ANALYSIS AND PREDICTIVE
MODELING OF ANCIENT GREEK
TEMPLES THROUGHOUT THE
MEDITERRANEAN
By Sean Patrick Yusko
Overview
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Classical Archaeology emphasis on
individual site studies
New interest in sacred space
GIS analysis encompassing all temples
Spatial relationships & patterns
Predictive modeling
Introduction
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Temples carried cultural significance
236 temples from roughly 800 BC – 150 AD
Introduction cont.
Statement of Problem
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A gap exists in on-going research
concerning sacred space
Little geographic data pertaining to
temples
No assessment of spatial patterns
Purpose
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Identify spatial relationships of temples
with their surroundings and with each
other
Investigate those relationships
Potential Patterns
DEITY
COUNT
MEAN
STANDARD DEVIATION
MIN
MAX
Apollo
35
166.82899
230.10899
2
1127
Unknown
34
152
280.93201
2
1522
Athena
29
139.517
180.41299
3
674
Zeus
18
258.77802
297.85699
8
995
Hera
17
40.647099
77.103401
-1
331
Artemis
17
225.52901
395.383
4
1482
Poseidon
7
29.7143
19.0467
5
54
Herakles
4
117.25
50.765999
65
197
Dionysos
4
33.75
38.284302
9
100
Demeter
4
140
154.47501
13
399
Aphrodite
4
418
259.479
60
766
Review of Literature
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Classical Archaeology
Sacred space
Temple surveys
Greek city planning
Roles of regional sanctuaries
Rise of the polis
Ancient tourism (Pausanias)
Methodology
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Research
Data collection, creation (digitizing)
Zonal statistics, autocorrelation
Investigate relationships of temples with
elevation, ecological data, water source
Hill shade, temple orientation
Investigate patterns with deities,
architectural styles
Methodology cont.
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Are there meaningful geographic patterns
with respect to physical features?
Analysis and interpretation
Data limitations
Predictive modeling
Significance
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Aim to establish certain spatial correlations
Investigate deity worship patterns
Provide new data for exploration
Use variables to predict temple locations
Plan of Work
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4 weeks research, investigation, reading
2 weeks GIS operations
2 weeks analysis
2 weeks document and predictive
modeling
2 weeks write final report
Questions?