Temple of Zeus

Even though now it is only a pile of rubbles scattered over a wide area, the l’Olympieion of Akragas was one of the wonders of the ancient world, both for its colossal dimensions and for the originality of its architectural details. The majestic temple was almost as big as a modern football field and its columns exceeded 18 meters in height.  Unlike other temples, a wall decorated externally with half-columns and capitals sealed the Temple of Zeus or Jupiter Olympus. It appears that, between each half-column, at a height of 10 meters, a stone giant called ‘Telamon’ poised on a ledge; these statues, aligned between the columns, were 7,65 metres tall and represented the giants subdued by Zeus and obliged to bear the weight of the temple’s roof on their shoulders. The best-preserved Telamon can be admired today in the Archaeological Museum of Agrigento. In the Valley, laid down amongst of the ruins of the Temple, there is a life-size reproduction of a Telamon; recently original parts of other Telamons have been recomposed and collocated in the same area. To the East of the Temple, the foundations of the enormous altar are clearly visible. This is where the “hecatòmbe” took place: an incredible rituals slaughter of 100 oxen. According to Diodorus Siculus the construction of the Olympieion was interrupted by the Carthaginian conquest in 406 BC which burnt the city.