Most Famous Greek Temples

Temple of Olympian Zeus

The Temple of Olympian Zeus, also known as the Olympieion or Columns of the Olympian Zeus, is a former colossal temple at the center of the Greek capital Athens. It was dedicated to “Olympian” Zeus, a name originating from his position as head of the Olympian gods.

Greek Temples
bullish.ox10

Parthenon

The Parthenon is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patroness. Construction started in 447 BC when the Delian League was at the peak of its power.

Greek Temples
noe__sv

Valley of the Temples

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 Magna Graecia art and architecture, and is one of the main attractions of Sicily as listed in 1997.

Greek Temples
@gianlucamusmeci

Temple of Hephaestus

The Temple of Hephaestus or Hephaisteion, is a well-preserved Greek temple dedicated to Hephaestus; it remains standing largely intact today. It is a Doric peripteral temple, and is located at the north-west side of the Agora of Athens, on top of the Agoraios Kolonos hill.

Greek Temples
@trikaliotis_george

Paestum

Paestum was a major ancient Greek city on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in Magna Graecia. The ruins of Paestum are famous for their three ancient Greek temples in the Doric order, dating from about 550 to 450 BC, which are in an excellent state of preservation.

Greek Temples
@_mama80_

Doric Temple of Segesta

Located in the northwestern part of Sicily, Segesta was one of the major cities of the Elymian people, one of the three indigenous peoples of Sicily. The population of Segesta was mixed Elymian and Greek, though the Elymians soon Hellenized and took on external characteristics of Greek life. The Doric temple that lies just outside the ancient site is well preserved. It was built in the late 5th century BC and has 6×14 Doric columns.

@anselmoeditore

Temple of Apollo Epicurius

Located on a remote mountainside in the Peloponnese, the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae is a well-preserved and unusual Greek temple. It was built somewhere between 450 and 400 BC. The temple is aligned north-south, in contrast to the majority of Greek temples which are aligned east-west. The temple is unusual in that it has examples of all three of the classical orders used in ancient Greek architecture.

clydewhtraveller

Erechtheum

The Erechtheion or Temple of Athena Polias is an ancient Greek Ionic temple-telesterion on the north side of the Acropolis, Athens, which was primarily dedicated to the goddess Athena.

traveler.nordic

Temple of Zeus at Cyrene

Cyrene was the most important of the five Greek colonies in present-day Libya. High up from the rest of the city, lies the Temple of Zeus, dating back to the 5th century BC. It was destroyed during a Jewish rebellion in 115 AD, and was restored 5 years later by the Romans on order of Emperor Hadrian. In 365 AD an earthquake reduced the temple to rubble once more and it was not rebuilt until modern times by British and Italian archaeologists. This temple is larger than the Parthenon, a reflection of the wealth and importance of Cyrene in the ancient Greek world.

David Holt / Flickr

Temple of Poseidon at Sounion

Located at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula in Greece, the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion is surrounded on three sides by the sea. It was constructed in approx. 440 BC, over the ruins of a temple dating from the Archaic Period. Only some columns of the Temple of Poseidon stand today, but intact it would have closely resembled the Temple of Hephaestus beneath the Acropolis, which may have been designed by the same architect.

josjejosee