Temple of Concordia — Agrigento Valley of the Temples
Tempio della Concordia · Concordia Temple Agrigento · Agrigento Concordia
Classical Greek western colonies (Magna Graecia 480–406 BCE)·Greek Akragantine (Dorian Syracuse sphere)·🇮🇹 Sicily, Agrigento Province, Valley of the Temples (Valle dei Templi), Agrigento ridge south of city, Italy
About
About Temple of Concordia — Agrigento Valley of the Temples
5844), part of Valley of the Temples UNESCO 831 (7 temples of Akragas). 72 m) and entablature, owing preservation to 597 CE conversion to Christian basilica of St Gregory by Bishop Gregory (then quarried as church, not temple). Built under tyrant Theron after Himera 480 BCE victory over Carthage (Agri frontier with Carthaginian slave labor). Alongside Juno and Heracles temples on 1300 m ridge facing sea, Concordia is archetype of Western Doric proportion taught via Vitruvius.
Agrigentum was richest Greek city after Syracuse. Stendhal praised as 'most beautiful ruin'. Pleiades 462086. Distinct from Paestum and Selinunte, Agrigento Concordia's basilica preserves interior arcades.
Why it mattersMost intact Western Greek Doric (440 BCE) illustrating Magna Graecia post-Himera tyranny and basilica preservation parallel to Hephaisteion. UNESCO 831.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Concordia dedication unknown — Dioscuri vs Concordia Renaissance label
- 02Why Concordia survived vs Juno burnt
Theories
- 01Concordia survival due to basilica vs. quarrying as temple (quarry fear)
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.440–430 BCE Akragas Theronine; converted 597 CE basilica Gregory
- Period
- Classical Greek western colonies (Magna Graecia 480–406 BCE)
- Culture
- Greek Akragantine (Dorian Syracuse sphere)
- Builders
- Tyrant Theron of Akragas and Syracusan architects post-Himera 480
- Purpose
- Tyranny display after Himera Carthaginian defeat and Akragantine democracy consolidation; temple to Dioscuri? Concordia Renaissance name
- Abandoned
- 406 BCE Carthaginian sack Himera revenge; 597 basilica; 1787 abandoned
- Rediscovered
- 1550 Fazello; 1787 Pigonati; 1920s Marconi UNESCO
- Excavation
- Excavated
480 BCE
Himera victory, Theron builds Concordia
597 CE
Bishop Gregory converts to basilica
1997
UNESCO 831 Valley of the Temples
On the ground
Structures & features
37.2897° N · 13.5844° E · 120 m · 2 mapped features
Concordia Temple — Doric Peristasis and Christian Basilica
temple440 BCE Doric 6×13 39.44×16.91 m best-preserved Western Greek temple, converted 597 CE Bishop Gregory to basilica San Gregorio — preserved entablature and triglyphs
37.2898° N · 13.5845° EConcordia — Valley Ridge and Akragas Wall Terrace
ridge terraceAkragas city wall terrace 2.5 km ridge with 7 temples Concordia to Juno, Theron tyrant 480 BCE Akragas wealth from Carthaginian mercenary
37.2895° N · 13.5842° E