Temple of the Dioscuri

In Greek mythology Castor and Pollux are twin brothers born of Leda, Queen of Sparta. Castor, the mortal son of the King Tyndareus of Sparta and Pollux, the divine son of Zeus. They are brothers of Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. Castor and Pollux are called the Dioscuri.

According to the legend, in an ambush, Castor was wounded from a spear. To save his life, Pollux, gave half of his immortality to his twin brother and they became the two brightest stars in the constellation Gemini.

A temple at the Valle dei Templi in Agrigernto was dedicated to the Dioscuri, Temple of the Dioscuri or the Temple of Castor and Pollux. This Temple, however, was a reconstruction from the rubble of other ancient temples during the 1800’s.

It consists of four columns with big stone bricks filed above them. Experts calculate the age of the original temple on which the reconstruction has been done to be middle of 500 BC.


Image courtesy of:
en.wikipedia.org

The Tomb of Theron in Agrigento Sicily

Tomb of Theron

Agrigento is not only a host to ancient temples but also to a tomb of one of the greatest men in the history of Sicily, Theron, the Greek Tyrant of the town Acragas.

In 480 BC, he led the war against the Carthaginians and occupied Himera with his ally Gelo of Gela. He controlled Greek Sicily together with his allies, Syracuse and Selinunte until his death in 473 BC.

His son, Thrasydaeus succeeded him but because of his wicked conduct, he became unpopular to his people. He went to war against Hiero, son of Syracuse and was eventually defeated. He managed to escape to Greece but was later taken in captivity and was killed in public.

The “Tomb of Theron” is located near to Porta Aurea in Agrigento.

Image above courtesy of:
en.wikipedia.org