Ancient Greece History Co-op - Week 10 - Temple Models

Week 10: We built scale models of Greek Temples.

This lesson combined history and math for a unique learning experience. The kids had to select an Ancient Greek temple to model to scale.

My son chose the Temple of Hephaestus located in Athens, Greece.  He found it was 104 feet long by 45 feet wide and estimated the height at about 30 feet. The temple has columns on all four sides. There are six Doric columns on the front and back, and thirteen along each long edge.

We decided that one long block would equal 10 feet.

Then he counted by 10's and rounded to determine he needed 10 long blocks and 1 short block down the long wall and 4 long blocks and 1 short block across the front and back.

Scale model of the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, Greece

Scale model of the Temple of Poseidon in Sounion, Greece

My daughter chose to model the Temple of Poseidon which is very similar to the Temple of Hephaestus. They were both constructed from marble and likely designed by the same person. Instead of 34 columns, her's had 42. The Temple of Poseidon today stands in a ruined state in Sounion, Greece. Sounion is located about 1.5 hours from Athens on the legendary spot where Theseus's father Aegeus saw Theseus returning from Crete with the black sail hoisted on his ship.

Understanding scale is a very important skill. It has applicability in mapping, model making and in engineering drawings. This was a fun way for the kids to gain a better understanding of this concept while connecting it with their history studies.

To see more of our History activities please visit our history page.