New

Models to Explain the Alignments

of Greek Temples
Mark Carlotto (mark@carlotto.us)

Abstract
An analysis of over fifty Greek temple and other archaeological sites reveal that one-third
(33%) are aligned to the cardinal directions, solstices, and lunar standstills. The others are
largely unexplained in terms of current theories. We consider three alternative models that
are able to account for the alignment of all but one of the other sites. The first, which
assumes certain sites were aligned in the direction of the geomagnetic pole using some form
of magnetic compass at the time of construction, accounts for approximately 10% of
unexplained alignments. The second, which considers the possibility that ancient sites were
aligned to older oracles or other centers of spiritual significance, reveals that a significant
fraction (42%) appear to face in directions toward the Amun Temple in Siwa, the Cave of
Zeus and Mt. Ida on Crete, Dodoni, Delphi, and Mycenae. Alignments of the remaining 15%
of the sites have no conventional explanation. An analysis of these sites reveals that all but
one are aligned in directions that reference previous hypothesized locations of the North
Pole.

Introduction
The first systematic study of temple orientations in ancient Greece was carried out by
Heinrich Nissen in the nineteenth century (Ruggles 2005). Early hypotheses involved solar
and stellar alignments of temples on feast days of the deities; e.g., on August 31, 488 BCE,
Athena’s “birthday,” the sun would have risen north of east along the main axis of the
Parthenon (Hannah 2013). Gradually however it became evident that there was no simple
rule to explain the alignments of temples dedicated to various Greek gods (Hannah et al
2015). Boutsikas (2007, 2009) proposed that the performance of cults and religious rites
was the result of an amalgamation combining several aspects such as landscape, ethnic
identity, agricultural practices, continuity of earlier practices, mythology and astronomy.
She argues that the role of the sun in aligning Greek temples was probably overestimated
due to the fact that so many Greek temples are aligned in generally east-west directions.

This paper considers three new models to explain the alignment of Greek temples and other
archaeological sites and features. The first, which is motivated by the tendency of the
temples to be misaligned to the cardinal directions, considers the possibility that the Greeks
could have used some form of magnetic compass to align sites to the geomagnetic pole at
the time of construction. The second model considers the alignment of sites to places of
importance. The Greek writer Vitruvius, in his work De Architectura, makes it clear that
sunrise was not always the principal concern and that there was sometimes a preference for
facing nearby cities or directions of approach along rivers or roads. The third applies a new
shifted-pole alignment model (Carlotto 2019a, 2020b) that has proven effective in
accounting for the alignments of previously unexplained sites in other parts of the world.
Sites and Methodology
Figure 1 plots the locations of the sites examined in this study consisting of temples, oracles,
and other important archaeological features in Greece, Sicily, western Turkey, and northern
Africa. Using Google Earth and algorithms for computing the directions of solstices and
lunar standstills, and directions to specific geographic locations (Carlotto 2019b), possible
alignment hypotheses of structures at these sites were determined by visually correlating
computed directions with the edges of rectilinear features. Table 1 lists all of the sites
examined and the various alignment hypotheses discussed in this paper.

Cardinal Directions
Structures at six of the 59 sites examined are aligned to the cardinal directions:

• Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae
• Temple of Athena, Priene
• Temple of Concordia, Agrigento
• Temple of Hercules, Agrigento
• Temple of Nemesis, Atica
• Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens

As shown in Figure 2 these sites are distributed throughout the region of interest.

Solar Alignments
Structures at two sites are aligned to solstices: the major axis of the Temple of Demeter at
Agrigento is aligned to the winter solstice sunrise/summer solstice sunset, and the minor
axis of the Anaktoron at Samothrace is aligned to the summer solstice sunrise/winter
solstice sunset.

Lunar Alignments
Twelve sites are aligned to the extreme motions of the moon. Surprisingly only one site is
aligned to major lunar standstills – the Temple of Apollo at Didim in Turkey. The other 11
sites are aligned to minor lunar standstills:

• Acropolis at Tiryns
• Aizanoi Ancient City in Turkey
• Amphitheater at Dodoni
• Amphitheater at Delos
• Amun Temple in the Siwa Oasis
• Artemis Temple at Sardis
• Pyramid of Hellenikon at Argos
• Temple of Aphaia at Aegina
• Temple of Apollo at Corinth
• Temple of Dionysus at Naxos
• Theater at Argos

As shown in Figure 3 sites that are aligned to solstices and lunar standstills are also
distributed throughout the region of interest.

