Hellenistic sanctuaries in Sicily - The sanctuary of Demeter at Heloros

• Applicant: Dr.-Ing. Markus Wolf
• Subject Area: Architecture, Building and Construction History, Construction Research, Sustainable Building Technology
• Term: from 2009 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 138444399

Building on top of the study of the Great Altar of Hiero II in Syracuse which was the object of my work during the first year of the grant, I wish to further investigate the topic of the Greek influence on the architecture of the Eastern Sicilian kingdom of Hiero II, the last indipendent Greek kingdom on the island. In particular I intend to focus on the sanctuary of Demeter in the Syracusan sub-colony of Heloros for which now the unexpected possibility and unique chance of a study has presented itself. Thanks to the new extensive structural analysis and study of the building in Heloros which I plan to carry out during my third year of the grant, it will be possible to better grasp the situation in Eastern Sicily and Hiero‘s architecture and building program and to shed new light through the peculiar models on the building and cultural activities by Hiero. It will also be possible to highlight the differences in comparison to the Hellenistic sanctuaries of the other part of the region, which was already a Roman province, such as the Roman-Italic podium temple „Oratorio di Falaride“ in Agrigentum, which is currently being investigated in my second year as a focal point next to other Western Sicilian examples with Punic or Roman influenced architecture. Through the study of the Heloros complex which represents a key point for the understanding of the Hellenistic architecture in Sicily, it will be possible to complete and comprehensively conclude the historical overview on the various influences on the architectural development of the buildings in a moment, when Sicily found itself in an area of tension between different civilizations and ethnic components.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• Host: Dr. Thomas Fröhlich