May 2007 - Agrigento, Sicily - The Valley of the Temples

At dusk, as we approached the city, we spotted one of the temples up on a plateau (rather than in a valley as the archaeological site's name suggests). We continued towards it and another, more recognizable temple came into sight. While I was driving, Casandra zoomed in and took this amazing shot.

At dusk, as we approached the city, we spotted one of the temples up on a plateau (rather than in a valley as the archaeological site's name suggests). We continued towards it and another, more recognizable temple came into sight. While I was driving, Casandra zoomed in and took this amazing shot.

The next day we wasted no time, heading straight for the Valley of the Temples. Casandra, who'd already seen enough ancient ruins to last a lifetime, was being quite the trooper, acting interested and even posing for pictures. Here she is in front of the first temple we visited on the site, the Temple of Hera, which was built by the Greeks in the 5th Century BC. It was actually rebuilt by the Romans, which is likely why it is relatively well-preserved.

Here I am with that same temple in the background. From this angle you can better see that the entire far (north) collonade is still standing and supporting part of the roofline architecture.

We then moved on the next temple, passing a line of ancient fortifications. This complex of temples was originally surrounded by a wall. Today, only broken-up parts of that wall and huge blocks of stone remain. From here, we had great views of the coastal city of San Leone where we stayed nearby. The city of Agrigento is actually on the other side of the temples, away from the coast and up the hill in a more protected position from possible invaders.

Then we came upon the most magnificent temple yet, the Temple of Concord, dating from the 5th Century BC. With all of its 34 columns, both of its pediments, and much of its roofline architecture intact, it is easily the most well-preserved Doric temple in the world (even putting the Parthenon in Athens to shame), partly thanks to alterations made in the 4th Century AD when it became a Christian basilica and its restoration to its original classical form in 1748.

Here we both are in front of it.

Unfortunately, we couldn't get very close to it (or climb up its mammoth steps), so we settled for a few pictures from the outstide. From this angle you can get a sense of its relative dimensions.

And here, with Casandra standing as close as she was permitted (she wouldn't hop the fence and sit on one of the steps despite my urging), you can get a sense of its overall immense size.

Not wanting to be left out, I ran over to it for this picture, in which you can see that its interior architecture, including columns, walls and arched doorways, are well preserved as well.

Here you can see its perfect symmetry.

And here you can see that it's twice as long as it is wide.

Extremely impressed with this temple, I insisted on one more shot of us in front of its other side, which you can see is equally well preserved.

The next temple we came upon was the Temple of Heracles, the hero worshipped by both the Greeks and Romans (as Hercules). It's the oldest temple on the complex dating from the 6th Century BC. Like most Doric temples, this one had an elongated rectangle plan, though smaller than the other two we had just seen. These 8 columns behind Casandra were put back in place in 1924.

Kenny: "Am I lined up?! I want to look just like Hercules in this picture. Tell me when it looks like I'm pressing up on both columns. Hurry! I can't keep up this straining face for much longer."
Casandra: "It looks great to me." [snap!] "You're gonna frame this one!"

After fooling around among Hercules' ruins for a while, we headed over to the next temple, dedicated to Zeus. Only fragmentary ruins remain of this temple, which dates back to the 5th Century BC, except for this Telamon, which appears to be a man lying down with his feet towards me. "Touch it, Casandra! Come on, reach over the rope and touch it!"

This corner section of the Temple of Castor and Pollux, the mythological twin horsemen, has become a symbol of the Valley of the Temples. The temple dates from the 5th Century BC, but these four columns sitting atop four giant steps and supporting part of a pediment and the roofline architecture, were restored in the 19th Century.

In this picture, you can see the city of Agrigento in the background up the hill and Casandra, done with ruins for the day, walking past the columns and heading for shade.

But I caught up with her and, from this shadey spot under a tree, got this final shot of us in front of the temple.