A Study on the Reconstruction of the Order, Roof Structure and the Architectural Design of the Stoas of the Asklepieion at Ancient Messene

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Messene was an important Hellenistic city in Peloponnesus and the Asklepieion was located in the city center and was the main sanctuary in Messene. The Doric peripteral Temple of Asklepios was built in a square court which was enclosed by stoas.1)Restoration of the orderThe stoas have two colonnades with Corinthian order. The each column of inner and outer colonnade was composed of shaft with reeded fluting and Corinthian Capital with high relief of Eros or the like. The architrave with three rows of fasciae and the frieze with relief of bull-head and chalice formed out of one block. The cornice with dentils seated on the frieze and the Sima with lion-head and antefix seated on the cornice block. The Sima block contained Corintian-tile-shapen parts made of limestone.2)Restoration of roof structureThe investigation of the traces of the wooden structure revealed us that the every roof, being supported by sloped beams, was built sloped toward the court. However, the inner halves of the interior of the stoas had ceilings which sloped toward the back walls, forming the interior as if the roofs had been built sloped toward both sides.3)Architectural Desigh of the StoasThrough the analysis of the dimensional proportion of the temple and stoas at the Asklepieion, the following conclusion was given. As initial dimensions, the width of the temple was given as 40 ancient feet, the length of south and north stoas were given as about four times as long as the width of temple, and the length of east and west stoas were given as about three and a half times. The measurements of the order of stoas are derived from the simple proportional relationships with axial intercolumniation of the temple.