Temple of Olympian Zeus (Agrigento)
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 Model of the Temple of Olympian Zeus in the Archaeological Museum, Agrigento |
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| Building information | |
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| Location | Agrigento, Sicily |
| Town | {{{location_town}}} |
| Country | {{{location_country}}} |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Construction start date | 480 BC ? |
| Style | Doric |
| Size | Length : 112 metres (367 ft) Width : 56 metres (184 ft) Height : 20 metres (66 ft) |
The Temple of Olympian Zeus (or Olympeion; known in Italian as the Tempio di Giove) in Agrigento, Sicily was the largest Doric temple ever constructed, although it was never completed and now lies in ruins. It stands in the Valley of the Temples with a number of other major Greek temples.
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[edit] History
Its history is unclear, but it was probably founded to commemorate the Battle of Himera (480 BC), in which the Greek cities of Akragas (Agrigento) and Syracuse defeated the Carthaginians under Hamilcar. According to the historian Diodorus Siculus, the temple was built using Carthaginian slave labour – presumably defeated soldiers captured after the battle.[1]
The temple was eventually toppled by earthquakes and was later quarried extensively to provide building materials for the modern towns of Agrigento and nearby Porto Empedocle. Today it survives only as a broad stone platform heaped with tumbled pillars and blocks of stone.
[edit] Architecture
The final dimensions of the Temple of Olympian Zeus would have been 112 m by 56 m, with a height of 20 m. Its design was unique; unlike other temples of the time, its outer walls were closed, rather than having a conventional freestanding peristyle. The interior was inspired by Phoenician-Carthaginian architecture; it comprised an immense triple-aisled hall of pillars, the middle of which was open to the sky.
On the outward side of the temple were rows of half-columns interspersed by colossal telamons or atlantes bearing the weight of the upper part of the temple, a feature interpreted as symbolising the Greek enslavement of the Carthaginian invaders. [2] One of these has been reassembled in the nearby archaeological museum.
The roof was probably never completed, though the pediments had a full complement of sculptures. The eastern end displayed a gigantomachy while the western end depicted the fall of Troy, again symbolising the Greeks' triumph over their barbarian rivals.[1]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
Media related to Archeological Sites of Agrigento from the Wikimedia Commons.
