Exploring the Valley of the Temples in Sicily

When we were planning our three weeks in Sicily, one of the places that was high on our list was the Valley of the Temples. This site features the ruins and remains of at least five Greek Doric temples, dedicated to various gods and goddesses, which were built between 500 and 300 BC.

The Valley of the Temples is a magnificent site of over 1,300 hectares.

Although the name suggests you’re in a valley, you’re actually high up on a ridge. You can see why they chose this site for defensive purposes. They had commanding views of the Mediterranean, which helped them spot incoming ships.

You might be wondering what all these Greek temples are doing in Sicily? Aren’t they Roman temples?

Sicily has a rich and varied history that can be complex and challenging to comprehend. There are sites, for example, in Syracuse, where Greek and Roman ruins are located right next to each other. They appear to be from the same era, but they were actually built hundreds of years apart.

It helps to know the layers of Sicily’s rulers over the past 3,000 years.

The prehistoric natives, dating back to before 1000 BC, were known as Sicani, Sicels, and Elymians.

The Phoenicians arrived about 1000 BC and lived in peace with their predecessors.

Then came the Greeks around 750 BC. The Greeks were conquerors. They were on a mission to create a greater Greece and find more arable land. The Greeks took control of much of eastern Sicily through various wars.

In the years that followed, they began to construct these temples and others throughout the island.

However, the Carthaginians established themselves in western Sicily and, around 500 BC, expanded their presence within Sicily by initiating a series of wars. Sicily was divided between the Carthaginians and Greeks until the Romans went to war with Carthage and took control of the entire island in 241 BC.

So to sum it up, the Greeks ruled the eastern parts of Sicily for about 500 years.

Practical Information for Visiting the Valley of the Temples

The Valley of the Temples lies just outside the modern city of Agrigento on the southern coast of Sicily. It’s easy to reach off Highway 115.

The best time to visit is spring and fall. Summer can be insanely hot, and besides, you’ll have nicer light for photography in the shoulder seasons. The usual hours are 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.

Tickets are priced between €12 and €15, depending on the ticket you select. You can get combo tickets that include the Kolymbethra Garden or the Archaeological Museum.

Best Tips for Visiting the Valley of the Temples

Allow yourself at least two to three hours, or longer if you’re interested in history or photography. Serious photographers could spend all day there.

Remember that you’ll be outside, walking the whole time. So, wear sunscreen, comfortable shoes, and a hat. Bring water, especially if you’re there on a summer day. There’s a small snack bar restaurant with washrooms along the way, but that’s it.

Consider hiring an English-speaking guide. We didn’t, and in retrospect, I wish that we had. We saw others with guides, and, as we passed, they sounded very knowledgeable.

You can also purchase a small booklet for €6, which provides details on the temples and includes illustrations that depict how the temples were constructed. We found it worth having.

Top Tip When You Visit the Valley of the Temples

Assuming you’re driving there, the parking lot is at the west end of the site. After you park, you could enter the site from there. But take our advice, and get one of the €3 taxis waiting to take you to the entrance on the east end.

Two benefits: you’ll only have to walk the entire site once, from the east back to the west, where you left your car. Otherwise, if you start from the west, you’ll have to walk the site twice to see everything and get back to your car. (Maybe you want to walk the site twice, but it gets hot out there)

Additionally, the site runs gently downhill from east to west, making it an easier walk.

It’s a five-minute trip. Spend the €3 for a taxi.

Observations of the Valley of the Temples

The nearby city is Agrigento. During Greek times, it was called Akragas and was one of the wealthiest and most powerful Greek colonies in Magna Graecia (Greater Greece).

Aside from the remains of the temples, you’ll see lots of pieces of ancient rubble. If you buy the booklet, you’ll read various guesses at the town’s population, anywhere from 200,000 to 800,000. That explains all the building materials lying around.

The site gave the Greeks defence, prosperity, visibility, and religious expression. The Valley of the Temples was the city’s spiritual and symbolic backbone—this was a physical manifestation of its wealth, power, and connection to the gods.

There were other temples on the site that were either not completed or had been demolished beyond recognition.

The names of the temples, such as Concordia, were given by later historians. We don’t actually know what the Greeks called them.

Speaking of the Temple of Concordia, it is the best preserved of all the temples. Why? Around 500 AD, it was converted into a Christian basilica and remained in use as a church until the 1700s. So, ironically, it was a Christian church longer than a Greek temple.

It was quite common for Christians to convert Greek temples into churches. The best example standing today is the cathedral in Syracuse, where you can see the temple columns integrated into the outside walls of the cathedral.

If you come across the giant Telamon figure lying on the site and see the reconstruction in the museum, you may wonder which temple it came from. These 26-foot-tall Telamons were positioned between the columns with their arms upright, creating the illusion that they were holding up the roof.

They were part of a temple dedicated to Zeus Olympios, which was never completed and then totally destroyed. This temple was intended to rival mainland Greek architecture.

It was only in the early 1900s that archaeologists figured out that these giant figures were part of a temple structure.

To visit the Valley of the Temples, we stayed in the nearby Azienda Agricola Mandranova olive farm resort. It was the perfect spot for us to explore the temples and the Roman Villa of Casale at Piazza Armerina.