Temple of Concordia, Agrigento

Description

The temple was built c. 440–430 BC. Its well-preserved peristasis of six by thirteen columns stands on a crepidoma of four steps, measuring 39.42 x 16.92 m and 8.93 m high.

The cella measures 28.36 x 9.4 m. The columns are 6 m high and carved with twenty flutes and harmonious entasis, tapering at the tops 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 and the opisthodomos 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.