Temple of Concordia, Agrigento

The Temple of Concordia (Italian: Tempio della Concordia) is an ancient Greek temple in the Valle dei Templi (Valley of the Temples) in Agrigento (Greek: Akragas) on the south coast of Sicily, Italy. It is the largest and best-preserved Doric temple in Sicily[5] and one of the best-preserved Greek temples in general,[1] especially of the Doric order.[2][3]

Not to be confused with Temple of Concord.
Temple of Concordia
Alternative namesTemple of Concord
General information
Architectural styleAncient Greek
LocationAgrigento, Sicily, Italy
Completedc. 440-430 BC[1][2]
Renovated1785
AffiliationChristian church (6th century-1785)
Height8.93 m (29.3 ft)[3]
Dimensions
Other dimensions39.42 m × 16.92 m (129.3 ft × 55.5 ft)[1][4]

History

The temple was built c. 440–430 BC.[2][3][4] The well-preserved peristasis of six by thirteen columns[1] stands on a crepidoma of four steps (measuring 39.42 m × 16.92 m (129.3 ft × 55.5 ft),[1][4] and 8.93 m (29.3 ft) high)[3] The cella measures 28.36 m × 9.4 m (93.0 ft × 30.8 ft).[4] The columns are 6 m (20 ft) high[6] and carved with twenty flutes and harmonious entasis (tapering at the tops of the columns and swelling around the middles).

It is constructed, like the nearby Temple of Juno, on a solid base designed to overcome the unevenness of the rocky terrain. It has been conventionally named after Concordia, the Roman goddess of harmony, for the Roman-era Latin inscription found nearby, which is unconnected with it.[1][2]

If still in use by the 4th-and 5th century, it would have been closed during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire. The temple was converted into a Christian basilica in the 6th century dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul by San Gregorio delle Rape, bishop of Agrigento and thus survived the destruction of pagan places of worship.[2][4][6] The spaces between the columns were filled with walling, altering its Classical Greek form. The division between the cella, the main room where the cult statue would have stood in antiquity, and the opisthodomos, an adjoining room, was destroyed, and the walls of the cella were cut into a series of arches along the nave.[2] The Christian refurbishments were removed during the restoration of 1785.[1] According to another source, the Prince of Torremuzza transferred the altar elsewhere and began restoration of the classic building in 1788.[4]

According to authors of a 2007 article, it is "apart from the Parthenon, the best preserved Doric temple in the world."[7]

  • Floorplan of the temple
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See also

References
  1. Bäbler, Balbina (2013). "Acragas". In Wilson, Nigel (ed.). Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece. Routledge. p. 8. ISBN 9781136788000.
  2. Bennett, Michael J.; Paul, Aaron J.; Iozzo, Mario (2002). Magna Graecia: Greek Art from South Italy and Sicily. Hudson Hills. pp. 43–46. ISBN 9780940717718.
  3. De Angelis, Franco (2016). Archaic and Classical Greek Sicily: A Social and Economic History. Oxford University Press. p. 115. ISBN 9780195170474.
  4. "la Valle dei Templi di Agrigento" (PDF). regione.sicilia.it. Regione Siciliana. p. 21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2016.
  5. Egan, James (19 April 1981). "Sicily in spring: a flowering isle wreathed in antiquity". The New York Times. ...the Temple of Concordia, the most massive and best-preserved Doric temple in Sicily.
  6. "Il Tempio della Concordia". comune.agrigento.it (in Italian). Comune di Agrigento.
  7. Barone et al. 2007, p. 49.
Bibliography
  • Barone, P. M.; Graziano, F.; Pettinelli, E.; Corradini, R. Ginanni (2007). "Ground-penetrating radar investigations into the construction techniques of the Concordia Temple (Agrigento, Sicily, Italy)". Archaeological Prospection. 14 (1): 47–59. doi:10.1002/arp.300.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Standish, Frank Hall (1837). The shores of the Mediterranean. Edward Lumley. pp. 132–133.

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