Temple of Zeus
About
Cyrene's largest temple was an octastyle Doric giant begun around 500 BCE, larger in floor area than the Parthenon. Its cella once held a colossal marble Zeus modeled on the Olympian original. Jewish rebels tore through the sanctuary in 115 CE, snapping columns and gutting the roof in the opening violence of the Kitos War. On the day Trajan died the ruin still stood untouched, its rebuilding under Hadrian still years away.
What happened here
The building itself is a house for the god, and most people never go inside. Everything public happens on the steps and at the altar in front: an animal led up, examined, killed cleanly, its organs read, the meat divided and eaten. The priest covers his head and a flute player keeps up a noise so no ill-omened word is heard. Worshippers leave what they can afford — a terracotta figure, a coin, a model of the body part they want healed — and the accumulated clutter is periodically cleared and buried on site. On festival days the doors are opened and the cult statue is dressed, garlanded, and sometimes carried out through the streets. The temple also holds money, which is why towns keep their treasury in one.
Sources
Nearby
Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →