Temple of Herakles

About Temple of Herakles

Historic site in Amman, Jordan

The Temple of Hercules is the most important Roman building surviving in Amman and one of the symbols of the city, standing on the summit of the Citadel hill above downtown and the Roman Theatre. It dates from the second century CE, when the city was known as Philadelphia, and is said to have been larger than any Roman temple built in Rome itself, though it was probably never completed. What remains today are its towering Corinthian columns, some of them re-erected, the foundations of the building and traces of the courtyard, together with fragments of a colossal marble statue believed to be of Hercules, including a giant hand that suggests the figure stood more than ten metres tall. Around the temple spreads the rest of the Citadel site, with its walls, Byzantine church, Umayyad Palace and the Jordan Archaeological Museum. The temple and its outlook over the city form the best-known image of Amman, especially at sunset when the columns and the hills below take on the slanting light.

Where:

Amman, Jordan