Temple of Apollo, Bassae, Corinthian cap.

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It is the first nearly complete temple still surving, with for the the first time, all three architectural styles: Doric, Ionian and Corinthian. The temple was erected on a raised area, 1,131m, called the ‘Bassai ‘, meaning little vale in the rocks.

It is a Doric peripteral temple made from local limestone, and consists of a prodome and a cella. It is orientated north to south. In the cella there was a column with a corinthian capital, which is the oldest known example of its kind.

The temple was decorated with a marble sculpted frieze depicting the battles between the Amazons and the Centaurs. The frieze ‘s marbles have been looted by the British and can now be found in the British Museum.

The temple, work of Ictinos architect of the Parthenon, is dated at ca. 420 B.C. It was built over an older temple, by the inhabitants of Figalos in honour of Epicurean Apollo, gratitude for saving them from a plague. The name Epicuros was given to Apollo ca. 650 B.C., during the wars against the Spartans