Cyrene. Libya. View at the museum of the fingers and toes from the statue of Zeus that once adorned the platform inside the Temple of Zeus at Cyrene. The colossal seated statue of Zeus was twelve times life-size and modelled on the famous Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Greece, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.Cyrene. Libya. Close-up view at the sculpture museum of the delicate, crafted detail found on the outside of a marble sarcophagus either from the Greek or Roman period.Cyrene. Libya. Close-up view at the sculpture museum of a sarcophagus with lid from either the Greek or Roman period. The delicate craftsmanship found on the outside shows that the person must have come from a wealthy family.Cyrene. Libya. View at the sculpture museum some of the beautiful marble finery that once adorned its ancient buildings.Cyrene. Libya. View at the museum of the beautiful sculpture known as the Three Graces. The sculpture represents the three daughters of Zeus, also known as the three Charities: Euphrosyne, Aglaea, and Thalia, who embodied beauty, charm, and joy. This Roman example, discovered in the Baths of Trajan, dates from Hadrian’s reign.Cyrene. Libya. View at the museum of a fine marble sculpture of the god Jupiter / Zeus. Found at the Capitoleum beside the Agora, the sculpture dates from the Roman period.Cyrene. Libya. View at the museum of a fine marble sculpture of the Goddess Demeter. Dating from the Hellenistic period, the figure was sculpted by two different artists; one created the body and the other created the head.Cyrene. Libya. View at the sculpture museum of a marble statue of Alexander the Great. This Roman example dates from Hadrian’s time, and the excavators found it in the Baths of Trajan.Cyrene. Libya. View at the museum of a fine marble sculpture of the god Apollo. The statue is a Roman copy of an earlier Hellenistic prototype.Cyrene. Libya. View at the museum of a fine marble sculpture of the god Hermes. The sculpture, dating from the Roman period, was found in the Baths of Trajan in the Sanctuary of Apollo.Cyrene. Libya. View at the museum of a fine marble sculpture of the goddess Aphrodite. The sculpture, dating from the 1st century AD, was discovered at the Baths of Trajan in the Sanctuary of Apollo.Cyrene. Libya. View at the sculpture museum some of the beautiful marble finery that once adorned its ancient buildings.Cyrene. Libya. View at the sculpture museum of a Sphinx on top of a column with an Ionic capital. Dating from the Archaic period (650 BC-480 BCE), the Sphinx is one of the most important monuments found at Cyrene. Greece’s Delphi Museum also features a similar copy of the statue.Cyrene. Libya. One of the Greek inscribed stone tablets found in the courtyard of the Cyrene sculpture museum, which is adorned with many marble sculptures and architectural remains from the ancient city.Cyrene. Libya. Cut into a cliff faces overlooking the Green Mountain plateau and all around Cyrene are thousands of tombs and individual sarcophagi that were built and used from the 6th century BCE by the Greeks, then added to by the Romans and Byzantines up to the 6th century AD.Cyrene. Libya. Cut into a cliff faces overlooking the Green Mountain plateau and all around Cyrene are thousands of tombs and individual sarcophagi that were built and used from the 6th century BCE by the Greeks, then added to by the Romans and Byzantines up to the 6th century AD. Some tombs which were quite spacious still contain traces of their distinctive Greek and Hellenistic facades. Unfortunately, robbers in Byzantine or early Islamic times robbed and damaged every visible tomb or sarcophagus. The Necropolis of Cyrene is one of the most extensive cemeteries in the ancient world and gives the most vivid impression of Cyrene’s Greek heritage.Cyrene. Libya. View of a headless marble sculpture of a female figure beautifully draped with the unfluted columns of the Temple of Apollo behind it.Cyrene. Libya. View of the frigidarium or cold room with elegant cipollino marble columns and mosaic floor at the Baths of Trajan. Emperor Trajan originally built the baths in AD 98, and Emperor Hadrian then restored them in AD 119 after the Jewish revolt of AD 115.Cyrene. Libya. View at the Sanctuary of Apollo, including the remains of three successive buildings. Builders constructed the original temple during the 6th century and then rebuilt it again in the 4th century BCE. After the Jewish revolt in AD 115-117, they restored the temple for the third and last time.Cyrene. Libya. View of a fertile plain from the Sanctuary of Apollo. The sanctuary of Apollo is beautifully situated 600 meters high, overlooking the Green Mountain plateau and 13 km inland from the Mediterranean.Cyrene. Libya. View of a finely cut marble portal and a headless marble sculpture of a female figure beautifully draped at the Temple of Artemis, which dates from the late 7th or early 6th century BC.Cyrene. Libya. Overview of the Sanctuary of Apollo, which is dominated by the Temple of Apollo. The sanctuary is beautifully situated 600 meters high, overlooking the Green Mountain plateau and 13 km inland from the Mediterranean. It is where Cyrene was first established by the Greeks, and it has within it a rich collection of temples, altars, fountains, a theatre, Roman-period baths, and a Doric monumental entrance.Cyrene. Libya. View of the remains of the Western Stoa, which originally was a barn-enjoy building with a ridged roof supported on a row of five central columns.Cyrene. Libya. View of the ruins of the Temple of Apollo, which dates from the 5th century BCE in the Agora.Cyrene. Libya. View of the remains of the Western Stoa, which originally was a barn-like building with a ridged roof supported on a row of five central columns. The Agora was the heart of the civic life of Cyrene in Greek times and developed as an open-air market clustered around the tomb of the Founder Battus.Cyrene. Libya. View within the circular sanctuary of Demeter and Kore of one of the marble figures that depict the deities and their followers. Demeter is the goddess of grain, and Kore is her daughter. The Sanctuary was the scene of a riotous woman only annual celebration.Cyrene. Libya. View of the circular sanctuary