Imagine a mere 2500 years ago and we are standing in a rich Grecian colony. We can see a series of temples devoted to the Greek gods: Zeus, Hera, Hercules and a few others. Flash forward to the current and you can see for ancient Greek buildings. The symmetry is breathtaking especially when you consider there was no modern machinery. Each column was made in sections and then stacked. Columns carried the weight of the enormous roof with out the use of flying buttress' or concrete!
As we approached the temples, there were over 700 year old ficus trees in front of the path to the temples. Eurasian Jackdaws circled and landed on the highest peak of the Zeus' temple. This magnificent temple which was built in thanksgiving for a victory in a battle in 480BC by Agrigentines. Polybius says "The semicurcular colums are inserted in the wall outside and in ...Their external circumfurence is twenty feetand the fluting is so large that it can enclosethe body of a man. The magnificence and the size of the porticoes are marvelous on the eastern side there is a battle of the "Giants, scultpures distinguished for their size and their beauty and on the western side there is the Trojan was in which each here can be distinguished by the shape and characteristic clothing. Sadly the policy of using ancient monuments to build harbor docks and other buildings resulted in this area being known as " cava giganum" or quarry of the giants.
As you walked along to each of the temples their were almond and olive trees - some of them in bloom! It was also interesting to see some goats that were thought to be the last of their breed.
We knew what each temple was devoted to as their was inscriptions in Greek along the steps leading into them. My favorite although it was less intact was the temple of Hercules. There were also large figures that used to hold up the columns along the ground. A group of archeaologists was taking measurements and taking notes - still being studied after all these years!
After touring the Greek temples, we went to an archeological museum filled with amphoras, intricately carved caskets (of which the most moving one was a babies) and statues. History here traces back to the Middle Bronze age and later cultures are seen as evidenced by pottery and spear tips.
Most interesting to me was the colossal bearing figures called Atlases or Telamones in Greek which are more than 24 feet high. There are no other like these in the Ancient world as we know it. these were placed between the columns and assisted in the weight bearing
One of the more moving sites was the memorial to Giovanni Battista Scalabrini and others who were assassinated fighting to stop the Mafia's influence on Sicily. Jaime gave us a brief history on our way here, we saw the monument where the judges were assassinated.
The Temple of Concordia was dedicated to the harmony of the people of Agrigento. The twelve arches on the walls and the tombs in the floor are artifacts of the temple being transformed into a Christian basilica. At the end of the 6th century AD Gregorius, a bishop, consecrated it to Saints Peter and Paul and expelled pagan demons from the building. It became an extensive area with rock cut burials and communal catacombs of different families.
So delighted that these structures were saved so long ago!
Food in Agrigento
So nice to be able to sit and eat outside at this wonderful little place near the museum. It was our only choice but had an wonderful assortment of goodies.