Alignments to the Geomagnetic Pole

The remaining sites are aligned in directions outside the range of cardinal and lunar/solar
directions. Previously it has been demonstrated that numerous earthen mounds that served
as burial tombs and mausoleums in China could have been aligned using a magnetic
compass toward the north geomagnetic pole at the time of construction (Charvátová 2011).
Figure 4 plots the azimuth angle of the geomagnetic pole within the region of interest over
the past 4000 years estimated from data in McElhinny and McFadden (2000). Many of the
unexplained sites fall within the range of deviations from true north (approximately ±15°).
Using these data to approximate the location of the north geomagnetic pole, it is possible
that 6 of the 59 sites could have been aligned using a magnetic compass. Two examples are
shown in Figure 5. The ruins at Paestum including the Temple of Poseidon have been dated
to 600-450 BCE. The Temple of Hera (E) at Selinunte has been dated to the 6th century BCE.
The alignments of both of these sites are in accord with the estimated directions of the
geomagnetic pole at around the time of construction. Although the Greeks knew of the
magnetic properties of certain rocks as early as the 6th century BCE, whether they had
applied this knowledge to the create a magnetic compass and used it to align these and
other sites are not known.

Alignments to Oracles/Centers
Richer (1994) proposed that the locations of certain sacred places in ancient Greece
provided a geographical reference frame for a zodiacal interpretation of the alignments of
ancient sites relative to those places. Among these places are the Amun Temple in the Siwa
Oasis near Libya in northwestern Egypt, Mt. Ida on the island of Crete, and the oracles at
Dodoni and Delphi in Greece. Analysis of site alignment directions reveals that 25 (46%) of
the sites examined in this study point to five specific geolocations.

Amun Temple, Siwa

Structures or features at six sites are aligned in the direction of the Amun Temple (Figure
6):

• Abaton and other structures at Epidaurus
• Central city axis, Sparta
• Leonidaion, Olympia
• NW stoa at Corinth below the Temple of Apollo
• Amphitheater, Dodoni
• Passageway into the tomb of Aegisthus, Mycenae

Structures at Dodoni are oriented in several directions. The amphitheater faces in the
direction of the Siwa Oasis (Figure 7a). What is interesting is that the Amun Temple in Siwa
in turn faces Dodoni (Figure 7b). That Siwa and Dodoni face each other suggests they could
have been established at the same time, which is consistent with the following passage from
Herodotus (Book 2, Chapter 55)1:

1 http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Herodotus/2A*.html

“That, then, I heard from the Theban priests; and what follows, is told by the prophetesses
of Dodoni: to wit, that two black doves had come flying from Thebes in Egypt, one to Libya
and one to Dodoni; this last settled on an oak tree, and uttered there human speech,
declaring that there must be there a place of divination from Zeus; the people of Dodoni
understood that the message was divine, and therefore they established the oracular shrine.
The dove which came to Libya bade the Libyans (so they say) to make an oracle of Ammon;
this also is sacred to Zeus...”

Dodoni
Four sites in turn face the oracle at Dodoni (Figure 8):

• Kardaki Temple, Corfu
• Leonidaion, Olympia
• Temple of Artemis, Corfu
• Temple of Artemis, Turkey

The Leonidaion at Olympia appears to be oriented to both Dodoni and Siwa to within ±2° of
each other.

Crete
Four sites are aligned to two locations on the island of Crete:

• Temple of Apollo, Delphi (Cave of Zeus)
• Lion’s Gate, Mycenae (Mt. Ida)
• Temple of Aphaia, Aegina (Mt. Ida)
• Temple of Athena, Turkey (Mt. Ida)

The Cave of Zeus and Mt. Ida are two places the Greeks associated with the birth of Zeus.
Two of the sites contain temples dedicated to two of Zeus’ children: Athena and Apollo.
Pausanias in his Description of Greece (Book 2, Chapter 30, Section 3) connects Aphaia with
Crete and Zeus. The Lion’s Gate at Mycenae is part of a “cyclopean” wall that is oriented in a
southeast direction toward Crete. The rendering of the two lionesses carved on the
limestone slab over the gate is similar to an early image depicting a goddess flanked by two
lionesses found at Knossos in Crete2.

