Olympia - Phigaleia
Olympia
In 1545, the German humanist N. Gerbelius published an accompanying text to the contemporary map of Nicolaos Sofianos. Gerbelius illustrates his texts with views of cities and other locations connected to place names on the map. The imaginary representation of Olympia, congruent with artistic conventions of the era, makes an effort to convey the grandeur of ancient monuments. Another imaginary representation of Olympia, in the work by F.Ch.H.L. Pouqueville (1835) is more successful in rendering the architectural featues of the ancient monuments.
Two hundred and fifty years after the first representation of Olympia, a plan of the grand temple of Zeus is published in the architectural treatise by W. Wilkins (1807). In 1824, J. Spencer Stanhope publishes his systematic study on the monuments of ancient Olympia. The magnificent plates by Ed. Dodwell (1819) provide a wealth of information on public and private life of the Greeks in the pre-revolutionary period. As with his other works, the British topographer W.M. Leake (1824) provides systematic and detailed archaeological observations.
The observations made by the members of the Section of Architecture and Sculpture of the French Scientific Mision under G. A. Blouet are accompanied by drawings of excellent technique and high artistic quality. The conclusions of their research and the related graphic material, released in three monumental volumes (1831, 1833, 1838), contributed greatly to the perception of the monuments and constituted a work of reference for all subsequent studies.
After his journey in Greek lands, at the begining of the 19th century, O.M. von Stackelberg was able to render historical locations and antiquities in accordance with the emerging tendency of romanticism (1834). The enchanting landscape of Alpheus valley imposes itself as a subject of artistic representation. It is beautifuly rendered in the work by Stackelberg (1830) and in more modern style in the works by R.R. Farrer in 1882 and Cr. Wordsworth in the 1882 reedition. Finally, photography was helpful in depicting the ruins while staying true to the magnificence of the site (E. Reisinger in 1923 and Fr. Perilla in 1929).
The area is mapped, more or less precisely, in the diligent studies on continental Greece by W.M. Leake (1846), in the companion “Atlas” to J.J. abbé Barthélemy's fictional recreation of the ancient world (1832), the geographical and cartographical edition by F. Aldenhoven (1841), printed in Athens, by now capital of the Greek state, and of course in the widely used travel guides of the late 19th century (Κ. Baedeker in 1894).
Depictions of the archaeological findings of the area, and of the statues, which constitute masterpieces of classical art, are also included in travel chronicles (Ed. Dodwell in 1819, A. Schweiger Lerchenfeld in 1887 and E. Cabrol in 1890).
The work of J. von Falke (1887 / 2002) is illustrated by exquisite engravings. They show works of ancient Greek art and imaginary depictions of scenes from the public and private life of the ancient Greeks.
The prolific Irish scholar J.P. Mahaffy wrote an account of his tour of Greece (1890), illustrated with exquisite wood engravings. The plates were etched from pencil drawings, which in their turn were based on imaginary representations and photographs.
Phigaleia
The impressive Doric temple of Epicurius Apollo in Phigaleia was depicted in several travel editions, as it is one of the few monuments left standing in Greece. It was also subjected to extensive pillaging of its sculptures.
A plan of the temple of Apollo is published in the architectural treatise by W. Wilkins (1807). The first complete presentation of the monument, with drawings, plans, sections and measurements is found in the 1830 edition by the Society of the Dilettanti (Ch. R. Cockerell).
Views of the temple, as seen from the Arcadian mountains are found in the works by W. Haygarth (1814), who achieves a poetic rendering of the building, both in image and in text, by W. Williams, with his characteristic intense alternation of light and shadow, C. Frommel in 1830, F.Ch.H.L. Pouqueville in the 1835 reedition. The lithographs by A. -V. Joly (1824) are inspired by earlier similar works and convey the philhellenic spirit of the era.
The observations made by the members of the Section of Architecture and Sculpture of the French Scientific Mision under G. A. Blouet are accompanied by drawings of excellent technique and high artistic quality. The conclusions of their research and the related graphic material, released in three monumental volumes (1831, 1833, 1838), contributed greatly to the perception of the monuments and constituted a work of reference for all subsequent studies.
After his journey in Greek lands, at the begining of the 19th century, O.M. von Stackelberg was able to render historical locations and antiquities in accordance with the emerging tendency of romanticism (1834). Stackelberg was also member of a group of Danish, German and British artists, architects and lovers of antiquity who realized archaeological excavations and explorations, and subsequently pillaged the sculptures of two major ancient monuments: the sculptures of the temple of Aphaia on Aegina island and those of the temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae. The 1826 edition by Stackelberg has excellent lithographs of the sculptures of the temple of Apollo, as well as views of the temple and its surrounding area.
The magnificent plates by Ed. Dodwell (1819) provide a wealth of information on public and private life of the Greeks in the pre-revolutionary period. Griechenland (1825c) was one of several early 19th-century editions on customs, traditions, costumes and monuments of Greece. The illustrations consisted of plates already published in popular travel accounts of the previous decades. In addition, artistic magazines of the 19th century published plates with views of significant monuments of the East, accompanied by thorough explanatory texts. They sold well, and aimed both at entertaining and educating the public (M. Busch, 1869).
The capacity for insight and keen observation evident throughout Henri Belle's text (1881) equally mark the illustrations of his travel account. A view of the temple is included in the edition (1882) by R.R. Farrer. Also, the highly successful 1882 reedition of Cr. Wordsworth's historical narrative includes an imaginary recreation of the ancient temple. The prolific Irish scholar J.P. Mahaffy wrote an account of his tour of Greece (1890), illustrated with exquisite wood engravings. The plates were etched from pencil drawings, which in their turn were based on imaginary representations and photographs. Temple and landscape are also depicted in the engravings which accompany the edition by A. Schweiger Lerchenfeld (1887), while a photograph of the temple is included in E. Reisinger's work (1923).
A map of Phigaleia is found in the geographical and cartographical edition by F. Aldenhoven (1841), printed in Athens, by then capital of the Greek state. The famous reliefs of the frieze, representing the Amazonomachy (Bassae frieze, now in the British museum) are depicted in the works by J.J. Horner (1823) and A. Schweiger Lerchenfeld (1887).
Written by Ioli Vingopoulou