Audio tour Temple F

We cannot tell you much about the divinity to which was dedicated the temple F: archaeologists have not found elements to identify this divinity!

The temple today is completely destroyed and its ruins lie on the eastern hill, between the rebuilt temple E and the ruins of the temple G.

What remains of this building? Of the old building remain intact only the stylobate, which is the base where the columns rested, and the crepidoma, the temple base with 3 steps.

Despite being so destroyed, archaeologists have been able to figure out of how many columns the peristalsis was formed of: 6 were on the short sides and 14 on the long sides, including those at the corners. The columns were fluted and had Doric capitals and with a more crushed outline than the other temples.

Archaeologists have been able to reconstruct another detail: Unlike the other temples, where the spaces between the columns were open, here the spaces between the columns of the two long sides and back side were enclosed by a wall higher than half of the height of the columns.

The only opening was, therefore, on the main facade at East.

To enter the Temple, the ancient inhabitants of Selinunte climbed the steps of the crepidoma, exceeded the 6 columns of the facade, and came to the porch which had another row of 4 columns, parallel to the front one.

This space was a kind of entrance for the most sacred part of the temple: the cell, or nàos, which is very narrow and long where the statue of the god was placed. Here too, just after the cell, there was the adyton, a narrow space, completely closed to the public, where the Treasure of the temple was stored.

What do we know, then, of the decoration of this temple?

Archaeologists tell us that in the triangular space of the eardrum, on both short sides of the building, the pediments were decorated with terracotta items, while the entablature the horizontal element between the columns and the eardrum-was decorated by rectangular slabs, metopes and triglyphs, some carved by scenes in relief, others decorated with vertical elements, like separators.

There is very little left of these metopes! Only 2 half metopes in tuff, with scenes of the Gigantomachy: a mythical battle between the Giants and all the Greek gods.

We will tell you, then, what are these two scenes: the first represents Dionysius who fights a giant, the second represents Athena who knocks down the giant Enceladus.

This text has been translated by Anna Gullo with the collaboration of Angela Gisone. The narrator is Francesco Martino: class V C from the Primary School "Lombardo Radice".