Where the temples of Aphaia and Athena are themselves aligned to Crete, the Temple of
Apollo at Delphi is misaligned by several degrees. This rotational difference is evident in
Figure 10. Penrose (1893) proposed that an earlier temple beneath the current Temple of
Apollo was aligned to the polygonal wall to southeast of the temple, which is disputed by
Boutsikas (2007). Whether or not an earlier temple existed and if so, why the current
temple was oriented at a different angle are interesting questions discussed later in the
paper. Thermoluminescence techniques (Liritzis 2005) date the polygonal wall at Delphi
and the cyclopean walls at Mycenae to 470±200 BCE and 1110±340 BCE, respectively.
These dates are after the period of the Minoan civilization from around 2600 BC to 1400
BCE and so support the idea that Crete could have been used as a reference for aligning later
sites in Greece.

2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_Gate
Delphi
Five sites are aligned in the direction of the oracle at Delphi (Figure 11):

• Temple L, Agrigento
• Temple of Apollo, Corinth
• Temple of Segesta, Sicily
• Temple of Zeus/Jupiter, Agrigento
• Passageway into the tomb of Aegisthus, Mycenae

The location of the Tomb of Aegisthus at Mycenae is interesting as it aligns to within 1° of
both Siwa and Delphi.

Mycenae
In analyzing the alignments of these sites it became evident that a number of sites appeared
to point toward Mycenae:

• Acropolis, Tiryns
• Temple of Dionysus, Naxos
• Temple of Hera, Olympia
• Temple of Zeus, Olympia
• Teos, Turkey
• Theater, Argos

These alignments are plotted in Figure 12.

Unexplained Alignments
Fifteen of the remaining sites cannot be explained in terms of alignments to the cardinal
directions, lunar or solar events, geomagnetic poles, or oracle centers. It is possible that the
reasons for their alignment are complex involving numerous factors as argued by Boutsikas
(2005, 2007) and others. Another possibility is that the sites were aligned to a point of
reference not previously considered. A shift in the location of the geographic poles would
cause sites that were originally aligned to a previous pole location to be misaligned to
cardinal and related directions (Carlotto 2020b). Four previous pole locations have been
proposed:

• Hudson Bay (59.477151, -78.252849)
• Greenland (79.426621, -63.840716)
• Norwegian Sea (70.042259, -0.256799)
• Bering Sea (56.382659, -176.769250)

Remarkably all but one of the remaining unexplained sites examined in this study appear to
reference these pole locations as do all five of the oracles/centers discussed in the previous
section.

Siwa/Dodoni
Historical sources do not tell us when the Amun Temple at Siwa and Dodoni were
established. Besides facing toward Dodoni, the Amun Temple would have been aligned to
the sun on days it passes directly overhead, known as zenith passages, if the North Pole
were in Hudson Bay (Figure 13a). A structure east of the amphitheater at Delphi known as
the Bouleuterion is also aligned to the Hudson Bay pole (Figure 13b). Based on the
chronology of geographic pole shifts over the past 125,000 years (Carlotto 2020b) a shift
from Hudson Bay to the current pole location in the Arctic is hypothesized to have taken
place 12,000-18,000 years ago. It is thus possible that the Amum Temple at Siwa and at
least some parts of the archaeological site at Dodoni are at least that old if not older.

Delphi/Crete
Besides facing toward the Cave of Zeus on Crete, certain structures within the
archaeological site at Delphi are also aligned to the Hudson Bay pole including the
amphitheater and the polygonal wall (Figure 14). The opposing alignment directions
northwest toward the Hudson Bay pole and southeast toward the Cave of Zeus are within
0.2° of one another.

Mycenae/Crete
The Lion’s Gate at Mycenae is aligned northwest toward the Hudson Bay pole and
southwest with respect to Mt. Ida (Figure 15). These two opposing alignments are within
0.5° of each other. Figure 16 reveals that Mt. Ida and the Cave of Zeus are locations on the
island of Crete that appear to extensions of the alignments of Mycenae and Delphi relative
to the Hudson Bay pole. It is thought that Delphi was first established in Mycenaean times
and later co-opted by Apollo3. The alignment of both Delphi and Mycenae to the Hudson Bay
pole suggests the possibility that these two sites and the two locations on the island of Crete
that they reference could be much older.

