The Temple and the Bassae Frieze in the British Museum
What you see on the mountain at Bassae, what is now in London, why the sculpted frieze was removed, and how to appreciate the temple knowing its carvings are abroad.
A visit to the Temple of Apollo Epicurius comes with an important thing to understand in advance: the temple's magnificent architecture stands on its mountain in Greece, but its famous sculpted frieze has been in the British Museum in London since 1815. Knowing this split before you make the long journey up to Bassae turns a potential disappointment into part of the temple's remarkable story. This guide explains what you actually see on site, what the frieze depicted and where it is now, why it was removed in the early 19th century, and how to appreciate the temple fully knowing its carvings are displayed abroad.
What do you actually see at Bassae?
At Bassae you see the temple itself — its architecture, its plan and its extraordinary setting — rather than its sculptural decoration. Much of the outer Doric colonnade still stands, so the building reads clearly as a classical temple, and you walk close to and around it within the great protective shelter that has covered it since the late 20th century. Inside, the arrangement of the cella, the spur walls and the positions where the engaged Ionic columns and the pioneering Corinthian column once stood can be traced, giving a vivid sense of the inventive interior that makes the temple so important in the history of architecture. This is a visit about form, space and place: the columns, the mountain light within the tent, and the wide views of Arcadia outside.
What you will not see on site is the carved frieze that once ran around the top of the inner chamber, nor most of the temple's other sculpture, because these were removed in the early 19th century. It is worth setting expectations accordingly: Bassae rewards those who come for architecture and atmosphere rather than for sculpture in situ. The audio history we send before your visit describes exactly what stood where — the run of the frieze, the placement of the Corinthian capital, the logic of the unusual north–south orientation — so that as you stand in the chamber you can reconstruct in your mind's eye the decoration that has gone. Understood this way, the temple's architecture and its absent sculpture together tell a fuller and more interesting story than either would alone.
What is the Bassae frieze and where is it now?
The Bassae frieze is a continuous band of marble relief that once ran around the inside of the temple's inner chamber, above the Ionic columns. Carved in the late 5th century BC, it depicts two of the great mythological battles that Greek artists loved: the Amazonomachy, in which Greeks fight the warrior women known as the Amazons, and the Centauromachy, in which the Lapiths fight the half-human, half-horse centaurs. Crowded, dynamic and full of movement and drama, it is a major work of classical sculpture, closely related in date and spirit to the sculptures of the Parthenon, and it is one of the reasons the temple is so celebrated among historians of ancient art.
Today the frieze is displayed in the British Museum in London, where it has been since 1815 and where it occupies its own dedicated room, reassembled around the walls much as it once ran inside the temple. So the sculpture and the building it was made for are now separated by around two thousand miles: the architecture remains on its Arcadian mountain, while the carvings are in a gallery in northern Europe. For visitors, this means that fully appreciating the temple can involve two very different places — the remote, atmospheric site in Greece, and the museum room in London — and that seeing one deepens the appreciation of the other. Many who visit Bassae make a point of seeking out the frieze in London, or vice versa, to complete the picture.
Why was the frieze removed from the temple?
The frieze was removed in the early 19th century, during the era when European antiquarians were exploring, excavating and often exporting the antiquities of Greece, then under Ottoman rule. After the temple was brought to wider European attention in the late 18th century, an expedition excavated the site in 1811 and 1812, uncovering the fallen frieze blocks. The sculptures were subsequently sold, and were acquired for the British Museum, arriving in London in 1815. This was part of the same broad current of antiquities collecting that saw other Greek sculptures dispersed to museums across Europe in the same decades, a practice viewed very differently today than it was at the time.
The removal of the frieze from Bassae, like the removal of sculptures from other Greek monuments in the same period, is the subject of ongoing historical and ethical debate about the movement and ownership of cultural heritage. Our role here is simply to help you understand, accurately and without spin, where the temple's sculpture is and why, so that you can plan and appreciate your visit with clear expectations. What remains at Bassae is the building itself, preserved by its mountain isolation and now protected under its shelter; what is in London is its sculptural decoration. Knowing this history is part of understanding the temple, and it adds a further, human layer to the story of a monument already remarkable for its architecture and its setting.
How can I appreciate the temple knowing the sculptures are abroad?
The key to a rewarding visit is to come to Bassae for what is there — one of the best-preserved and most architecturally significant classical temples in Greece, in a setting of rare grandeur — rather than to feel the absence of what is not. Focus on the things that make the building extraordinary in themselves: the survival of so much of the Doric colonnade; the ingenious interior that combined Ionic columns and the earliest known Corinthian capital; the unusual north–south orientation and the side door that may have lit the cult statue; and the sheer improbability of encountering so sophisticated a building, by the architect of the Parthenon, alone at over a thousand metres in the Arcadian mountains. Seen on its own terms, the temple is deeply rewarding without its frieze.
It also helps to prepare, so that knowledge fills the gap the sculpture has left. The audio history we send explains what the frieze showed and where it ran, letting you picture the carved battles above you as you stand in the chamber. If you are able, seeing the frieze in the British Museum, whether before or after your trip, completes the experience by joining the architecture and its decoration in your understanding, even though they are now far apart. Our concierge recommendation is to visit Bassae for its architecture, atmosphere and setting, to use the audio history to reconstruct the lost decoration in your imagination, and to treat the frieze in London as a companion piece to the mountain temple rather than a substitute for it.
Frequently asked
Is the frieze still at the Temple of Apollo Epicurius?
No. The temple's sculpted marble frieze was removed in the early 19th century and has been in the British Museum in London since 1815. On site at Bassae you see the temple's architecture and setting, but not its sculpture.
What does the Bassae frieze show?
It is a continuous marble relief depicting two mythological battles: the Amazonomachy, Greeks fighting the Amazons, and the Centauromachy, the Lapiths fighting the centaurs. Carved in the late 5th century BC, it is a major work of classical sculpture.
Why was the frieze taken to London?
It was excavated in 1811–1812, during the era of European antiquities collecting in Ottoman-ruled Greece, then sold and acquired for the British Museum, arriving in London in 1815. The movement of such sculptures is much debated today.
What do I actually see at Bassae if the frieze is gone?
You see the temple itself — much of its Doric colonnade still standing, its inventive interior plan and the site of the earliest Corinthian capital — within its protective shelter, in a magnificent mountain setting. It is a visit about architecture, form and place.
Is it still worth visiting the temple without the frieze?
Yes, if you value architecture, history and setting. Bassae is one of the best-preserved classical temples in Greece, designed by the architect of the Parthenon, and its mountain solitude is unforgettable. The audio history we send helps you picture the lost sculpture in place.
Can I see the frieze and the temple both?
Yes, though in two very different places: the architecture on its Arcadian mountain in Greece, and the frieze in its own room in the British Museum in London. Many visitors seek out both to complete the picture.