The Naval Origin of Greek Architecture and Sculpture

Plan of the book
José M. Ciordia. Zaragoza, Spain.

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1. The problem
The Greek temple is a poorly understood building. Many of its features lack a rational explanation. Although usually scholars refer to a previous and unknown architectural tradition of wooden buildings, perhaps there is a simpler explanation. The naval hypothesis
argues that the Greek temple, and public buildings in general, originated from boats stored and turned over upon stays, and that the space under them was used as a living room by the crew overseas, as place of meeting and banquet in the seat of the fleet, and as a warehouse to store gear and merchandise that were object of the commerce.
2. The boats and the sheds of the Iliad
In the 8th century BC Greece restarts its maritime commercial activity, and the temple is born. There may be a relation between both facts. The Greek words for boat, náus, and for  temple, naós, are very similar. In fact, naós could have been an adjective whose meaning was once “naval”, and which finally became a substantive: ho naós, “the naval”, translated by us as “the temple”. But which substantive did this adjective accompany? Obviously the original expression was ho naós óikos “the naval building”, which designates in classical times the
arsenal in which boats are stored.

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