Valley of the Temples, Agrigento

Valle dei Templi; Akragas

Italy · Sicily

Ancient cityUnknownUNESCO · 1997
Approximate period580 BCE — 700 CEArchaic and Classical Greek, Hellenistic and Roman periods See on the map ↓

In brief

Founded in the sixth century BC, Akragas was one of the Mediterranean's important Greek cities. The archaeological site includes excavated residential neighbourhoods and cemeteries alongside the row of temples.

What was found?

  • 1Temple of Concordia

    The Doric temple is an important example of temple architecture in the Greek colonies. It shows the city's monumental building program and architectural skill.

  • 2Remains of the Temple of Olympios Zeus

    The building, also known as the Olympieion, is one of the largest sacred buildings of the ancient world. Its remains show the resources the city could devote to large-scale construction.

  • 3Hellenistic and Roman residential quarter

    Transformations of the Roman period can be traced in this quarter of wealthy houses. The residences allow the city's history to be understood through more than its temples alone.

  • 4Early Christian cemeteries

    The site contains open-air graves and rock-cut underground tombs. These document the burial practices of later periods.

What does it point to?

The monumental temples reflect Agrigento's wealth and public ambition within the Mediterranean world. The residences and cemeteries show that the site continued to change and remain in use after the Greek period.

What did it teach us?

  1. It documented that Greek colonies in Sicily developed large-scale Doric temples.
  2. It made it possible to trace the transformation of residences and public spaces during the Roman period.
  3. It provided tangible evidence of the burial practices of early Christian communities.

Images

Agrigento - Valle dei Templi - Temple of Concordia - 5
Benjamin Smith · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Valley of the Temples, Agrigento, Sicily - 49675724818
cattan2011 · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Record

Culture
Greek and Roman
Coordinates
37.2897°, 13.5933°

Sources

  1. whc.unesco.org
  2. en.wikipedia.org
  3. Sicilya Bölgesi – Tapınaklar Vadisi Arkeoloji ve Peyzaj Parkı

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12.000

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