Sanctuary of Heracles was a large paved court surrounded by buildings on three sides and with the principal altar in the centre. It wouldn’t have been as separate from the rest of the town as many sanctuaries, and would have been part of the town’s landscape, immediately apparent to the citizens. The 5th century re-buildings were on a much larger scale than the original 6th century rooms.
As you stand at the gate of Silenus, at the entrance to the sanctuary, the temple of Heracles is at the opposite end, at the very North -it would have been on a raised platform. Originally, it was just a single chambered naos, but was later embellished with a wide colonnade on all sides, giving it a square form, slightly different from the traditional rectangular temples, but the colonnade on all sides is very traditionally Greek.
To the west and at the front of this temple was the stepped and porched entrance to the temenos – this was the last addition to the sanctuary, in the 2nd century BC. It opened onto a paved court with the stepped altar in its centre, and a long gallery hall forming the opposite border (along to the right from the entrance at the gate of Silenus).
The South side was occupied by a porticoed building containing official administrative offices for the sanctuary and the banqueting rooms – where the important early summer feast the Heracleia was celebrated.
References:The Cathedral of Saint Mary Major, often called Lisbon Cathedral or simply the Sé, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Lisbon, Portugal. The oldest church in the city, it is the seat of the Patriarchate of Lisbon. The cathedral has survived many earthquakes and has been modified, renovated and restored several times. It is nowadays a mix of different architectural styles.
The site where it stands was the principal mosque of Lisbon when it was an Arab settlement. The construction of the cathedral started around 1150, three years after the city was conquered from the Moors during the Second Crusade. Shortly after the victory the English knight Gilbert of Hastings was named bishop of the city of Lisbon.
One good reason to visit the Cathedral is to visit its charming cloisters located in the back. There are several tombs in the cathedral, the most notable of which is the beautifully sculpted tomb of Lopo Fernandes Pacheco and his wife.