Detail of the crepidoma at SW corner of temple, from SE, Temple of Herakle...

South colonnade, looking NE

Detail of the core of S wall of the opisthodomos, from W, Temple of Herakl...

Stuccoed risers within cella of the "Temple of Hercules," Agrigento

Structure within cella, looking NW

South colonnade, looking N

Context: Akragas
Type: Temple
Summary: Temple; on the ridge marking the southern extent of the city, just east of the Temple of Zeus Olympios.
Date: ca. 510 BC
Dimensions:

25.34 x 67.00 (stylobate); 13.90 x 47.65 (cella)

Region: Sicily
Period: Archaic


Architectural Order:

Doric

Plan:

6 x 15; peripteral; pronaos and opisthodomos each distyle in antis; stairwells on either side of the entrance to the cella leading to attic space. Angle contraction on the fronts but not on the sides of the temple.

Date Description:

Unsuccessful attempt at angle contraction on the fronts of the temple, not the sides (dated by Dinsmoor)

History:

The earliest of the large temples at Akragas, construction on this temple was begun in the last decades of the sixth century (shortly before the nearby Temple of Zeus Olympios). The temple capitals exhibit a stiff-profiled echinus, appearing here for the first time in the west. Its attribution is uncertain, based solely on a comment by Cicero.

Other Notes:

In 1924, eight columns on the south side were re-erected.

Other Bibliography:

D.S. Robertson 1969; Dinsmoor 1975; Guido 1967