Temple of Heracles

The Temple of Heracles or Temple of Hercules (the Roman name of the hero) is an ancient Greek temple of Magna Graecia in the ancient city of Akragas, located in the Valle dei Templi in Agrigento, Italy. The building, in the archaic Doric style, is found on what is known as the hill of the temples, on a rocky spur near Villa Aurea. The name Temple of Heracles is an attribution of modern scholarship, based on Cicero's mention of a temple dedicated to the hero non longe a foro "not far from the agora" (Verrine II 4.94), containing a famous statue of Heracles. That the agora of Akragas was in this area has not yet been demonstrated, but the identification is generally accepted. The excavation of the site was carried out mostly in the 19th century, with the archaeologist Domenico Antonio Lo Faso Pietrasanta in charge This temple is located approximately one kilometer to the west of Temple of Concordia.