Greek Temple Orientation: The Case of the Older Parthenon in Athens

The study of the orientation of ancient structures has recently experienced a renaissance in scientific interest after languishing for much of the twentieth century. Under the umbrella of the new multi-discipline of archaeoastronomy, the analyses of orientations have become more sophisticated, with a wider range of celestial phenomena now included, along with information derived from cult myths and rituals, so that celestial phenomena are identified through being relevant on a local, cultural and cultic level. Ironically, this revival of interest in temple orientations largely matches in its methodology that of Dinsmoor 1931], yet his work has lost favour because of his insistence on the priority of solar phenomena. In this paper, I revisit Dinsmoor’s analysis of one temple, the Older Parthenon in Athens, to assess his methodology and conclusions.