The Tavole Palatine ("Palatine Tables") are the remains of a hexastyle peripteral Greek temple of Magna Graecia the 6th century BC, dedicated to the goddess Hera and the god Apollo. [1] The temple, located near the Bradano river in the south of Italy, was part of a countryside sanctuary and remains of the wall of the temenos and of a very ancient altar are visible. [2]
The remains are located in the archaeological area of Metapontum, on the last of the Givoni, ancient sandbanks near the right bank of the river Bradano, built over the remains of a neolithic village on the prehistoric road from Siris-Heraclea, about three kilometres from the ancient city of Metapontum. [1]
The temple, restored in 1961, was initially attributed to the cult of the goddess Athena, [3] but a fragment of a vase found in the course of the 1926 archaeological excavations turned out to be a votive dedicated to the goddess Hera, showing that she was the patron of the sanctuary. [4]
Until the nineteenth century, the Tavole Palatine were also known locally as the Mensole Palatine (Palatine Shelves) or Colonne Palatine (Palatine Colonnade), probably in reference to the struggles of the French Paladins against the Saracens. The temple was also called the Scuola di Pitagora (School of Pythagoras) in memory of the great philosopher Pythagoras. In the Middle Ages it was also called the Mensae Imperatoris (Tables of the Emperor), probably referring to the Holy Roman Emperor Otto II who camped at Metapontum during his expedition against the Saracens in 982. [1]
The temple was composed of a central naos, preceded by a pronaos and with an adyton at the rear. Fifteen columns with twenty flutes and Doric capitals survive. Of these fifteen columns, ten are on the north side and five on the southern side. Originally there were thirty-two columns, since the temple had a peristasis of twelve columns on each long side and six on each short side. The stylobate was 34.29 m (112.5 ft) long and 13.66 m (44.8 ft) wide, the naos 17.79 m × 8.68 m (58.4 ft × 28.5 ft). The temple has decayed significantly because it was built with local limestone (so-called mazzarro). [3] In the fifth century BC, the temple had a tiled roof with multi-coloured decoration in the Ionic tradition, with leonine protomes and gargoyles. [2]
Numerous remains of terracotta decoration, statuettes and ceramics, along with smaller column fragments were found near the temple during the 1926 excavations [3] and are now kept at the Museo archeologico nazionale di Metaponto.
Selinunte was a rich and extensive ancient Greek city of Magna Graecia on the south-western coast of Sicily in Italy. It was situated between the valleys of the Cottone and Modione rivers. It now lies in the comune of Castelvetrano, between the frazioni of Triscina di Selinunte in the west and Marinella di Selinunte in the east.
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Metapontum or Metapontium was an important city of Magna Graecia, situated on the gulf of Tarentum, between the river Bradanus and the Casuentus. It was distant about 20 km from Heraclea and 40 from Tarentum. The ruins of Metapontum are located in the frazione of Metaponto, in the comune of Bernalda, in the Province of Matera, Basilicata region, Italy.
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A Heraion or Heraeum is a temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Hera
Lagina or Laginia (Λαγινία) was a town in the territory of Stratonicea, in ancient Caria. It contained an important temple of Hecate, at which every year great festivals were celebrated. Tacitus, when speaking of the worship of Trivia among the Stratoniceans, evidently means Hecate. Its site is located near Turgut, Asiatic Turkey.
Lycosura was a city in the ancient Parrhasia region of south Arcadia said by Pausanias to be the oldest city in the world, although there is no evidence for its existence before the fourth century BCE. Its current significance is chiefly associated with the sanctuary of the goddess Despoina, which contained a colossal sculptural group that Pausanias wrote was made by Damophon of Messene. This group comprises acrolithic-technique statues of Despoina and Demeter seated on a throne, with statues of Artemis and the Titan Anytos standing on either side of them – all in Pentelic marble. The dates of both the temple and the sculptural group have occasioned some dispute. Remains of a stoa, altars, and other structures have been found at the site as well. The Sanctuary of Despoina at Lycosoura is located 9 km WSW of Megalopolis, 6.9 km SSE of Mount Lykaion, and 160 km SW of Athens. There is a small museum at the archaeological site housing small finds as well as part of the cult group, while the remains of the cult statues of Despoina and Demeter are displayed at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.
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The Valle dei Templi, or Valley of the Temples, is an archaeological site in Agrigento, Sicily. It is one of the most outstanding examples of ancient Greek art and architecture of Magna Graecia, and is one of the main attractions of Sicily. The term "valley" is a misnomer, the site being located on a ridge outside the town of Agrigento.
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The Temple of Artemis is an Archaic Greek temple in Corfu, Greece, built in around 580 BC in the ancient city of Korkyra, now called Corfu. It is found on the property of the Saint Theodore monastery, which is located in the suburb of Garitsa. The temple was dedicated to Artemis. It is known as the first Doric temple exclusively built with stone. It is also considered the first building to have incorporated all of the elements of the Doric architectural style. Very few Greek temple reliefs from the Archaic period have survived, and the large fragments of the group from the pediment are the earliest significant survivals. It was excavated from 1911 onwards.
The Heraion at Foce del Sele is an archaeological site consisting of an Ancient Greek sanctuary complex dedicated to the goddess Hera in Magna Graecia. It was originally located at the mouth of the Sele, about 8 km (5.0 mi) north of the Greek city of Poseidonia, famous for its three standing Greek temples, but is now about 2.3 km (1.4 mi) from the modern coast as a result of the deposition of alluvial sediment by the river. The site is in the modern commune of Capaccio-Paestum, some 80 km (50 mi) south of Naples.
The Temple of Hera or Heraion is an archaic temple in Corfu, Greece, built around 610 BC in the ancient city of Korkyra, in what is known today as Palaiopolis, and lies within the ground of the Mon Repos estate. The sanctuary of Hera at Mon Repos is considered a major temple, and one of the earliest examples of archaic Greek architecture.
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The First Temple of Hera (Paestum)—also known as Temple of Hera I and the Basilica—is an archaic Doric temple located in the ancient city of Paestum, Italy. This Doric temple is considered one of the oldest Greek temples in Italy and is known for its distinctive architectural features. It was built around 550–525 BCE, within a century of the city's establishment by Greek colonists from Sybaris, who named the city Poseidonia.
40°24′58″N16°49′01″E / 40.4160406°N 16.8169154°E
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