The Temple of Juno Lacinia (or Hera Lacinia) is a ruined

ancient Greek temple Greek temples ( grc, ναός, naós, dwelling, semantically distinct from Latin , "temple") were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in ancient Greek religion. The temple interiors did not serve as meeting places, ...

dedicated to

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

(

Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods *Juno (film), ''Juno'' (film), 2007 Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, in the film ''Jenny, Juno'' *Ju ...

) located on

Capo Colonna Capo Colonna (sometimes Capo Colonne or Capo della Colonne is a cape in Calabria located near Crotone. In ancient times the promontory was called Promunturium Lacinium. The modern name derives from the remaining column of the Temple of Juno Lacin ...

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Italy, near

Crotone Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages until ...

(ancient Kroton). The remaining feature is a

Doric column The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...

with capital, about in height. Remains of marble roof-tiles have been seen on the spot (

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

xlii.3) and architectural fragments were excavated in 1886–1887 by the

Archaeological Institute of America The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America's oldest society and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. AIA professionals have carried out archaeological fieldwork around the world and AIA has established re ...

. The sculptures found were mostly buried again, but a few fragments, some decorative

terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based ceramic glaze, unglazed or glazed ceramic where the pottery firing, fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, a ...

s and a dedicatory inscription to

of the 6th century BC, in private possession at Crotone, are described by F. von Duhn in ''Notizie degli scavi''. The date of the erection of the temple is postulated as 480–440 BC; it is not recorded by any ancient writer. It was reputed to have been founded by

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

(Herakles) after he killed the bandit Lacinius, who attempted to steal some of the cattle of

Geryon In Greek mythology, Geryon ( or ;"Geryon"
''

tructurein southern Italy." The federal treasury of the

Italiote League The Italiotes ( grc-gre, Ἰταλιῶται, ') were the pre-Roman Greek-speaking inhabitants of the Italian Peninsula, between Naples and Sicily. Greek colonization of the coastal areas of southern Italy and Sicily started in the 8th cen ...

was moved there in the 5th century BC, and remained there until relocated to Herakleia near

Tarentum Tarentum may refer to: * Taranto, Apulia, Italy, on the site of the ancient Roman city of Tarentum (formerly the Greek colony of Taras) **See also History of Taranto * Tarentum (Campus Martius), also Terentum, an area in or on the edge of the Camp ...

. Before evacuating Italy in 206 BC, toward the close of the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

dedicated bronze plaque inscribed in

Punic The Punic people, or western Phoenicians, were a Semitic people in the Western Mediterranean who migrated from Tyre, Phoenicia to North Africa during the Early Iron Age. In modern scholarship, the term ''Punic'' – the Latin equivalent of the ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

there detailing his accomplishments. In 173 BC, the Censor Quintus Fulvius Flaccus dedicated the

Temple of Fortuna Equestris The Temple of Fortuna Equestris (Latin: ''aedes Fortunae Equestris'') was a temple dedicated to the goddess Fortuna in ancient Rome. Its precise location is unknown, though Vitruvius states it stood near the Theatre of Pompey. No evidence of it rema ...

in Rome, for which he had stripped the marble tiles from the roof of the Temple of Juno. In 172, out of grief over tragic news about his sons, Flaccus hanged himself. " ere was a general belief that he had been driven mad by Juno Lacinia, in her anger at his spoliation of her temple." The

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

ordered the tiles returned, but, "as there was no one who understood how to replace the tiles they had been left in the precinct of the temple."

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

cites Coelius Antipater saying that the temple featured a golden column. Hannibal wanted to know whether or not it was solid gold, and drilled a hole and, determining that it was solid, decided to take it back to

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

. The next night Juno appeared to him in a dream and threatened him with the loss of his remaining good eye if he took it. Hannibal obeyed the warning; he had a small statue of a

heifer Heifer may refer to: * Heifer (cow), a young cow before she has had her first calf * Frank Heifer (1854–1893), American outfielder and first baseman * '' The Heifer'' (''La vaquilla''), 1985 Spanish comedy film * Heifer International Heifer ...

—sacred to Juno—cast from the drill shavings and mounted it on top of the column. The temple was said to have still been fairly complete in the 16th century, but was destroyed to build the episcopal palace at Crotone.

References

* See R. Koldewey and O. Puchstein, ''Die griechischen Tempel in Unteritalien und Sicilien'' (Berlin 1899, 41). {{coord, 39.02656, 17.20524, format=dms, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Crotone

Buildings and structures in the Province of Crotone 5th-century BC establishments in Italy Temples of Hera 5th-century BC religious buildings and structures Destroyed temples