Temple of Olympian Zeus: Built 480 BC & Commemorates The Greek City State Victory Over Carthage.

Temple of Heracles: The Oldest Of The Temples, It Fell in an Earthquake and Only Eight Columns Stand Today.

It is the best preserved and was converted into a church

Temple of Concordia: Built in The 5th Century BC.

The Seven Temples Of The Valley Of The Temples In Sicily The main attractions are the ruins of seven temples - all of them were built in the Doric style. Today, the Valley of the Temples is one of the best places to see ancient Greek art and architecture. During the golden age of Ancient Greece, Agrigento was one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia and the regional capital.Īgrigento is set on a plateau (not a valley) that gazes out over the sea and was likely founded around 582 to 580 BC, making it the last of the major Greek colonies on the island of Sicily. It is located in the ancient Greek city of Agrigento. The Valley of Temples (called 'Valle dei Templi' in Italian) is one of the leading archeological sites in Sicily. The Seven Temples Of The Valley Of Temples In Sicily The Roman Empire was eventually bilingual, with Greek dominating in the East, and after the Roman Empire split, the Eastern Roman Empire / Byzantine Empire eventually became Greek-speaking.

One of the best-preserved ancient Greek cities is Cyrene in today's Libya.Įven after the Roman Empire grew and eventually took over the entire Greek world, the Greek civilization persisted.

Hellenistic heritage and architecture are found all around the Mediterranean. These are in an excellent state of preservation. There are also impressive Ancient Greek temples still standing on mainland Italy like Paestum (the ruins of Paestum are also famous for the ruins of three Ancient Greek temples from 550 to 450 BC). This region had a large impact on Italy and the development of ancient Rome. This region was extensively inhabited by Greeks, whose settlers had been arriving since the 8th century BC. The Romans called the coastal area of Southern Italy and Sicily 'Magna Graecia' or 'Greater Greece'. Fausto Longo is a specialist in classical archaeology at the University of Lecce and doctor of research in archaeology at the University of Naples.The Caryatid porch of the Erechtheion at Acropolis Magna Graecia: How Southern Italy Was Part Of The Greek World

Lorena Jannelli is archaeological inspector at the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici of Liguria. Luca Cerchiai is professor of Italian archaeology and Etruscology at the University of Salerno. This comprehensive survey is followed by a review of the major archaeological sites in the region. The Greek Cities of Magna Graecia and Sicily presents an overview of Greek colonization in Italy and the principal historical events that took place in this area from the Archaic period until the ascendancy of the Romans. Such forefathers of Western philosophy as Pythagoras, Parmenides, and Archimedes lived and worked within this civilization. In Italy they created an autonomous political community that eventually surpassed the cities of Greece in wealth, military power, and architectural and cultural splendor. The new arrivals brought with them their language, their cultural and religious traditions, and the institution of the polis. Luca Cerchiai, Lorena Janelli, and Fausto LongoĪfter colonizing the Aegean islands and the coast of Asia Minor, the ancient Greeks turned toward southern Italy and Sicily, driven by the unrest that troubled their homeland in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C.

Ancient rome magna graecia