Temples

Temples were very important buildings in the Greek city. The Greeks had many gods, and believed that each town, stream or wood had a special god. The gods had responsibility for different things, and each activity the Ancient Greeks did, whether it was farming, hunting, travelling or going to war, was watched over by a particular god. If you wanted to be successful in a task then you needed to pray to the god in charge of that thing. When things went wrong the Greeks believed that it was because the gods were angry.

There were many temples in each town because there was more than one god, and sometimes one area of the town, often a hilltop, would become a holy place. Here the Greeks would build several temples, including one to the special god or goddess who looked after that town. This area of temples was called the acropolis.

The temples showed how wealthy and powerful the city was. Rich cities, like Athens, built temples of the best stone, and decorated them with paintings, statues and carvings.

A temple compound