Agrigento, Sicily in my mind

Agrigento, Sicily is the closest I’ve come to seeing Greek temples.

Because Greek temples are there!

We visited on a glorious day in March where the sky was blue to infinity, the better to show off the burnt sienna colors of the columns.

Amazing.

Our mouths hung open looking at columns that have stood for a very long time.

We visited after a crash course in Greek temples at the British Museum in London (home of the Elgin marbles which are from the Athens Acropolis). We’d heard the best spot to see preserved Greek ruins were in Sicily–which the Greeks used as their bread basket a couple millenium ago.

Wikipedia will explain some basic history on Agrigento:

“Agrigento was founded on a plateau overlooking the sea, with two nearby rivers, the Hypsas and the Akragas, and a ridge to the north offering a degree of natural fortification. Its establishment took place around 582-580 BC and is attributed to Greek colonists from Gela, who named it Akragas.”

It’s located on the western side of Sicily on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. These temples are in Doric style and the large area is a World Heritage Site.

The Temple of Juno is at the top of the hill and very impressive–you can see it from the road leading across the island and I’m sure from the sea.

The Valle di Templi (Valley of Temples) is part of the Archaelogical Area of Agrigento. The modern city climbs the hills to the north and you can just glimpse it from this photo. Imagine the views from up there!

The columns are huge: sandstone over brick. Each stone is about 24 inches tall. 

 

Impressive as the Temple of Juno is, the bigger prize is further down the hill: the Temple of Concordia.

 

Wikipedia, again, explains why:

Due to its good state of preservation, the Temple of Concordia is ranked amongst the most notable edifices of the Greek civilization existing today.  . . . The exterior and the interior of the temple were covered by polychrome stucco. The upper frame had gutters with lion-like protomes, while the roof was covered by marble tiles.

At one point it was used as a Christian church and adapted accordingly.

You’ll notice in the photo on the right a figure of what looks like a fallen angel.

It’s a 2011 bronze sculpture by Igor Mitoraj: Ikaro Caduto

Icarus fallen-Sicily is thought by many to be the setting of many Greek myths. Icarus would have attempted to fly off the cliffs near here.

The park continues down a hill along what feels like an appian way!

Columns abound, descriptions of the worship that was held there and how it was conducted.  As the Valley of the Temples website explains:

“Ancient Akragas ,  in its hey-day, was a flourishing cultural centre: it gave the world Empedocles, the pre-socratic philosopher, whose concept of matter as divided into four elements- Earth, Air, Fire and Water- was the foundation of science for many centuries to come. The city attracted poets like Simonides and Pyndar who described it as “the most beautiful of mortal cities”. In Roman times, Agrigento was visited by Cicero in search of evidence of pro-consul Verres’ abuse of power and later described by Virgil in the Eneid.”

You can take tours, bring your lunch and spend a fascinating day among ruins.

We walked among it all silent and reflective. Twenty-five hundred years ago this area was filled with priests, priestesses and worshippers. On a beautiful spring day, we heard the birds call, the bees hum and our souls marvel.

Haunting, evocative and simply beautiful.

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A spring walk among Greek temples in Sicily! Click to Tweet

Wandering Agrigento’s temples on a spring day Click to Tweet

The best place to see Greek temples? Sicily. Click to Tweet