Other Sites
The following 15 sites listed in Table 1 cannot be explained in terms of alignments to the
cardinal directions, solstices, lunar standstills, geomagnetic poles, or oracles/centers:

• Acropolis, Priene
• Bouleuterion, Dodoni
• Great Temple of Apollo, Selinunte
• Heraion of Samos
• Parthenon, Athens
• Pyramid of Hellenikon, Argos
• South Stoa, Olympia
• Temple of Apollo, Athens
• Temple of Apollo, Syracuse
• Temple of Castor and Pollux, Agrigento
• Temple of Hephaestos, Athens
• Temple of Juno Lacinia, Agrigento
• Temple of Poseidon, Sounio
• Tomb of Agamemnon, Mycenae
• Tomb of Clytaemnestra, Mycenae

3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi

The alignments of four of these sites are illustrated in Figure 17. Two feature a large
acropolis. The Acropolis at Priene, which is north of the Temple of Athena, is aligned toward
the Norwegian Sea pole. The Parthenon and several other structures on the Acropolis in
Athens are aligned in the direction of the Greenland pole. Herodotus described the temple
of Hera at Samos as the largest Greek temple at the time. An extensive Early Bronze Age
settlement exists below the northern area of the ancient Heraion (Kyrieleis 2005). Although
it is currently misaligned approximately 12° west of north, the Heraion at Samos would be
aligned to the cardinal directions if the North Pole were in northern Greenland. The Temple
of the Delians on the island of Delos is aligned in the direction of the solstices at the time of
the Hudson Bay pole. What is particularly interesting about this alignment is that 8 other
sites have a similar solstice alignment relative to the Hudson Bay pole.

Analysis
In a study of over 200 ancient sites throughout the world (Carlotto 2020a) 19% of the sites
were found to be aligned to the cardinal directions, 9% to solstices, 15% to lunar standstills,
5% to the geomagnetic pole at the time of construction, 5% to other sites, 4% to zenith
passages, and 1% to stars. The alignment of approximately 42% of the sites could not be
explained. Here 10% of the sites are aligned to the cardinal directions, and less than 1% to
solstices. A higher fraction of sites are aligned to the moon, but to much more obscure
minor lunar standstills (Sparavigna 2016). Only one site is in the zone of the tropics where
zenith passage alignments can occur. A much higher fraction of sites (42%) are aligned to
oracles/centers. Six of the sites appear to be aligned in the direction of the north
geomagnetic pole at the time they are thought to have been built. Almost all of the
remaining sites can be explained in terms of alignments to previous pole locations.

To assess the statistical significance of these results, let 𝛿 be the angular accuracy (in
degrees) of an alignment. There are, on average 𝑁 = 90/𝛿 resolvable alignment directions
for a rectangular structure. The probability that M structures are aligned to a specific
location is 𝑝 = 𝑁 !! . This is the probability that such an alignment occurs by chance. For the
six sites aligned to Siwa, assuming an accuracy 𝛿 = 1° , 𝑝 = 90!! = 2×10!!" . The
probability of finding M aligned sites among 𝐾 = 59 total sites is

𝐾
𝑝 = 2×10!!" ×45057474 = 9×10!! (1)
𝑀

The significance of the other alignments to other centers is lower since there are fewer sites
aligned to those centers.

By considering an expanded set of geographic hypotheses we can account for the alignment
of almost all of the sites in the study area. It can be argued that by introducing additional
degrees of freedom (i.e., other alignment models) the likelihood of finding a solution to the
alignment problem increases. Let us define a polar distribution function

1 − if an alignment exists in that direction
𝑑 𝜃 = (2)
0 − otherwise

where 𝜃 is quantized in 1° increments and alignments include the cardinal directions, and
the directions of solstices and lunar standstills. Figure 18a is the polar distribution of
possible major (long) axis alignments of sites in the study area in these directions from
10,000 BCE to 2000 CE. Over the past 125,000 years there are many more alignment
possibilities referenced to previous pole locations (Figure 18b). Figure 18c,d plot the
corresponding distributions of alignments along either major or minor axes. The probability
of finding an alignment at a site

