The so-called Temple of Diana is a 1st-century ancient Roman building in

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

. It is located near the gushing spring of "La Fontaine", around which was an Augusteum, a sanctuary devoted to the cult of the emperor and his family, centred on a

nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' or ''nymphaion'' ( grc, νυμφαῖον), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...

. Its

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

-like floor plan argues against it being a temple and there is no archaeological or literary evidence for its dedication to Diana. The building may instead have been a library. Its facade was rebuilt during the 2nd century and in the mediaeval era it housed a monastery, ensuring its survival. It was excavated in 1745 during work to create the garden of La Fontaine. It was painted by Hubert Robert and other 18th century painters and was made a

monument historique ''Monument historique'' () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a coll ...

in 1840. It is now accessible from the ''jardins de la Fontaine''.

Structure

Its roof construction is unusual in that it consists of several elaborate thick barrel-vaulted rooms using carefully cut ashlars supporting an upper floor. Partly dug into the side of Mount Cavalier, the building was originally flanked by annexes. The main facade is pierced by three large arches. The remains consist mainly of a vaulted hall of 14.5 x 9.5 m, flanked by two staircases to missing semi-detached buildings. The north side wall has a series of five rectangular niches surmounted by alternate triangular and semi-circular pediments. Between each niche was a column of composite order. Three other rooms have ceilings decorated with carved

coffered ceiling A coffer (or coffering) in architecture is a series of sunken panels in the shape of a square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault. A series of these sunken panels was often used as decoration for a ceiling or a vault, also c ...

s. The ancient ''

opus sectile ''Opus sectile'' is a form of pietra dura popularized in the ancient and medieval Roman world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother of pearl, and glass. The ...

'' floor made of precious marble shapes of various colours backed by mortar was discovered the during the excavations of 1745. File:Nimes-temple de Diane.JPG File:Nîmes-Jardin de la Fontaine-Temple de Diane-20140526.jpg, Arched bays of the main façade File:Interior - Temple of Diana - Nîmes 2014.jpg, North wall with rectangular niches File:Jardins de la Fontaine Dianatempel.JPG, Vault File:Nîmes-Temple de Diane-6.jpg, Coffered vaulted ceiling File:Nîmes-Temple de Diane-5.jpg, Coffered vaulted ceiling File:The so-called Temple de Diane, part of an Augusteum (a sanctuary devoted to the cult of the emperor and his family), Nemausus, Nîmes (14778427063).jpg

References

Bibliography (in French)

René Barjavel René Barjavel (24 January 1911 – 24 November 1985) was a French author, journalist and critic who may have been the first to think of the grandfather paradox in time travel. He was born in Nyons, a town in the Drôme department in southeastern ...

, « Au festival de Nîmes, ''

Les Mouches ''The Flies'' (french: Les Mouches) is a play by Jean-Paul Sartre, produced in 1943. It is an adaptation of the Electra myth, previously used by the Greek playwrights Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripides. The play recounts the story of Orestes an ...

'' se posent sur le temple de Diane », dans ''Paris-Presse-l'Intransigeant'', 9-10 juillet 1950 *

Jules Canonge Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...

, ''Térentia, ou Le temple de Diane et les bains romains de Nîmes sous les empereurs'', Giraud, 1843, 36 p. * Dominique Darde, ''Nîmes antique'', Paris, Monum, Éditions du patrimoine, coll. « Guides archéologiques de la France », 1er mars 2005 (réimpr. 2006), 128 p., broché avec rabats () * François Durand, ''Les monuments antiques de Nîmes'', Jo Fabre, 1925, * M. Ménard, ''Histoire des Antiquités de la ville de Nismes et de ses environs'', Nismes, 1838 (7e éd.), * Jules Teissier-Rolland, ''Des bains et thermes chez les anciens, des bains romains de Nîmes et du Temple-de-Diane'', Ballivet et Fabre, 1850, 262 p. {{DEFAULTSORT:Temple of Diana (Nîmes) Buildings and structures in Nîmes Libraries in France