Rituals of Sunlight: Orientation and Natural Illumination of the Doric Temple in Pompeii

The Doric Temple at the Triangular Forum in Pompeii is the oldest sanctuary of the town. The first phase can be dated some few decades after Pompeii’s foundation, even though its monumental form can be placed only around 530-520 BC. Along the history of the sanctuary, its peculiar orientation has remained unvaried: the building was not placed in line with any geomorphological or urban directions. Considering the local land­scape, an archaeoastronomical analysis was here applied to explain this sacred orientation. As a result, it se­ems clear that the Doric Temple has been founded to be intentionally oriented towards the Sun at Summer Solstice, setting exactly behind the temple. Indeed, the importance of the sanctuary within the town founda­tion ritual is discussed, as supported by the fact that the urban grid is turned towards Summer Solstice as well, but at the rising Sun. This interest for the Summer Solstice is confirmed by the fact the beginning of the year in Pompeii was the 1st July, as attested by later sources. This integrated solar design is tentatively con­textualised within the fragmentary knowledge of the local cult, in the Hellenistic times governed by Athēna/ Minerva and, possibly, Hēraklēs. Finally, the natural illumination of the inner temple is tested by the tools of 3D Virtual Archaeology and digital reconstruction (anastylōsis). Focusing on the relative positions of the cult statue base found in situ, the temple thresholds, and the course of the Sun, it is here suggested that a light epi­phany of divinity might have been planned to be annually recurrent on specific days of the ritual activities.