Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks

288 Daily Life of the Ancient Greeks
were in dire financial straits, Nikomedes, king of Bithynia, offered
to purchase the naked statue from them. Despite their hardship, the
Knidians refused, claiming that it was the nude statue of Aphrodite
for which their city was best known.
Architecture
The Greek temple afforded the primary context for the expression
of Greek architectural excellence. It was also the architectural
medium on which was expended the greatest amount of energy.
Built primarily to house a cult statue, it provided a showcase for
the finest achievements of Greek architecture. The temple was by
no means intrinsic to worship, since all cultic activity took place in
the open air, around the altar. Its primary religious function was to
secure the goodwill of the deity to whom it was erected.
The basic layout of the temple was established around the end
of the seventh century b.c.e. A pronaos, or porch, leads to a central
room, or naos. In some cases, there is a back porch, or opisthodomos,
and a surrounding colonnade known as a peristyle. Temples were
mostly aligned on an east-west axis, with the cult statue facing east
Kouros or standing male nude.