Overview
This project stems from the wonderful wooden scale model of the Temple of Aphaia made by Jeanne E. Quinn (OC '88). Professor Christopher Trinacty and his team of students and staff wanted to contextualize the model within the larger world of Greek history, mythology, art and architecture, and the environment of the island of Aegina.
Interviews with the artist
The scale model of the Temple of Aphaia was constructed by Oberlin alumna Jeanne E. Quinn (OC '88). Woods used include maple, beech, sycamore, oak, and cherry. Of particular interest are the delicately fluted maple columns and the cherry wood roof, made to resemble thousands of individual clay tiles. The temple was built as a teaching model; it can be disassembled to show the detailed interior and construction techniques used by the Greeks. It was part of Quinn's honors project in Art History, "Technology in Greek Architecture," and was begun during a Winter Term apprenticeship sponsored by J. Harvey Baker '66 at Dunmire Hollow Woodshop in Waynesboro, Tennessee. The workshop, founded in 1978 by J. Harvey Baker, specializes in high quality custom woodworking, primarily ornate church furniture. After graduation, Quinn spent four more months at Dunmire Hollow to finish the temple. The project was supported financially by Dunmire Hollow Woodshop and Oberlin College.
An introductory interview with Oberlin Alumna Jeanne E. Quinn (OC '88)
Professor Quinn discusses experiential learning and the model
More stories about building the model
Mythology of Aegina
Learn more about how Aegina and Athens used mythology in their war with one another. This talk from the Oberlin World Mythologies conference features Professor Christopher Trinacty discussing how mythology can be seen as a sort of "soft power" for a polis; the myths of the Aeacids were wielded by both city-states for self-definition as well as PR.