A History of Architecture in all Countries, Volume 1, 3rd ed. / From the Earliest Times to the Present Day

by James Fergusson

Dimensions of Greek Temples.

Although differing so essentially in plan, the general dimensions of the larger temples of the Greeks were very similar to those of the mediæval cathedrals, and although they never reached the altitude of their modern rivals, their cubic dimensions were probably in about the same ratio of proportion.

The following table gives the approximate dimensions, rejecting fractions, of the eight largest and best known examples:—

Juno, at Samos	346 feet long	190 feet wide = 65,740 feet.
Jupiter, at Agrigentum	360 feet long	173 feet wide = 62,280 feet.
Apollo, at Branchidæ	362 feet long	168 feet wide = 60,816 feet.
Diana, at Ephesus	348 feet long	164 feet wide = 57,072 feet.
Jupiter, at Athens	354 feet long	135 feet wide = 47,790 feet.
Didymæus, at Miletus	295 feet long	156 feet wide = 45,020 feet.
Cybele, at Sardis	261 feet long	144 feet wide = 37,884 feet.
Parthenon, at Athens	228 feet long	101 feet wide = 23,028 feet.

There may be some slight discrepancies in this table from the figures quoted elsewhere, and incorrectness arising from some of the temples being measured on the lowest step and others, as the Parthenon, on the highest; but it is sufficient for comparison, which is all that is attempted in its compilation.