Temple of Concordia, Agrigento
{{Short description|Ancient temple in Agrigento, Italy}}
{{distinguish|Temple of Concord}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Temple of Concordia
| image = Agrigent BW 2012-10-07 12-52-27.JPG
| image_size = 300px
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| alternate_names = Temple of Concord
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| architectural_style = Ancient Greek
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| location = Agrigento, Sicily, Italy
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| completion_date = {{circa|440-430 BC}}
| renovation_date = 1785
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| affiliation = Christian church (6th century-1785)
| height = {{convert|8.93|m|ft|abbr=on}}
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| other_dimensions = {{convert|39.42|x|16.92|m|abbr=on}}
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The Temple of Concordia ({{langx|it|Tempio della Concordia}}, Greek: Ναός της Ομόνοιας) is an ancient Greek temple of Magna Graecia in the Valle dei Templi (Valley of the Temples) in Agrigento (Greek: Ακράγας, Akragas) on the south coast of Sicily, Italy. It is the largest and best-preserved Doric temple in Sicily{{cite news|last=Egan|first=James|title=Sicily in spring: a flowering isle wreathed in antiquity|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/19/travel/sicily-in-spring-a-flowering-isle-wreathed-in-antiquity.html?pagewanted=all|work=The New York Times|date=19 April 1981|quote=...the Temple of Concordia, the most massive and best-preserved Doric temple in Sicily.}} and one of the best-preserved Greek temples in general, especially of the Doric order. It is located a kilometer east to the Temple of Heracles.
Description
File:Agrigento-TempleF-Plan-bjs.png
The temple was built {{circa|440–430}} BC. The well-preserved peristasis of six by thirteen columns stands on a crepidoma of four steps (measuring {{convert|39.42|x|16.92|m|abbr=on}}, and {{convert|8.93|m|ft|abbr=on}} high) The cella measures {{convert|28.36|x|9.4|m|abbr=on}}. The columns are {{convert|6|m|ft|abbr=on}} high and carved with twenty flutes and harmonious entasis (tapering at the tops of the columns and swelling around the middles).
It is constructed, like the nearby Temple of Juno, on a solid base designed to overcome the unevenness of the rocky terrain. It has been conventionally named after Concordia, the Roman goddess of harmony, for the Roman-era Latin inscription found nearby, which is unrelated to it.
The temple was converted into a Christian basilica in the 6th century dedicated to the apostles Peter and Paul by San Gregorio delle Rape, bishop of Agrigento and thus survived the destruction of pagan places of worship. The spaces between the columns were filled with walling, altering its Classical Greek form. The division between the cella, the main room where the cult statue would have stood in antiquity, and the opisthodomos, an adjoining room, was destroyed, and the walls of the cella were cut into a series of arches along the nave. The Christian refurbishments were removed during the restoration of 1785. According to another source, the Prince of Torremuzza transferred the altar elsewhere and began restoration of the classic building in 1788.
According to authors of a 2007 article, it is "apart from the Parthenon, the best preserved Doric temple in the world."{{sfn|Barone|Graziano|Pettinelli|Corradini|2007|p=49}}
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Gallery
File:Agrigento-Tempio della Concordia01.JPG
File:Concordiatempel Tempio della Temple of Concordia de la Concorde Tal der Tempel Valle dei Templi Agrigento Sizilien Foto Wolfgang Pehlemann DSC07490.jpg
File:Concordiatempelagrigent4.jpg
File:Valle dei Templi 3214.jpg
File:Charles Gore View of the Temple of Concord at Agrigentum.png|View of the Temple of Concord at Agrigentum by Charles Gore (1777)
File:A View at Girgenti in Sicily with the Temple of Concord and Juno.tif|A View at Girgenti in Sicily with the Temple of Concord and Juno by Charles Lock Eastlake ({{circa|1818}})
File:Fig. 121 Temple of Concord at Girgenti.png|Temple of Concord at Girgenti, a wood engraved print ({{circa|1885}})
File:Temple of Concord, Girgenti, Italy, 1895. (2826089766).jpg|Temple of Concord, Girgenti by William Henry Goodyear (1895)
File:Joseph Pennell Temple of Concord, Girgenti.png|The Temple by the Sea by Joseph Pennell (1913)
File:Fotografi på tempel Concordia - Hallwylska museet - 104077.tif|circa 1888
See also
References
{{reflist|3|refs=
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;Bibliography
- {{cite journal|last1=Barone|first1=P. M.|last2=Graziano|first2=F.|last3=Pettinelli|first3=E.|last4=Corradini|first4=R. Ginanni|title=Ground-penetrating radar investigations into the construction techniques of the Concordia Temple (Agrigento, Sicily, Italy)|journal=Archaeological Prospection|date=2007|volume=14|issue=1|pages=47–59|doi=10.1002/arp.300}}
- {{cite book|last=Standish|first=Frank Hall|authorlink=Frank Hall Standish|title=The shores of the Mediterranean|date=1837|publisher=Edward Lumley|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dbATAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA133 132–133]}}
{{coord|37|17|23|N|13|35|32|E|type:landmark_region:IT_dim:63|display=title}}
{{Archaeological sites in Sicily}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:5th-century BC religious buildings and structures
Category:Buildings and structures in the Province of Agrigento
Category:5th-century BC establishments in Italy