!"#°

𝑞= 𝑑(𝜃) (3)
!!!°

is equal to 0.71 for the distribution in Figure 18d. This is the probability that a randomly
oriented rectangle in this part of the world is aligned to current or past poles, or to solstice
or lunar standstill directions relative to these poles. The probability that L sites are aligned
at random in any of these ways is, for the 54 of 59 sites in Table 1 that reference current or
past poles is

𝑞 ! = 0.71!" = 9×10!! (4)

Discussion
The models described in this paper for analyzing Greek temple and other alignments are not
contextualized as is the current trend in archaeoastronomy to incorporate other sources of
information such as cultural practices, astronomical knowledge, and the surrounding
landscape. Instead our approach considers other points/frames of reference, in particular
alignments to other sites or in directions toward the geomagnetic or geographic pole at the
time of construction. The shifted-pole model (Carlotto 2020b) proposes that certain sites
were originally established by an earlier (prehistoric) civilization and later co-opted by the
Greeks. Over time as these sites fell into ruin they were rebuilt and expanded with new
structures added above and around sometimes conforming to the original site plan. What
exists today at some sites is a mix of structures aligned in different directions with the
oldest structures referencing the older pole locations. Perhaps deeper excavations could
provide evidence of the antiquity of these structures.

References
Boutsikas, Efrosyni (2007) Astronomy and Ancient Greek Cult: An application of
archaeoastronomy to Greek religious architecture, cosmologies and landscapes, School of
Archaeology and Ancient History University of Leicester, February.

Boutsikas, Efrosyni (2009) Placing Greek Temples: An Archaeoastronomical Study of the
Orientation of Ancient Greek Religious Structures. Archaeoastronomy: The Journal of
Astronomy in Culture, 21. pp. 4-19. ISSN 0190-9940.

Carlotto, M. J. (2019a). “Archaeological dating using a data fusion approach,” Signal
Processing, Sensor/Information Fusion, and Target Recognition XXVIII, Baltimore MD.

Carlotto, Mark (2019b) “Computing Solar, Lunar, and Geographical Alignments of
Archaeological Sites,” Unpublished working paper, (https://ssrn.com/abstract=3484144)

Carlotto, Mark (2020a) “An Analysis of the Alignment of Archaeological Sites,” Journal of
Scientific Exploration, Spring (in press).

Carlotto, Mark (2020b) “A New Model to Explain the Alignment of Certain Ancient Sites,”
Journal of Scientific Exploration, Summer (in press).

Charvátová, Ivanka , Klokočník , Jaroslav, Kolmaš, Josef, and Kostelecký, Jan (2011) “Chinese
tombs oriented by a compass: Evidence from paleomagnetic changes versus the age of
tombs,” Studia Geophysica et Geodaetica, Vol. 55, pp 159–174.

Hannah, Robert (2013) “Greek Temple Orientation: The Case of the Older Parthenon in
Athens,” Nexus Network Journal 15, No. 3.

Hannah, Robert, Magli, Giulio, Orlando, Andrea (2015) “Understanding the meaning of
Greek temples' orientations. Akragas Valley of the Temples as a case study,” Journal of
Cultural Heritage, Volume 18, 2017. (arXiv:1511.02497v)

Hapgood, Charles Hutchins (1958). Earth’s Shifting Crust: A Key to Some Basic Problems of
Earth Science, (Foreword by Albert Einstein), Pantheon Books.

Kyrieleis, Helmut (2005) “The Heraion at Samos,” in Greek Sanctuaries: New Approaches,
Taylor & Francis e-Library.

Liritzis, Ioannis and Vafiadou, Asimina (2004) “Dating by luminescence of ancient
megalithic masonry,” Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 5(1):25-38.

McElhinny, Michael W. and McFadden, Phillip L. (2000). Paleomagnetism: Continents and
Oceans, Cambridge, MA, Academic Press.

Penrose, F. C. (1893a) ‘On the orientation of Greek temples.’ Proceedings of the Royal Society
of London, 53: 379–384.

Richer, Jean (1994) Sacred Geography of the Ancient Greeks, State University of New York
Press, Albany.

Ruggles, Clive L. N. (2005) Ancient Astronomy: An Encyclopedia of Cosmologies and Myth.

