TEMPLE OF HERA

The temple of Hera, also called Héraion, is dedicated to the wife and sister of Zeus, goddess of fertility and marriage, guardian of the home. It is one of the oldest Greek temples since it was built in 600 B.C. It is Doric style, with six columns in front and 16 on the long sides. Originally, its columns were wooden, but were replaced by columns of coquillière stone at different periods, which explains that the columns were not all of the same diameter and had neither the same ribs nor the same capitals. It was in this temple that was found the famous Hermes de Praxiteles, the Statue marble statue in 1877 is preserved in the museum museum. At the bottom of the cella is the statue of worship of the goddess Hera whose only head was preserved. Next to her was a statue of Zeus standing, warrior. At the east of the temple, the altar of Hera, where one lights the Olympic flame today, respecting the ceremony and costumes of the time. It was in this temple that was also discovered the drive of Iphitos on which we could read the text of the Olympic Truce, the period of the Olympic Games was meant to pause for conflicts and tensions.

Just below the exèdre and in front of the temple of Hera, at a depth of one metre below the current level of the soil, vestiges of prehistoric dwellings dating from 2000 to 1500 BC.

By continuing to the south of the temple of Hera, you will find the Pélopion, a small mound surrounded by a pentagonal wall. This monument dates back to 1100 BC and the inhabitants of the region admire Pelops, the ancestor of the Doomed dynasty on Mycenae who gave his name to the Peloponnese, sacrificing a black sheep every year.