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Paestum temples | Paestum museum pictures

Paestum temples

From the Wikipedia:

"The first Temple of Hera, built around 550 BC by the Greek colonists, is the oldest surviving temple in Paestum. Eighteenth-century archaeologists named it "The Basilica" because some mistakenly believed it to be a Roman building. (The original Roman basilica was essentially a civic form of building, before the basilica plan was adopted by the Early Christians for churches.)

Inscriptions and terracotta statuettes revealed that the goddess worshiped here was Hera. Later, an altar was unearthed in front of the temple, in the open-air site usual for a Greek altar. The faithful could attend rites and sacrifices without entering the cella or inner sanctuary. The columns have a very strong entasis or curvature down their length, an indication of an early date of construction. Some of the capitals still retain visible traces of their original paint. The temple is wider than most Greek temples, probably because there are two doors and a row of seven columns running centrally inside the cella, an unusual feature. This may reflect a dual dedication of the temple. Having an odd number of columns, here nine, across the shorter sides also is very unusual; there are eighteen columns along the longer sides. This was possible, or necessary, because of the two doors, so that neither has a view blocked by a column."

And: "On the highest point of the town, some way from the Hera Temples and north of the center of the ancient settlement, is the Temple of Athena. It was built around 500 BC, and was for some time incorrectly thought to have been dedicated to Ceres. The architecture is transitional, being partly in the Ionic style and partly early Doric. Three medieval Christian tombs in the floor show that the temple was at one time used as a Christian church."

The Hera II temple has a sub-gallery because of the number of pictures.
Hera II temple in Paestum
Hera II temple in Paestum
Paestum Temple of Hera I 065.jpg
Paestum Temple of Hera I 065.jpg
Paestum Temple of Hera I 081.jpg
Paestum Temple of Hera I 081.jpg
Paestum Temple of Hera I 082.jpg
Paestum Temple of Hera I 082.jpg
Paestum Temple of Hera I 083.jpg
Paestum Temple of Hera I 083.jpg
Paestum Temple of Hera I 097.jpg
Paestum Temple of Hera I 097.jpg
Paestum Temple of Hera I 098.jpg
Paestum Temple of Hera I 098.jpg
Paestum Temple of Athena 092.jpg
Paestum Temple of Athena 092.jpg
Paestum Temple of Athena 086.jpg
Paestum Temple of Athena 086.jpg
Paestum Temple of Athena 087.jpg
Paestum Temple of Athena 087.jpg
Paestum Temple of Athena 088.jpg
Paestum Temple of Athena 088.jpg
Paestum Temple of Athena 090.jpg
Paestum Temple of Athena 090.jpg
Paestum Temple of Athena 091.jpg
Paestum Temple of Athena 091.jpg