A few points about Bassae following our visit in Oct 2017.

a. Its Architectural significance

Bassae doesn’t exactly “wow” at first sight. It is certainly wildly and remotely situated but, beyond that, lacks what I might call “first order appeal” (look at its “rating” on this site!). It consists primarily of a rectangle of crumbling pillars, plus some “internal walls” - all much smaller and less “impressive” than its “big brother”, the Parthenon, with which it is approximately contemporaneous (c450-400BC). All is hidden under a rather grubby, disintegrating tent which has been in place since 1987 during a “long term” (!!) restoration project. The tent of course totally destroys one of the building’s main attributes - namely its relationship with its setting. Early photos in the next link below show it in its unshrouded glory.

Back in Athens, the queues for the Parthenon would no doubt have been reaching epic proportions, but at Bassae we were almost alone. There was, however, a group of US graduate school students who were being shown round by a professor from Oxford - so we “followed” them. And he found plenty to talk about – its location, its orientation, its internal layout, its proportions, its decoration, its religious uses, who built it, who copied it etc etc! Wiki says “Although this temple is geographically remote from major polities of ancient Greece, it is one of the most studied ancient Greek temples because of its multitude of unusual features” - a WHS for cognoscenti of Greek history and architecture I guess!

Much of Bassae’s architectural significance lies in aspects which have been removed, have disappeared or are the subject of debate. The Temple was unique in (originally) possessing examples of all three “ancient orders” of architecture - in particular of the “earliest” Corinthian column discovered to date. This was placed “dead centre” as a stand alone column - a fact which has been the subject of many a research paper on why and what it was used for etc. Little more than its base seems to be present now. This can be seen with difficulty through the external pillars and is currently surrounded by a wooden barrier (Photo – up steps in centre distance). I have looked in vain for any earlier photos, on the basis that the column itself might have been removed for the duration of the restoration. It is certainly the case however that the distinctive Corinthian acanthus-leaved capital has gone for ever -  having been “lost at sea”. Luckily the 19th C archaeologists had made a drawing of it!

And this is another WHS about which there are complex theories regarding its relationship to the movement of the Sun (It was dedicated to Apollo so that makes sense of course).  As our Oxford Professor pointed out, this Greek Temple is one of few which is oriented North/South rather than East/West. But why? Was it “forced” by the land on which it was built? In fact this orientation goes back to an archaic temple built centuries before the “Classical” version whose remains we see now and I have read that it could be due to its Arcadian religious “roots” – the Greek pantheon and its rituals didn’t come down from Olympus fully formed in one go but were developed across many centuries from the myths of earlier cultures!!. The existence of both a Northern and an Eastern entrance seems significant with the latter permitting the Sun’s rays to enter the heart of the Temple at certain times (“a door was placed in the side of the temple, perhaps to let light in to illuminate the cult statue” Wiki).  This article for download indicates one theory.

Just a few months later, we visited another European archaeological site which is also “unusually oriented” in comparison with most of its cultural siblings - namely the Menga Dolmen at Antequera . It too is the subject of much speculation regarding its relationship to the Solstice - see my review . Are ancient sites particularly at the “mercy” of those who are driven to spend their lives looking for such astronomical “alignments” - and somehow always manage to find them! Or is it reasonable to believe that all ancient cultures both knew and could forecast the regularity of heavenly bodies and regarded these as significant when locating/designing and constructing their places of ritual and worship? My scepticism is not totally extinguished on this matter but I am prepared to give the possibility some credence!

Outside the tent, on terraces cleared and levelled for the purpose, a vast array of stones stands neatly lined up in rows - each identified and catalogued. But “using them up” doesn’t seem to figure in the tasks shown in video about the restoration which plays continuously inside the tent (as described by John Booth below). In fact ancient Bassae consisted of a “sanctuary” complex with elements in addition to the central temple so, no doubt, many stones came from these other structures. This article from 2018 indicates the “geological” pace of progress on restoration and highlights that the work shown in the video is actually only a subproject of a phase on a small part of the temple and has, in any case, been at a halt for 3 years due to lack of money. It could yet be many years before the tent is removed or even replaced with a new one!

b. The Frieze in the British Museum (BM).

Among all those stones, you will see some which are laid out in a rectangle on the ground. These are identified as having formed the architrave on which the “Bassae frieze” once rested. A notice board states “After its looting by the so-called “excavators” the frieze and other sculptures of the temple had been transferred to England (1814) and resulted in the British Museum (1815) where they are now exposed” (sic). Yes - in addition to the Elgin Marbles, the BM possesses another early “acquisition” from Greece! Excavations were carried out by a “multi-national” group of European artists and architects and the British government bought the frieze from them at auction in Xante. Whether this really provided “legal title” I don’t know - at least Lord Elgin had a “Firmin” from the Ottoman rulers to take and ship the “marbles” which the British government bought a year later. Other “bits of Bassae” are widely scattered including in Moscow’s Pushkin Museum – and even some in Athens!

But be aware - the Bassae Frieze is NOT on permanent display. I have concluded that, despite a fair number of visits to the BM across the years, I probably haven’t actually seen it - if I did, then it was so many years ago that I didn’t appreciate its significance! So, I have had to pencil it in for a future visit - see the opening times which, unfortunately, do not include weekends -  

The BM also holds other smaller fragments of the structure – 374 in all!!! These include what is apparently the only remaining fragment of the temple’s Ionic capital. You can see them here (scroll down).

c. Getting there by Car from Athens.

Our Navmii GPS and Google Maps both selected  a “shortest” route which, at/near Megalopolis, takes a direct but very “minor” road through the village of Lykaio before joining the improved road from Andritsaina at 37.452509, 21.921676  around 4 kms north of Bassae. It is a nice scenic road (with forests full of wonderful cyclamen when we were there) but, particularly after Lykaio, is rather rough and often unsurfaced/potholed – not a good idea in poor/wet weather in a small saloon! If your prime aim is to get to/from Bassae ASAP then force the use of Route 76 all the way via Andritsaina (as we did for our return)!!