The temple was the most significant and common architectural form in ancient Greece. The earliest stone temples emerged in the early 6th century BC, and they became more common in the next century. A Greek temple's primary function was to hold a cult statue or symbol. Religion did not need worshipers to congregate within the temple, and temples were mainly used as memorials to the gods. The enormous columns are the most recognised characteristic of the Greek temple. The Greeks employed three different kinds of columns: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.
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A list of the most well-known Greek temples located across the Mediterranean.
10. Zeus Temple
The Temple of Olympia Zeus in Athens has just a few columns left, but it doesn't take much imagination to understand that this was a massive structure. Construction started in the 6th century BC during the leadership of the Athenian tyrants, who planned to construct the world's largest temple, but it was not finished until the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD, 638 years after the project began.
9. Sounion's Poseidon Temple
The Temple of Poseidon at Sounion is situated on the southernmost point of Greece's Attica peninsula, surrounded on three sides by the sea. It was built upon the remains of an Archaic Period temple around about 440 BC. Only a few columns of the Temple of Poseidon remain today, but if it had been preserved in its entirety, it would have mirrored the Temple of Hephaestus under the Acropolis, which was perhaps built by the same architect.
8. Cyrene's Zeus Temple
The most significant of the five Greek colonies in modern-day Libya was Cyrene. The Temple of Zeus, which dates from the 5th century BC, stands high above the rest of the city. It was destroyed during a Jewish uprising in 115 AD, but was rebuilt five years later by the Romans on Emperor Hadrian's orders. The temple was once again thrown to ruins by an earthquake in 365 AD, and it was not restored until contemporary times by British and Italian archaeologists. This temple is bigger than the Parthenon, demonstrating Cyrene's riches and prominence in ancient Greece.
7. Erechtheum
The Erechtheum is an Ionic-style ancient Greek temple on the north side of Athens' Acropolis. The current temple was constructed between 421 and 407 BC. The name is taken from a temple devoted to the Greek hero Erichthonius, and is of popular origin. The Caryatids, six female statues who support the temple's unique portico, are arguably the temple's most renowned feature.
6. Temple of Apollo Epicurius
The Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae is a well-preserved and unique Greek temple located on a lonely hillside in the Peloponnese. It was constructed in the years 450 and 400 BC. In contrast to the bulk of Greek temples, which are oriented east-west, the temple is aligned north-south. The temple is unique in that it has instances of all three traditional architectural orders utilised in ancient Greece. The peristyle is made up of Doric columns, while the porch is supported by Ionic columns, and the interior is made up of Corinthian columns. The remains of Apollo Epicurius' temple are now covered in a tent to preserve them from the weather.
5. Segesta's Doric Temple
Segesta, in the northwest corner of Sicily, was one of the main towns of the Elymians, one of Sicily's three indigenous peoples. Segesta's population was a mix of Elymians and Greeks, but the Elymians quickly Hellenized and adopted Greek lifestyles. The Doric temple, which is located just beyond the historic site, is in excellent condition. It contains 614 Doric columns and was constructed in the late 5th century BC. Several factors indicate that the temple was never completed. The Doric columns are not fluted as they should be, and the temple seems to have been built without a roof over the main room.
4. Paestum
Paestum is a small old Greco-Roman city on the seashore in southern Italy. Three well-preserved Greek temples may be seen on this side. The Temple of Hera, constructed by Greek colonists about 550 BC, is Paestum's oldest temple. The adjacent temple, dedicated to Hera, the goddess of marriage and childbirth, was erected approximately a century later. The Temple of Athena, erected about 500 BC, is a little farther distant.
3. Hephaestus Temple
The Temple of Hephaestus, located approximately 500 meters northwest of the renowned Acropolis, is the best-preserved Greek temple in the world while being much less well-known than its famous neighbour. The temple was constructed in a region with numerous foundries and metallurgy businesses in the 5th century BC. As a result, it was named after Hephaestos, the deity of metalworking. Ictinus, one of the architects who worked on the Parthenon, built the Temple of Hephaestus.
2. Valley of the Temples
The Valley of the Temples, located on a hill west of Agrigento, Sicily, has the ruins of seven Greek temples. The Temple of Concordia, which was constructed in the 5th century BC and is one of the biggest and finest maintained Doric-style temples still standing, is the best preserved in the Valley. The capitals on the Doric columns are 7 meters (22 feet) tall, with a base diameter of 1.3 meters (4.5 feet). Other temples on the site include the Temple of Juno, which was used for marriages, and the Temple of Heracles, which is the oldest and has just eight columns now.
1. Parthenon
The Parthenon perched atop the Acropolis, is one of Greece's most famous tourist sites, and a trip to Athens would be incomplete without a stop here. The Parthenon was built in 447 BC to replace an earlier temple that had been demolished by the Persians, and it was finished in 432 BC. The Parthenon's goal was to hold huge ivory, silver, and gold figure of Athena Parthenos. The statue was stolen and transported to Constantinople by one of the Roman Emperors sometime in the 5th century, where it was subsequently destroyed. The Parthenon has functioned as a fortification, a church, a mosque, and a powder magazine throughout its lengthy history.
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