Mediterranean Coast - Sicily - page 485

office, the 5th-century-BC Tempio di Hera OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (Temple of Hera; ) , also
known as the Tempio di Giunone (Temple of Juno), is perched on the edge of a ridge.
Though partly destroyed by an earthquake in the Middle Ages, much of the colonnade re-
mains intact as does a long altar, originally used for sacrifices. The traces of red are the
result of fire damage, most likely during the Carthaginian invasion of 406 BC.
From here, the path continues westwards, past a gnarled 800-year-old olive tree and a
series of Byzantine tombs built into the city walls, to the Tempio della Concordia OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP (Temple of Concord; ) . This remarkable edifice, the model for Unesco's logo, has
survived almost entirely intact since it was constructed in 430 BC. There are several reas-
ons why it has survived while other temples have not, one being that it was converted into
a Christian basilica in the 6th century and the main structure was reinforced. The principle
reason, though, is more down to earth. Beneath the hard rock on which the temple stands
is a layer of soft clay that acts as a kind of natural shock absorber, protecting it from earth-
quake tremors. Whether the Greek engineers knew this when they built the temple is the
subject of debate but modern scholars tend to think they did. In 1748 the temple was re-
stored to its original form and given the name it's now known by. The last of the zone's
temples, the Tempio di Ercole OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (Temple of Hercules; ) , is the oldest, dating
from the end of 6 BC. Eight of its 38 columns have been raised and you can wander
around the remains of the rest. Down from the main temples, you can see a little temple
set on a high base. This is known as the Tomba di Terone OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (Tomb of Ther-
on) , although it dates to 75 BC, about 500 years after the death of Theron, Agrigento's
Greek tyrant.

Western Zone
( 9am-7pm summer, 9am-5pm winter) The main feature of the park's western zone is the
crumbled ruin of the Tempio di Giove OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (Temple of Olympian Zeus; ) . Cover-
ing an area of 112m by 56m with columns 20m high, this would have been the largest
Doric temple ever built had its construction not been interrupted by the Carthaginians
sacking Akragas. The incomplete temple was later destroyed by an earthquake. Lying flat
on his back amid the rubble is an 8m-tall telamon (a sculpted figure of a man with arms
raised), originally intended to support the temple's weight. It's actually a copy of the ori-
ginal, which is in the Museo Archeologico. A short hop away, four columns mark the Tem-
pio dei Dioscuri OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (Temple of Castor and Pollux) , a 5th-century-BC temple
that was destroyed by earthquake and partially rebuilt in the 19th century. Just behind is a
complex of altars and small buildings believed to be part of the 6th-century-BC Santuario

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