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The Temple of Demeter is an important archaeological site in Naxos, Greece. It’s near the village of Sangri.
Visiting the Temple of Demeter
The Temple of Demeter is open daily except Tuesdays from 8:30am to 3pm. Admission is 4€ (as of January 2024) and includes entry to the small museum. Only cash is accepted. There’s a slight uphill walk to the site from the street. Facilities include restrooms and a rest area.
History of the Temple of Demeter
The Temple of Demeter was built around 530 BC under the tyrant Lygdamis. It replaced an open-air sanctuary where Demeter and Kore had been worshipped since the 8th century BC. Two pits next to the temple date to that period. They were used to collect offerings of the juices of plants and are marked by arrows in the photo below.
The temple was made with Naxian marble and had a nearly square floor plan measuring 13.29 x 12.73 meters. The façade faced the south and had five Ionic columns. The cella was divided into two chambers separated by five columns.
The temple is architecturally significant as it provides evidence for the origin of certain Classical design elements. It’s believed that its design later influenced the design of the Parthenon in Athens.
Conversion to a Church
Sometime during the Early Christian period, the temple was converted to a church. It was later demolished during the reign of Justinian and replaced with a three-aisled basilica. Some of the church furnishings can be seen in the museum.
A few modifications were made to the original structure, such as the additions of an apse to the east and a small baptistry. The pronaos (porch) on the south façade became a side narthex and an entrance was opened on the west. Rooms were also built around a courtyard to the south. Other structures further south were used for the production of pottery, wine, and oil. They functioned from the 6th through 8th century, when the site was abandoned.
After the 8th century, a small chapel dedicated to St. John the Theologian was built under the arch of the abandoned basilica. It was moved to its present location in 1977 to allow for excavations to continue.
Excavation of the Temple of Demeter
The Temple of Demeter was first investigated in 1949 by Nikolaos Kondoleon (1910-1975). It was excavated from 1976 to 1985 by Vassilis Lambrinoudakis of the University of Athens and Gottfried Grubenas of the Technical University of Munich. The University of Athens restored the temple between 1994 and 2000.
Museum at the Temple of Demeter
The museum, which opened in August 2001, sits at the end of a path behind the ticket booth. It features several different findings from the site.
Items of interest include architectural fragments, such as marble roof tiles and beams as well as pieces of the pediment on the façade. There’s also a fragment of a votive column shaped like a kouros.
On the other side of the museum you’ll find furnishings from the church. This includes the screen (templon) and altar canopy (ciborium). They were reconstructed using original and new material.
Along the wall to the left is the main part of the ambo, which was made from marble recycled from the original temple. The capitals of the central window supports of the church are displayed nearby.