of Demeter and Kore with marble figures that depict the deities and their followers. Demeter is the goddess of grain, and Kore is her daughter. The Sanctuary was the scene of a riotous woman only annual celebration. Cyrene, economy depended heavily on the production of grain.Cyrene. Libya. View of the circular sanctuary of Demeter and Kore with marble figures that depict the deities and their followers. Demeter is the goddess of grain, and Kore is her daughter. The Sanctuary was the scene of a riotous woman only annual celebration. Cyrene, economy depended heavily on the production of grain.Cyrene. Libya. View of the circular sanctuary of Demeter and Kore with marble figures that depict the deities and their followers. Demeter is the goddess of grain, and Kore is her daughter. The Sanctuary was the scene of a riotous woman only annual celebration. Cyrene, economy depended heavily on the production of grain.Cyrene. Libya. The prominent Naval Monument, which stands opposite the Captiolium in the Agora, was originally built by the Ptolemies in the 3rd century BCE in celebration of a naval victory won by the Cyrenians. This reconstructed monument is like the prow of a trireme and features a beautifully sculptured marble wingless and now headless Victory standing on the prow of the ship, flanked by two dolphins and holding the tridents of Neptune.Cyrene. Libya. The prominent Naval Monument, which stands opposite the Captiolium in the Agora, was originally built by the Ptolemies in the 3rd century BCE in celebration of a naval victory won by the Cyreneans. This reconstructed monument is like the prow of a trireme and features a beautifully sculptured marble wingless and now headless Victory standing on the prow of the ship, flanked by two dolphins and holding the tridents of Neptune.Cyrene. Libya. View over the coloured marble inlays of the south courtyard, possibly the banqueting hall, towards the central courtyard of the House of Jason Magnus. The house was the private residence of Claudius Tiberius Jason Magnus, high priest of the Temple of Apollo in the 2nd century AD.Cyrene, Libya. Partial overview of the vast ancient city of Cyrene. In the middle foreground are the 5th-century AD ruins of the House of Hesychius. Hesychius was a Christian who was president of the provincial council of Cyrenaica. Behind the House of Hesychius, in the background is the Agora, the heart of ancient Cyrene and which bears many fine architectural legacies from Greek and Roman times.Cyrene. Libya. View of the Odeon or Theatre, which lies outside the west wall of the Forum. It is of typical Roman form, with five vaulted corridors giving access to the cavea from the outer semicircular corridor. The back wall of the stage is well preserved; however, its marble columns have been removed, and some lie in ruins in the orchestra area.Cyrene. Libya. Lining the sacred way for 130 metres are the remains of the enormous Stoa of Hermes and Heracles. During Roman times, the stoa offered covered passage between the Forum and the Agora. It was a roofed gallery, with a central row of columns and windows flanked by busts of Hermes and Heracles on the street frontage.Cyrene. Libya. Partial view of the Doric colonnade portico of the Gymnasium / Forum. The Greeks originally built the Gymnasium / Forum in the 2nd century BCE as a sports centre and was the scene of races and other sporting contests. A grandiose Doric colonnaded portico surrounds it on all four sides, and in its centre it has the remains of a small temple. The Romans converted it in the 1st century AD into a forum or Caesareum–Forum of the Caesars- and it became a place for informal assembly and discussion.Cyrene. Libya. View of a inscribed marble base with Latin and Greek honouring Emperor Hadrian in the apse of the Roman civil Basilica or Law court. The Basilica is beside the former 2nd century BC Hellenistic Gymnasium that was converted in the 1st century AD by the Romans into a forum or Caesareum–Forum of the Caesars. The forum served as a venue for political meetings.Cyrene. Libya. The colonnaded main entrance to the Gymnasium / Forum which dates from the 2nd century BCE. The Greeks originally built the Gymnasium / Forum as a sports centre, and elegant Doric colonnaded porticos surrounded it on all four sides. It was the scene of races and other sporting contests. The Romans converted it in the 1st century AD into a forum or Caesareum–Forum of the Caesars-and it became a place for informal assembly and discussion.Cyrene. Libya. Image of the interior Temple of Zeus and the platform that supported the colossal seated statue of Zeus that was modelled on the famous Zeus statue at Olympia, Greece. The temple dates originally from the 5th century BCE and is comparable in size to the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.Cyrene. Libya. Image of the interior Temple of Zeus and the platform that supported the colossal seated statue of Zeus that was modelled on the famous Zeus statue at Olympia, Greece. The temple dates originally from the 5th century BCE and is comparable in size to the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.Cyrene. Libya. Image of the interior of the Temple of Zeus looking towards the front, which is like most Greek temples, is facing east to the rising sun. The temple dates originally from the 5th century BCE and is comparable in size to the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.Cyrene. Libya. Image of the south side of the Temple of Zeus, which dates originally from the 5th century BCE and its size is comparable to the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.Cyrene. Libya. Image of the Temple of Zeus, which dates originally from the 5th century BCE and its size is comparable to the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.Cyrene. Libya. Image of the Temple of Zeus, which dates originally from the 5th century BCE and its size is comparable to the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. Constructed in an archaic Doric style using local yellow limestone. The temple was destroyed in AD 115 during the Jewish revolt and then rebuilt in AD120 by the Roman Emperor Hadrian. The 365 AD earthquake reduced it to rubble, and archaeologists have painstakingly restored it.
