Massive drums of fallen columns and blocks of cut stone lie jumbled amid the ruins of a collapsed Doric temple dedicated either to Apollo or Zeus on the site of the ancient Greek city and port of Selinus or Selinous at Selinunte on the southwest coast of Sicily, Italy. The structure, known as Temple G, was founded in 530 BC and was still unfinished when Selinus was captured and sacked by Carthage in 409 BC. Its collapse was probably due to earthquakes in the medieval era.
Selinunte, Sicily, Italy: massive drums of fallen columns and blocks of cut stone lie jumbled amid the ruins of a collapsed Doric temple dedicated either to Apollo or Zeus on the site of the ancient city and port of Selinus or Selinous on Sicily’s southwest coast. The structure, known as Temple G, is the largest of three ruined temples east of the acropolis in the 570-hectare Selinunte Archaeological Park. At 113m long, 54m wide and 30m high (371 x 177 x 98 ft), it is the second biggest ancient Greek temple in Sicily and in terms of layout, is second only to the Parthenon in Athens, with eight massive columns at the front, eight at the rear and 17 down each side. Each column was over 16m (53 ft) high, with a base diameter of (11 ft). Every drum was pierced at its centre so it could be rotated on a central pivot as it rested on a shrinking bed of sand – ensuring a perfect fit with the drum below. Temple G, founded in 530 BC, was still unfinished, with many of the columns left unfluted, when Silenus was sacked by Carthage in 409 BC. Like all the Selinunte temples, Temple G probably collapsed in earthquakes in the medieval era – centuries after the city had been abandoned. Silenus was founded in 651 or 628 BC by Greek colonists and perhaps took its name from wild celery (Greek: selinon) flourishing on the clifftop site. Silenus became prosperous, but border disputes with the rival city of Segesta and a subsequent alliance with Syracuse against Carthage provoked its downfall. In 409 BC, a 100,000-strong Carthaginian army mounted a 10-day siege, which ended with the city walls razed, many buildings destroyed,16,000 citizens dead and 5,000 more taken prisoner. Only 2,600 people escaped. A later revival ended in 250 BC when Carthage moved the city’s inhabitants elsewhere.
Size: 4256px × 2832px
Location: Selinunte, Sicily, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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