Religie aan de Oxus: Hellenistisch Bactrië aan de hand van de tempel met getande nissen en de Oxustempel

Abstract

The temple with indented niches in Aï Khanoum and the Oxustemple in Takht-e Sangin are both noteworthy for their unusual shape and for their combination of Greek, Iranian and Central Asian influences, which are visible in their respective architecture and in the objects uncovered within them. Due to the great cost, the construction of temples in classical times was mostly a project executed by the ruling elite and in them we can therefore see this ruling elite express itself. This paper seeks to discover what the Hellenistic-Bactrian elite wanted to convey about their identity and specifically how they did so through the aforementioned temples.