HISTORY OF THE VALLEY OF THE TEMPLES

The temples date back to the 6th and 5th centuries B.C. There is a collection of 7 ancient Greek temples in the valley and one attached to a medieval church in town.

HISTORY OF AGRIGENTO



Agrigento was founded in 580 B.C. by the Greeks. They called the city AKGRAGAS. Akragas had a bad period of tyranny but then it became an important democracy. The city became known and famous for its high-quality wine, olives and horses. It had a population of about 200,000 people (today it has about 40,000) in the 5th century B.C.
Then, with the passing of time many different people had control of Akragas like the Carthaginians (408 B.C.) They came from the city of Carthage in Tunis. It was a large and rich city. It was also very powerful in the Mediterranean. Then the Romans came in 210 B.C. after them the Arabs in 827 A.D. and in 1087 the Normans came.
Today Agrigento has lots of tourism and it is famous for almonds, wine, oranges, olive oil and vegetables.


Temple of the Concord



This temple is one of the best preserved Doric temples in the world. Later it was converted into a church in the 6th century. The temple is almost entirely intact. Only its rood is missing.
It was build around 450-440 B.C. It has 13 columns along each side and 8 on each end.
It is called the Temple of Concord even if it is unknown to who the temple is dedicated to.


TEMPLE OF HERCULES



The temple dates to about 500 B.C. and once it had a prominent position next to the main city gate. Today only some of the south colonnade stands.
It was the second largest temple in the valley. Its colonnade has 6 x 15 columns.
In ancient times it had a statue of Hercules. The temple was damaged by fire but the Romans later renovated it.


TEMPLE OF JUNO



This temple occupies a high position on the ridge at the southeast corner of the ancient city. It is dated to 460-450 B.C. and it retains most of its original colonnade.