In ancient times, Greek temples did not only feature the pale marble and rough terracotta surface that we see today, a result of abrasion over the millennia.
They were actually decorated with bright colours obtained using cinnabar, ochre or mercury sulphide, and many other pigments already known and used by the Greeks.
The decorations of the sacred buildings were lively and complex, featuring braided, petal and meander motifs.
A meander, for example, also known as a meandros, is a decorative border constructed from a continuous line folded to form a repeated motif.
The name meander recalls the winding Büyük Menderes River in Turkey.
