Temple of Demeter
At the northern tip of the Milesian peninsula, the towering temple of Demeter occupied a remarkable spot that made it an important landmark in ancient times. Its monumental architecture and prominent location are very unusual for a temple dedicated to Demeter.
Demeter was believed to be the daughter of Kronos and Rhea and the sister of other Olympians. She was also the mother of Persephone, whom Hades abducts into the Underworld. Heartbroken over the loss of her child, the goddess of the harvest sought to find Persephone, and in her sadness, she refused to help the crops grow. Zeus stepped in and reunited mother and daughter. Before leaving the Underworld, however, Persephone ate a pomegranate seed from Hades, which meant that she had to go to the Underworld at the end of summer every year and stay until the end of winter. She can only leave in spring to visit her mother. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, the myth of the Underworld is connected with the city of Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries. It names Demeter as the goddess of the harvest, but she also presided over the lives of women, in particular, married women. We know from literary sources that men were not allowed to enter certain temples of Demeter (Cic. Ver. 2.4.99; Paus. 2.35.6–8). In the context of archaeology, this often manifests itself as a large number of female terracotta figures and other objects connected to female life. At the festival of Thesmophoria, for example, piglets were sacrificed to ensure fertility (Lukian. dial. meretr. 2,1, 275,23–276,28). Besides piglet bones, many temples also contain terracotta figurines in the shape of a piglet.
Based on the material studied to date, the main phases of cultural life on Humeitepe took place as follows: Ritual practices began in the Classical period in the fifth century BCE, but no buildings from that time have been found. The temple was only built in the Hellenistic period. There is evidence of intensive ritual practices beginning in this time and gradually starting to decline during the early Roman Empire. Although the temple itself has not been preserved well, its appearance could be reconstructed using architecture segments found in the area. It was a 4-columned prostylos of the Ionian order, facing from east to west. This means that the facade had a row of 4 columns at the front. Finds around the temple mostly consisted of female terracotta figures, terracotta piglets, and miniature hydrias. There were also fragments of a kernos, a ritual vessel often used in the cult of Demeter. Together with an inscription fragment mentioning the epithet (byname) Potnia, which is associated with female deities, these finds clearly indicate that the temple was dedicated to Demeter, the goddess of the harvest.
Text: Sandra Golling
References
-
R. Köster – A. U. Kossatz, Milet 1978–1979. Ausgewählte Funde, IstMitt 80, 1980, 48–55.
-
W. Müller-Wiener, Arbeiten im Stadtgebiet 1978–1979. Untersuchungen auf dem Humeitepe, IstMitt 30, 1980, 30–38.
-
W. Müller-Wiener, Milet 1980. Arbeiten im Stadtgebiet. Untersuchungen auf dem Humeitepe, IstMitt 31, 1981, 99–105.
-
W. Müller-Wiener, Milet 1981. Vorberichte über die Arbeiten des Jahres 1981, IstMitt 32, 1982, 5−29.
-
W. Müller-Wiener, Milet 1982. Vorberichte über die Arbeiten des Jahres 1982, IstMitt 83, 1983, 69–89.
-
M. Pfrommer, Milet 1982. Zur Typologie der Miniaturhydrien vom Humeitepe, IstMitt 83, 1983, 79–89.
-
W. Müller-Wiener, Milet 1983–1984. Vorbericht über die Arbeiten der Jahre 1983 und 1984, IstMitt 85, 1985, 13–138.