Juan de Lara

 Experiencing the Divine via 3D. Lighting strategies and temple illumination in Bassae, Athens and Olympia

The research proposed aims to use digital technology (CG and photogrammetry) to analyse a selection of Classical Greek temples and recreate the ambient and architectural conditions present in their original design. It will explore the visual interplay between sunlight, lamplight, reflectant pools of oil/water, smoke and metallic surfaces within three key Greek temples: Apollo at Bassae, the Parthenon in Athens and of Zeus at Olympia—all well known for the deliberate optical strategies in their designs, and which shared the presence of Iktinos or Phidias in their construction. This doctoral thesis will develop a new widely transferable methodology for analysing complex-built spaces and produce substantial results relevant to Classical archaeologists and art historians, particularly regarding the architectural framing and interior lighting of temples.

Jeremy Tanner identified ways in which light was manipulated in Classical Greek temple architecture in order to enhance the ritual encounter of the viewer with the divine. The placement of windows, doors, or polished floors were devices used to alter the sensorial perception of the cult statue, and altogether helped to dramatise the sacredness of the temple interior. Iktinos’ temples of Bassae and the Parthenon share the existence of windows or side doors, noted as presumable sources of light to stage the god’s image. Moreover, both buildings feature decorated narrative friezes of high quality, placed in shadowed areas. What sort of lighting conditions would have facilitated their reading? At Bassae, a hypaethral cella or pierced roofs have been proposed for such purpose, but would direct light that entered from the doors be enough to illuminate this space? If lamps were needed, what would have been their type and number? And in this case how was smoke controlled within interior spaces? Other innovations such a water pool in the Parthenon, a characteristic also present in the temple of Zeus at Olympia, may have acted as directional and reflecting devices to enhance and reveal the gleam and shine of the surrounding space. Are some authors’ claims of translucent ceilings for these temples still sustainable? What would have been the results of such combinations? The ruinous state of most temples hinders the understanding and analysis of light phenomena. To answer these questions, CG technology and advances PBR render engines allows us to replicate the interactions between diverse materials, artificial light and sunlight.

Funding

LAHP (AHRC)

Education

• MA, New Technologies - 3D modelling and rendering CICE Escuela Profesional de Nuevas Tecnologías (Madrid), 2007

• MA, History of Art and Archaeology in Islamic Middle East, SOAS University of London, 2017