Churches on Temples
At the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento (ancient Akragas) the temple known today as the Temple of Concord was built around the middle of the fifth century BC. That it is now one of the very best-preserved temples of the ancient Greek world (together with the Heraion at Paestum and the Theseion at Athens) is thanks to its conversion into an early Christian basilica, about a thousand years after its construction.
At Syracuse, in Piazza Duomo at Ortigia, the cathedral was built in the seventh century AD on the site of an ancient temple dedicated to Athena (said to have been originally constructed to commemorate a victory over the Carthaginians at Himera in 480 BC – and itself built upon an even older temple). As the Doric columns of the temple of Athena remained visible, the cathedral (maintaining its dedication to a female divinity) was called Santa Maria delle Colonne.
For an animated transition made from panoramas of the interiors of these buildings, see the Animations section (or click here). Interactive panoramas of the interiors are in the 360° Panoramas section.
Click the thumbnails below for larger images.
Syracuse duomo; side-aisle (Mercator projection) |
Syracuse; nave (horizontal cross projection) |
Temple of Concord; interior (Panini projection) |
Buildings compared; (cylindrical projections) |
