Roman Temple of Évora, Roman temple in historic center, Évora, Portugal.
The Roman Temple of Évora stands on a granite podium 25 metres long, 15 metres wide and 3.5 metres high in the city's historic centre. Six columns remain along the north facade, four to the east and three to the west, with Corinthian capitals carved from white Estremoz marble. The temple is oriented south, where the remains of a staircase are still visible.
The temple was built around the 1st century CE in honour of Augustus, in the forum of the Roman city of Liberalitas Iulia. It was destroyed in the 5th century by invading Germanic peoples. In the Middle Ages its remains were incorporated into a tower of Évora Castle, and from the 14th century until 1836 the structure served as a butcher shop, which helped preserve the podium and columns.
The temple stands in Largo do Conde de Vila Flor facing the cathedral and forms part of the old town's central square. Visitors often see locals and travelers sitting on the platform steps while observing the columns up close.
The temple is located at Largo do Conde de Vila Flor and can be visited at any time without an entrance fee. The columns are accessible from all sides and photograph well in daylight.
On one of the temple's side facades, an inscription was identified as an Alquerque game board, possibly carved by workers before construction. Excavations in the 1990s uncovered two incomplete marble hands, one with rings on two fingers, holding a round box with twenty-two balls, perhaps representing incense.
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