Temple of Artemis at Corfu: Home of the Gorgon Pediment

The Story of the Temple of Artemis at Corfu

Corfu, known in antiquity as Korkyra, was settled by colonists from Corinth in the 8th century BC. Its strategic position on the sea route between Greece and Italy made it rich and powerful, and in the Archaic period its people built a great temple to Artemis, goddess of the hunt and wild animals, just south of today's Corfu town. It is one of the earliest stone temples of the Doric order.

The temple was built around 580 BC. It was a large Doric temple of limestone, with 8 columns across each end, surrounded by a colonnade. Today only its foundations and the remains of a great altar can be seen on site, in the area of Garitsa near the estate of Mon Repos. But the temple's fame rests on something else: the sculptures of its west pediment, which are among the oldest surviving examples of their kind in Greece.

At the center of the pediment stands a huge Gorgon, the monster better known as Medusa, shown in a running pose with snakes around her waist and a terrifying grinning face. She is about 3 meters tall, and her role was protective: her gaze was meant to frighten away evil. On either side of her are her children, the winged horse Pegasus and the hero Chrysaor, and beside them lie two great panthers, ready to spring.

In myth, the hero Perseus beheaded Medusa, and from her neck sprang Pegasus and Chrysaor, the children she had conceived with Poseidon. The sculptors of Corfu showed them already beside their mother, telling the whole story in a single scene. In the corners of the pediment, smaller figures show other mythical battles, including a scene that seems to show Zeus fighting a Giant.

The pediment was uncovered in 1911, during excavations near Mon Repos, and the German archaeologist Wilhelm Dörpfeld later took part in work at the site. The German emperor Wilhelm II, who owned the nearby Achilleion palace and spent time on Corfu, took a keen interest in the discoveries. The surviving pieces of the pediment were moved to the Archaeological Museum of Corfu, where they are the centerpiece of the collection.

The temple belonged to the ancient city of Korkyra, which lay on the Kanoni peninsula south of the modern town. Korkyra became a major naval power, and its quarrel with Corinth helped spark the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC. Remains of the ancient city, including other temples and walls, are scattered among the gardens and suburbs of the peninsula. In the park of Mon Repos, where Prince Philip was born in 1921, you can also find the remains of other ancient temples among the trees.

Today the remains of the Temple of Artemis are a modest stop near the Mon Repos estate, best combined with a visit to the Archaeological Museum of Corfu in the town. There, the Gorgon pediment fills a whole room, and its scale and fierce energy make it one of the most memorable sculptures of early Greek art. Afterward, explore the Kanoni peninsula and enjoy the famous view of the little monastery of Vlacherna and Mouse Island.