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The Valley of the Temples · 19th-century reconstruction

Temple of the Dioscuri

Four columns that became the unofficial symbol of the entire park.
Temple of Concordia Temple of Juno Temple of Heracles Temple of Zeus Temple of the Dioscuri The Kolymbethra Garden
Quick Facts
Columns standing4 (19th c. reconstruction)
Named forCastor & Pollux
StatusMost photographed spot in the park

Only four columns and a corner of entablature survive here, re-erected in the mid-19th century from a jumble of fallen fragments found scattered nearby, pieces that may not even all belong to the same original building. Like Concordia and Juno, it likely had six columns on its short sides and thirteen on the long ones, though so little survives that most of its original appearance can only be guessed at.

Despite that uncertainty, or perhaps because of the elegant, cropped composition the four columns make, this has become the unofficial symbol of the entire Valle dei Templi, the single most reproduced image on postcards, posters, and guidebook covers, arguably more recognisable than the far better-preserved Temple of Concordia.

It's traditionally linked to Castor and Pollux, the Dioscuri, twin sons of Zeus in Greek mythology, though like several temples here the attribution is a later, best-guess label rather than a certainty from antiquity.