Aegean temples built over fault lines

[Angela]

It makes sense, doesn't it? They knew what powerful forces could be unleashed, so their religion was bound to take account of it.

Of course, that sort of insured that the temples were at great risk.

https://www.archaeology.org/news/5913-170913-greece-earthquake-faults

"Iain Stewart of the University of Plymouth suggests that ancient temples and other important structures in the Aegean region may have been built above fault lines in order to create a connection to the underworld, according to a report in The International Business Times. Mycenae, Ephesus, Cnidus, and Hierapolis were all built on fault lines, Stewart explained. And the temple of Apollo at Delphi, known for its oracle, was constructed over a spot thought to be the center of the world. Earthquakes produced the temple’s sacred spring, and intoxicating gases emanated from the fault line. The temple complex was rebuilt in the same location after it was destroyed by an earthquake in 373 B.C."

Reconstruction of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi:

This is what's left:

 

[Diomedes]

Perhaps they also wanted to build in these places to appease the gods.

How about Dodona though? It is the second most important, yet far from the main city-states.

 

[Angela]

Perhaps they also wanted to build in these places to appease the gods.

How about Dodona though? It is the second most important, yet far from the main city-states.

I think you're right. It's odd that more of a settlement didn't develop over time there, but the site is indeed sitting right over one of the major fracture points in Greece.

Cumae, the home of the Sibyl, and a Greek colony, is also connected to seismic activiy.

This is very near even today: