Ancient Greek temple · 5th century BC · Agrigento, Sicily

Temple of Juno (Hera Lacinia) — Agrigento

The Temple of Juno, also known as the Temple of Hera Lacinia, is a well-preserved ancient Greek Doric temple standing on the eastern ridge of the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, Sicily. Built around 450–440 BC by the Greek colony of Akragas, it stands on a solid artificial platform constructed to level the uneven terrain, and retains 30 of its original 34 columns. The site is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Valle dei Templi, recognised as one of the finest examples of ancient Greek architecture outside Greece.

At a glance

Type: Ancient Greek Doric temple
Period: c. 450–440 BC
Style: Doric order, Magna Graecia
Location: Valley of the Temples (Valle dei Templi), Agrigento, Sicily
Coordinates: 37.2886° N, 13.6002° E

Overview

Positioned at the eastern end of the long sacred ridge that once formed the southern boundary of the ancient city of Akragas, the Temple of Juno commands sweeping views over the Mediterranean coast. Scholars named it “Temple of Juno” in the 18th century based on an erroneous interpretation of a passage by the geographer Strabo; modern archaeology has not definitively established its original dedicatee. It is part of the Valle dei Templi archaeological park, which also includes the better-preserved Temple of Concordia and the Temple of Heracles.

History

The temple was erected by the citizens of Akragas, one of the wealthiest Greek cities of the western Mediterranean, during a period of intense building activity in the mid-5th century BC. In 406 BC the Carthaginians sacked and burned Akragas; scorch marks still visible on the columns are believed to date from that attack. Under Roman rule the city declined, and the temple fell into disuse. Systematic archaeological study began in the 18th century, and restoration work in the 20th century re-erected several fallen columns to their current state.

What you see

The temple’s peristyle retains 30 standing columns of warm golden limestone on its north and south flanks, giving a strong sense of the original colonnade. The stylobate — the stepped platform on which the columns stand — is almost fully intact and reveals the precision of the ancient levelling work. Reddish fire-scarring from the 406 BC Carthaginian assault marks several column drums on the north side. An ancient cistern and traces of sacrificial altars survive east of the temple proper, and the surrounding terrain yields sherds and architectural fragments that help archaeologists reconstruct the sanctuary’s full extent.

Cultural significance

Together with the other temples of Akragas, the Temple of Juno represents the peak of Doric architecture in Magna Graecia and is protected as part of the Valle dei Templi UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed 1997). The site is considered one of the most important archaeological complexes in the Mediterranean and draws over one million visitors annually to Agrigento.

Practical information

Address: Valle dei Templi, 92100 Agrigento AG, Italy
Hours: Archaeological park open daily; hours vary seasonally — check the official Parco Valle dei Templi website
Admission: Combined ticket for the archaeological park; check official website for current prices

Getting there

From Agrigento city centre: the Valle dei Templi is approximately 3 km south; bus lines 1 and 2 from the central bus terminal stop at the park entrance. By car, follow signs from the SS115 or SS189. The nearest rail station is Agrigento Centrale (Trenitalia), from which buses or taxis reach the park in about 10 minutes.

Sources & resources

Find it on the map

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The temple of Hera Lacinia, also known as the temple of Juno (from the Roman name of the goddess) or temple D, is a Greek temple of the ancient city of Akragas located in the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento.

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&quot;We soon arrived at the eastern end of the city, where the ruins of the temple of Juno fall every year more and more in ruins due to the corrosion produced by the air and the weather on the porous stone.&quot;


(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Journey to Italy)



It was built in the second half of the 5th century BC, around 450 BC. and belongs as an epoch and as a style to the classical Doric period. Signs of the fire of 406 BC have been detected. after which it was restored in Roman times, with the replacement of the original clay tiles with other marble and with the addition of the inclined plane to the eastern front.



The building is a peripteral Doric temple with 6 columns on the short sides (hexastyle) and 13 on the sides, according to a canon derived from the models of the motherland and also used for the &quot;twin&quot; temple of Concordia with which it is also united by the general dimensions and the almost standardized measurements of some construction elements. The overall dimensions are approximately 38.15x16.90 m.



The front has slightly different wheelbases with the contraction of the terminal ones and the emphasis of the central one. The peristyle of 34 columns high m. 6.44 and made up of 4 superimposed drums, it rests on a crepidoma of four steps. Built on a spur with a rise, it is largely artificially constructed.

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The interior consists of a naos without internal colonnade, of the double type in antis, with a symmetrical pronaos and opisthodomos, both framed by groups of two columns (distyles). Two stairs for inspection of the roof or for reasons of worship were present in the separation wall between naos and pronaos (diaphragm).

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Currently the northern colonnade with the epistyle and part of the frieze is preserved, while the colonnades on the other three sides are only partially preserved (4 columns are missing and 9 are dismantled), and without an architrave. Few are the remaining elements of the cell of which the lower part of the masonry that delimits it remains.



The building was thus reconstructed by anastylosis from the eighteenth century to today. In front of the main (eastern) front there are notable remains of the altar.

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Juno Temple