| Temple of Heracles, Agrigento | |
|---|---|
 Columns of the Temple of Heracles | |
 Interactive map of Temple of Heracles, Agrigento | |
| General information | |
| Location | Agrigento,Sicily |
| Coordinates | 37°17′25″N13°35′11″E / 37.29028°N 13.58639°E /37.29028; 13.58639 |
TheTemple of Heracles orTemple of Hercules (the Roman name of thehero) is anancient Greek temple ofMagna Graecia in the ancient city ofAkragas, located in theValle dei Templi inAgrigento, Italy.[1]
The building, in thearchaicDoric style, is found on what is known as the hill of the temples, on a rocky spur nearVilla Aurea. The nameTemple of Heracles is an attribution of modern scholarship, based onCicero's mention of a temple dedicated to the heronon longe a foro "not far from theagora" (Verrine II 4.94), containing a famous statue of Heracles. That the agora ofAkragas was in this area has not yet been demonstrated, but the identification is generally accepted.[2]
This temple is located approximately one kilometer to the west ofTemple of Concordia.
The traditionally accepted chronology of the temple identifies it as the most ancient of the Greek Akragantine temples, dating to the final years of the 6th century BC.[3] This dating is based on stylistic characteristics, especially its proportions, number ofcolumns, and the profile of the columns and of theircapitals. However, some connect the temple with the activities ofTheron (Tyrant of Akragas 488-473/2 BC), claiming that it contains innovations compared to the architectural practice of the 6th century.[4] In that case, it could be identified with the temple ofAthena recorded byPolyaenus (Stratagems 6.51) in relation to the building activities of Theron after his seizure of power.
The remains of theentablature constitute a problem for dating, because there are two types ofcymatium with gutters and lion heads: the first, less well-preserved than the other, datable to the 460s BC and the second datable to around the middle of the fifth century. Probably the first cymatium is the original and was replaced by the second a few decades later (for reasons unknown). The temple's foundation is considered to be dated to the years before theBattle of Himera (480 BC); its completion would have taken a decade or maybe a little more.
The building was restored in theRoman period with some modifications. Thenaos was divided into three, which could indicate a dedication to multiple divinities. If still in use by the 4th and 5th centuries, it would have been closed during thepersecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire.
In the 20th century, restorers have reconstructed nine of the columns on the southeastern side throughanastylosis. In addition, they restored part of the entablature and some of the capitals.
The building was constructed on acrepidoma of three steps, which was erected on top of a substructure on the northern and western sides (due to the roughness of the terrain). It is aperipteros temple of unusually elongated proportions (67 metres long and 25.34 meters wide), with six columns along the front (hexastyle) and fifteen columns on the sides. Inside theperistasis is a longnaos, bounded by apronaos at the front and anopisthodomos at the back, bothin antis. Their remains seem to indicate that the building was destroyed by an earthquake.
In the building's remains, internal stairs for the inspection of the roof can be seen in the walls between the pronaos and the naos. Such stairs became a typical feature of Akragantine temples. The tall columns are topped by wide capitals, with a deep gulf between the stem and theechinus. This feature might indicate the comparative antiquity of the building (predating the otherperipteros temples at Akragas by at least thirty years), along with the elongation of the naos and the wide separation of the columns from the naos. On the eastern side of the temple are the remains of the large altar of the temple.
