The shower in the hotel Kaos was like being in a rain forest with the water coming from the ceiling as well as the handheld on the wall.
We met at 8:30AM and headed off to the Valley of the Temples. These date to the Greek period starting in the 5 the century BC. The town of Agrigento soon got to 300,000 population which was 4th largest city in that time.
From the 3rd c BC to 5th c AD there was Roman rule then Byzanine. In the 6th c AD all “pagan” temples were ordered destroyed by the Bizantium empire and converted to Christianity.
The first temple we saw was the Temple of Juno (Hera Lacina) which was built 450-460 BC and survived until the Buzantium destruction in favor of Christianity
Cella was lay out of inside of temple. Naof main room (nave) with a room at the back where gold was held and 2 entrance rooms one for general public the second for the priests. Animal sacrifice was common (no human) with meat eaten by the priests to commune with gods who lived in the temple.
In the natural city wall made from sandstone, the Greeks used it for defense in 6c BC and by 6c AD the wall was used as niches were carved out for burial of Christian dead.
Manna tree (sap of Ash tree) were the only native trees to Sicily. The almond, pomegranate olive and other trees were brought in by outside invaders.
In 1061 the Normans conquered Sicily defeating the Arabs
The second Temple built in 430BC we saw which is the best preserved was the Doric style temple of Concordia with it’s gargoyles to scare away evil spirits. Between decorative columns below the roof triangle there were scenes of mythology to educate the children but were removed during Christian Era. One of the main reasons why it has endured through the centuries is that from the Byzantine rule, it was converted to and was used as a church and thus still intact. In 597 AD when it became a church a wall was built between the Columns to form a church nave and was used until 1788. It appears that it was originally a temple to Castor and Pollux renamed in Christian Era to to St Peter and St Paul. Next to the Concordia Twmple there was a Necropolis dating from the 3rd century AD it became a Christian cemetery with tunnel / catacomb under the road joining the temples.
The third temple was the Temple of Hercules (Heracles) which was built in 520 BC, but destroyed by Christians. In 1924 a British naval officer – Mr Hardcastle rebuilt the 8 columns and lived in a villa on the site for some 10 years.
The fourth was the Temple of Zeus or Jupiter which at its heyday was the third largest temple in existence. In 1761 the stones from the temple of Jupiter were taken away and used to biuild the port. There were 19 male & 19 female Telamons / giants who held up the outside of the temple. Atlas, the leader of the Titans was destined to hold up the world and other Titans were destined to hold up buildings as punishment for rebelling against the authorities. There were several “U” shaped indentations in the stones that were used to put ropes around and attached to a wheel inside of which slaves were running ( like a hampered wheel) to raise the stone to the top of the building.
The 5th Temple whic consisted only of 3 column with rubble that used to be anther temple, and were to Cathonic divinities- earth, underworld, etc. The area near the 2 temples together had lots of priest houses (they were together nicknamed – castor and polluks).
In the distance there was a Temple of Vulcan (Efesto) which is the end of the valley of the temples and built in 430BC
Lunch at Tratoria Manhattan in Argentina – Fetuccini Delicioso – all agreed it was delicious with zucchini baby tomatoes and baby shrimp then to the main square to have granita of lemon (like gelato)
After a lunch and wander we went to the Archaeology museum that had thousands of artefacts from the4th and 5thcentury BC. The Zeus temple exhibit was particularly impressive as there was a cork model of the temple and a Telamons – Titan figure (all original sandstone but made from different figures) . Thousands of burial objects and sarcophagai from the 5th century BC.
Back to the hotel for a rest, swim and dinner, ready for tomorrow’s departure at 8AM.
Roger & Anne Travels 