Segesta Temple

Segesta was one of the major cities of the Elymians, one of the three indigenous peoples of Sicily. The hellenization of Segesta happened very early and had a profound effect on its people.

On a hill just outside the site of the ancient city of Segesta lies an unusually well preserved Doric temple. It is thought to have been built in the 420s BC by an Athenian architect, despite the city not having a large Greek population. The temple has six by fourteen columns on a base measuring 21 by 56 meters, on a platform three steps high. Several elements suggest that the temple was never finished. The columns have not been fluted as they normally would have been in a Doric temple and there are still bosses present in the blocks of the base (used for lifting the blocks into place but then normally removed). The temple also lacks a cella, any ornamentation, altar or deity dedication, and was never roofed over. The temple escaped destruction by the Carthaginians in the late 5th century.

Address
Calatafimi-Segesta, Italy

Established
420 BCE