Temple of Zeus
The temple, of Doric order, has a peristasis of eight columns on the façade and seventeen on the sides, resting on a crepidome of three steps. For its size, larger than the Peloponnesian Olympieion and almost identical to that of the Parthenon, the temple is the largest of those erected not only in Cyrene, but in the whole of Greek Africa. The columns are formed of novi rocchi, and have different base diameters on each of the half-sections. This peculiarity serves to ensure a harmonious view of the façades. The cella is three times as long as the width of the front (18.32 m x 53.19 m); it has a distil pronaos and wings facing inwards, a naos divided into three naves by two rows of columns and an opisthodomos open to the outside with three columns in antis. A Doric frieze runs along the entire perimeter. The earthquake of 365 AD caused the building to collapse.
