Hanging in space and time at Selinunte, Sicily, Italy: chunks of ancient Greek masonry trapped where they fell between an unfinished column drum and a Doric capital part-cut from solid rock, amid the fallen columns and other stonework of a collapsed temple dedicated either to Apollo or Zeus in the city of Selinus or Selinous. The structure, now known as Temple G, is the second largest Greek temple in Sicily. It was founded in 530 BC but was incomplete when Carthage sacked Selinus in 409 BC. It later collapsed, probably in a medieval earthquake.
Selinunte, Sicily, Italy: hanging in space and time … chunks of ancient Greek masonry trapped where they fell between an unfinished column drum and a Doric capital part-cut from solid rock, amid heaps of fallen columns and other features of a collapsed temple dedicated either to Apollo or Zeus on the site of the ancient city and port of Selinus or Selinous. The structure, known as Temple G, is the largest of three ruined temples on the East Hill 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. In terms of layout, it 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). 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 medieval earthquakes – centuries after the city had been abandoned. Silenus was founded on Sicily’s southwest coast in 651 or 628 BC by Greek colonists, perhaps taking its name from wild celery (Greek: selinon) flourishing on the clifftop site. Silenus grew wealthy, but its downfall was heralded by border disputes with a rival, Segesta, and a subsequent alliance with Syracuse against Carthage. 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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