Sacred Directions (2019) (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sacred-
directions/id1454817888?mt=12)

Sparavigna, Amelia Carolina (2016) “The Decumani of Naples and the Minor Lunar
Standstill,” PHILICA, Article number 608.


Table 1 Sites and alignment hypotheses (E – equinox/cardinal directions, S – solstice, M,m –
major and minor lunar standstills, Z – zenith passage, X – reference location, U – unexplained).
Site Latitude Longitude Mag. Pole Center Current Hudson Bay Greenland Norwegian Sea Bering Sea
Abaton, Epidaurus 37.59842927 23.07401107 Siwa E E
Acropolis, Priene 37.6643109 27.29420997 E E
Acropolis, Tiryns 37.598955 22.800353 Mycenae m E E
Aizanoi Ancient City, Turkey 39.20112578 29.609596 m
Amphitheater Dodoni 39.546441 20.787862 Siwa m
Amphitheater, Delos 37.3969141 25.26771648 m
Amphitheater, Isthmia, Corinth 37.91643203 22.99435004 700 BCE E
Amun Temple (Siwa Oasis) 29.20522 25.543504 m Z
Anaktoron, Samothrace 40.50133452 25.53017118 S E
Artemis Temple, Sardis 38.47908692 28.03131979 m
Bouleuterion, Dodoni 39.546864 20.788934 E
Cave of Zeus, Crete 35.1626196 25.4452458 X
Central Axis, Sparta 37.074461 22.430264 Siwa
Great Temple of Apollo, Selinunte 37.58819 12.83491 E
Heraion of Samos 37.6719 26.88556 E
Kardaki Temple, Corfu 39.60137188 19.92612963 Dodoni
Knossos, Crete 35.29786347 25.16309159 1300 BCE E
Leonidaion, Olympia 37.63706886 21.6291457 Dodoni, Siwa M
Lion's Gate, Mycenae 37.73078466 22.75647197 Crete E
Mt. Ida, Crete 35.2264123 24.7707182 X
Parthenon, Athens 37.97146 23.72667 E
Pyramid of Hellenikon, Argos 37.587307 22.671361 m
South Stoa, Olympia 37.637042 21.630822 m E
Temple L, Agrigento 37.29101507 13.58136895 Delphi S
Temple of Aphaia, Aegina 37.75435342 23.53319328 Crete m
Temple of Apollo (C), Selinunte, Sicily 37.58316 12.82528 500 BCE E
Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae 37.42972 21.90028 E
Temple of Apollo, Athens 37.96855155 23.73298224 M E
Temple of Apollo, Corinth 37.906025 22.879215 Delphi m
Temple of Apollo, Delphi 38.48215408 22.50140399 Crete E
Temple of Apollo, Didim (Turkey) 37.38486 27.25639 M E
Temple of Apollo, NW Stoa, Corinth 37.90563445 22.87939341 Siwa
Temple of Apollo, Syracuse 37.06394 15.29297 E
Temple of Artemis, Corfu 39.6077 19.917706 Dodoni
Temple of Artemis, Turkey 37.9495785 27.3639125 Dodoni S,m
Temple of Athena, Paestum 40.42451 15.00545 400 BCE
Temple of Athena, Priene 37.65932 27.29646 E
Temple of Athena, Turkey 39.49074872 26.33686566 Crete M
Temple of Castor and Pollux, Agrigento 37.29132177 13.58155742 S E
Temple of Concordia, Agrigento 37.28960863 13.59191383 E
Temple of Demeter, Agrigento 37.299293 13.603342 S
Temple of Dionysus, Naxos 37.077664 25.380754 Mycenae m S M
Temple of Hephaestos, Athens 37.97556 23.72145 m E
Temple of Hera (E) Selinunte, Sicily 37.586637 12.834761 500 BCE E
Temple of Hera, Olympia 37.63877 21.62969 Mycenae S
Temple of Hercules, Agrigento 37.2902099 13.58616309 E
Temple of Isthmia, Corinth 37.915764 22.993039 U
Temple of Juno Lacinia, Agrigento 37.2886 13.60013 S E
Temple of Nemesis, Atica 38.2176 24.02689 E
Temple of Olympian Zeus, Athens 37.96934 23.7331 E
Temple of Poseidon, Paestum 40.41932 15.00536 400 BCE
Temple of Poseidon, Sounio 37.65016835 24.02455353 m E
Temple of Segesta, Sicily 37.94147 12.83239 Delphi S
Temple of the Delians Delos 37.400368 25.266973 S
Temple of Zeus, Olympia 37.63786 21.6301 Mycenae S
Temple of Zeus/Jupiter, Agrigento 37.29082 13.58441 Delphi S E
Teos, Turkey 38.17723 26.78502 Mycenae S
Theater, Argos 37.63158873 22.71990017 Mycenae m
Tomb of Aegisthus, Mycenae 37.73062567 22.75506406 Siwa, Delphi E E
Tomb of Agamemnon, Mycenae 37.72680688 22.75385955 E
Tomb of Clytaemnestra, Mycenae 37.73074201 22.75564025 E


