Temple of Hera (Corfu)

Temple of Hera (Corfu).On a low hill to the southwest of the Mon-Repos Estate, the ruins of a temple of the ancient city of Corfu are preserved, which, based on the findings of the site and the reports of ancient authors, mainly Thucydides, was identified by the excavators with the Heraion.In the centre of the sanctuary, at the top of the hill,a large temple with a terracotta roof was built around 610 BC. The temple was dedicated to Hera Akraia (Extreme), a title revealing the location of the sanctuary on the extreme tip of the Kanoni peninsula. The temple of Hera(Corfu) was protected by an enclosure and it was gradually enriched with various outbuildings and smaller templesasindicated by the architectural remnants and the votives to other deities that were found in the area. At the end of the 6th century BC a small,open-air sanctuary attributed to Apollo Korkyraio (Corcyrean) was also founded at a short distance from the enclosure of the Heraion.Towards the end of the 5th century BC the temple of Hera was destroyed by fire during the civil war between the Democrats and the Oligarchs. Almost immediately after this event, around 400 BC, renovationand expansion workstook place. A new, large temple with a marble roof was constructed on the foundations of the old one and a strong retaining enclosure was also built. Debris of the first temple and other buildings as well as old offerings were then buried to expand the site around the perimeter of the hill.The few findings from the following centuries suggest the sanctuary never fully recovered from its destruction in the 5th century BC. In the 3rd century BC two small buildings of hitherto unknown use and a narrow paved street were added outside the sanctuary’s enclosure. The final destruction of the Heraion probably occurred in the 1st century BC and it has been associated with the sack of Corfu by the troops of Agrippa shortly before the battle of Actium in 31 BC.Large terracotta figures such as lions, gorgoneions, and Daidala maidens, created and painted in vivid colour by artisans inspired by myth traditions across the Mediterranean, decorated the roof of the temple, making it one of the most intricately adorned temples of Archaic Greece and the most ambitious roof construction project of its time. Built at the top of Analipsis Hill, Hera’s sanctuary was highly visible to ships approaching the waterfront of the ancient city of Korkyra.