Selinunte - Temple G

About 520 B.C., shortly before Temple F was completed, a start was made on the construction of its northern neighbor, Temple G, which an inscription shows was dedicated to Apollo. Today it is a giant heap of rubble, a veritable mountain of columns, capitals and entablature fragments.

Enthusiastic preservers of national monuments plan to reconstruct it in due course. In the meantime - probably for some time to come - the visitor can still imagine how massive it must have been, even in its present chaotic state. The base of Temple G measured 50.07m/164.24ft by 110.12m/361.5ft, covered an area of 5,500sq.m/6,578sq.yd, and was about 30m/99ft high. Together with those at Samos, Ephysus and Didyma it ranks with the largest of all Greek temples but could not rely on the more slender Ionic columns and is in the massive Doric order. Eight by seventeen columns in the pseudodipteral style surrounded halls supported by double cross beams (12m/39ft deep). Open steps led into the eastern perambulatory, itself leading to the pronaos (open portico) with six by two pillars and thence into the cella. The roof of the latter was supported by two rows each of 10 massive columns and it ended in a small square building which probably served as a priest's private sanctuary and is clearly discernible amongst all the rubble. To the west of the cella adjoined an opisthodom (also a private sanctuary) with two pillars between antae (wall ends). The time taken to build it was naturally long, leading to changes in the plan and the way it was carried through. After c. 490 B.C. Classical influences made themselves felt. Thus the 14.70m/48ft high columns erected in the sixth century on the east, north and half of the south sides are more slender, taper towards the top and carry Archaic capitals; those on the remainder of the south side are transitional in form, and those on the west have stocky shafts and capitals in the strict Classical form. Only some of the columns are fluted and it is known that this was done only after they had been erected - an indication that Temple G was not yet completed when Selinunte was destroyed by the Carthaginians and thus suffered the fate of all temples of such giant proportions.