Figure 1 Locations of 59 sites examined in this study. (Google Earth)

Figure 2 Locations of sites aligned to the cardinal directions (Google Earth)


Figure 3 Locations of sites aligned to solstices and lunar standstills (Google Earth)

15

10

0
-2000 -1500 -1000 -500 0 500 1000 1500 2000
-5

-10

-15

-20

Figure 4 Estimated azimuth angle of the geomagnetic pole within the region of interest over
the past 4000 years. (Based on data provided by McElhinny and McFadden (2000)

a) Temple of Poseidon at Paestum (400 BCE) Temple of Hera (E) Selinunte (500 BCE)
Figure 5 Two temples that could have been aligned to the north geomagnetic pole at around
the time of construction. (Sacred Directions/Apple Maps)

Figure 6 Sites aligned to the Amun Temple at Siwa. (Google Earth)


a) Amun Temple, Siwa. Orange line is in the b) Amphitheater at Dodoni. Orange line indicates
direction of Dodoni. the direction of Siwa.
Figure 7 Alignments between the Amun Temple at Siwa and the amphitheater at Dodoni.
(Sacred Directions/Apple Maps)

Figure 8 Sites aligned to the oracle at Dodoni. (Google Earth)


Figure 9 Sites aligned to Mt. Ida and the Cave of Zeus on the island of Crete. (Google Earth)

Figure 10 Archaeological site of Delphi. The polygonal wall southeast of the Temple of Apollo
is perpendicular to the direction of the Cave of Zeus in Crete. (Google Earth)

Figure 11 Sites aligned to the oracle at Delphi. (Google Earth)

Figure 12 Sites aligned to Mycenae. (Google Earth)


a) Amun Temple, Siwa. Orange line is b) Bouleuterion, Dodoni. White lines are
directed toward Dodoni. Green lines are cardinal directions relative to the Hudson
zenith passage sunrise/sunset directions. Bay pole.
Figure 13 Siwa-Dodoni alignments reference the Hudson Bay Pole (Sacred Directions/Apple
Maps)

a) Alignments of Delphi to Hudson Bay pole b) Alignments reference the polygonal wall
(magenta) and to the cave of Zeus on Crete southeast of the Temple of Apollo.
(orange).
Figure 14 Delphi-Crete alignments reference the Hudson Bay Pole (Sacred Directions/Apple
Maps)


a) Alignments of Mycenae to Hudson Bay b) Alignments reference the Lion’s Gate at
pole (magenta) and to Mt. Ida on Crete Mycenae.
(orange).
Figure 15 Mycenae-Crete alignments reference the Hudson Bay Pole (Sacred Directions/Apple
Maps)

Figure 16 Spatial relationships between Delphi and Mycenae relative to Mt. Ida and the Cave
of Zeus on the island of Crete. (Google Earth)


a) The Acropolis at Priene is closely aligned b) The Parthenon in Athens is closely
to the Norwegian Sea pole aligned to the Greenland pole

c) The Heraion of Samos is closely aligned to d) The Temple of the Delians at Delos is
the Greenland pole oriented toward the solstices relative to the
Hudson Bay pole
Figure 17 Examples of sites aligned to previous hypothesized locations of the North Pole.
(Google Earth)


a) Major axis/current pole b) Major and minor axes/current pole

c) Major axis/all poles d) Major and minor axes/all poles
Figure 18 Alignment directions.