Well, it isn’t a valley. That is my first thought upon arriving at Sicily’s top tourist attraction, the Valley of the Temples. Rather, the three temples I’ll visit on the day are on a ridge. Odd, right? My second thought is, quite simply, wow.

The Valley of the Temples is what remains of the sacred area of the Ancient Greek city of Akragas, now called Agrigento. Founded in the 580s BCE, Akragas was one of the latest Greek city-states on Sicily, and continued to be relevant well into the late Roman Empire, though after the name change. While it is best known for several temples just inside the former city wall along a ridge (now the Valley of the Temples), Akragas has a couple other interesting things. First, a war in the late sixth century BCE led to the destruction of Akragas’ neighbor, Selinus, now the ruins at Selinute, Sicily. Second, the ruler Phalaris, a classic tyrant who ruled Akragas in the 570s BCE and was said to have burned his political enemies alive inside a bronze statue of a bull. Fascinating.

Akragas became one of the largest and most important Greek city-states on Sicily, with a population estimated at perhaps more than 200,000, much greater than its modern edition at only 60,000. Such a city was of course in need of an impressive temple complex, and after the city defeated an invading Carthage in 480 BCE, some of the monumental building projects at Valley of the Temples were undertaken.

Today, a basic visit includes three temples close to one another and connected by a paved pedestrian road, with a couple more temples further afield. Those three temples and their road run nearly directly east to west, and that is the order I visit.

On the eastern side is the Temple of Juno. As with the others (more as we get there), the name is wrong, since Juno is the Roman name. The odds are that this temple was either dedicated to Hera or to Athena, with theories supporting both. Dating to roughly 450 BCE, the outline of the temple is still intact, with many of the 38 original (13 long and 8 across) Doric columns still standing to a degree. One side still has much of the bottom row of stones sitting atop the columns, giving an idea of the overall shape.

The westernmost of these three temples is likewise misnamed. It is commonly called the Temple of Zeus, but it is believed to have been dedicated to Hercules instead. It was easily the largest of the three temples – the other two are the same size – at nearly 210 feet long and 75 feet across. All that currently remains is a row of eight columns, however, and even these are not as they were found. Only a single column was standing, with the others raised from their positions lying on the ground.

The center temple of the three easy to visit temples at Sicily’s Valley of the Temples is by far the most impressive and the best preserved. It is, in fact, one of the best preserved Greek temples in the entire world. The Temple of Concordia is stunning, and pretty much fully intact. Here it is easy to see that the temples in Agrigento were built of sandstone rather than marble like the Parthenon in Athens, although it is likely that there was marble facing covering the stone. As with the Temple of Juno, this one has thirteen columns running down the long side, but only six across. Its facade of six columns is actually the logo for UNESCO!

It isn’t fully known who this temple was originally dedicated to. Concordia is a Roman goddess, so it was certainly not her; the name comes from a Latin inscription found nearby from a much later date. As it was mainly intact, Middle Ages Christians actually converted the temple into a church, filling in some of the gaps between columns with arched walls. Those remnants are still part of the ruin today.

Part of Akragas’ city wall is also still visible, running along the road between the temples. As with the Temple of Concordia, a portion was repurposed by early Christians, this time to be a necropolis, with burial chambers visible at intervals.

Sicily’s Valley of the Temples is many things. Historic, beautiful, important, popular. One thing it is not? A valley. Despite the name – which kind of goes with the “wrong” names for all the temples – you should visit anyway.

Like it? Pin it!