Travels and Thoughts
Agrigento - "Valley of the Temples," a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Temple of Ercole - Built to honor the god Hercules in the early 6th century, this is Agrigento's oldest temple that was constructed over a structure of 38 columns, of which only eight are still standing.
Right: The temple of Concordia, also built around the 5th century, is among the best preserved temples. In the sixth century it was transformed into a sacred building. The name Concordia comes from a Latin inscription found near the temple itself. Our tour guide asked us if we knew why this temple lasted so long. He said that every conqueror noted that the temple was a great place to worship, so they simply repurposed the temple to praise their particular gods.
Below: this short video is of a special curved horned goat only found in a few areas. The goats are cared for at this site.
Right: Temple of Castor and Pollux, the legendary twin brothers, born from the union of Jupiter and the queen of Sparta, nowadays has only four columns left and has become the symbol of Agrigento.
Left: The temple of Olympian Zeus (Jupiter) was built to thank Zeus on the occasion of the Agrigentines’ victory over the Carthaginians, in 480 BC .
The temple of Juno – Placed in the easternmost part of this awesome hillside, it housed the cult of the goddess of fertility. The traces of fire, amazingly still visible in the walls of the cell, resulted when, in 406 B.C., this magnificent temple, almost identical to that of Concordia, was destroyed by the Carthaginians. Nearby, there is also a clearly visible big altar for sacrifices and a section of street deeply furrowed by carts coming from the city.