Temple of Herakles (Hercules)

The Temples of Herakles (Hercules)(510 B.C.), one of the most beautiful temples of antiquity ,is now reduced in poor ruins. But even so, the building, still visible from far away, is imposing and rises in the Valley of the Temples just like the symbol of the power and strength of Herakles, the national hero of Sicily and, in particular, Agrigento.

The wide rectangular platform, mounted on four steps, measures m.73,992 in length and 27,788 in width, a triple square that occupies a surface of .2.056,89 square meters. It was m. 16,264 high. Out of 38 columns (6 on the front and 15 on the long sides counting the corner ones twice), only 9 stand out today. They were put back up in 1922, thanks to the English captain Alexander Hardcastle.

Excerpts from the guidebook “Agrigento – The Valley of the Temple and the Regional Museum” by Giuseppe Di Giovanni, a companion to most of the visitors of the Valley of The Temples.