Archaic and Classical Periods (Cambridge, 2010).
Sarah Iles Johnston ed. (2004), Religions of the Ancient World, A Guide.
At the Top, on the left a picture of the Philippeion as can be seen today and on the right a reconstruction of the Philippeion.
Taken from here and here respectively.
Katherine Denkers, The Philippeion at Olympia: The True Image of Philip? from Open Access Dissertations and Theses (Hamilton, 2012).
Plato Euthyphro via www.perseus.tufts.edu.
Michael Scott, Delphi and Olympia, The Spatial Politics of Panhellenism in the Archaic and Classical Periods (Cambridge, 2010).
Sarah Iles Johnston ed. (2004), Religions of the Ancient World, A Guide.
At the Top, on the left a picture of the Philippeion as can be seen today and on the right a reconstruction of the Philippeion.
Taken from here and here respectively.
