THE TEMPLE OF VICTORY
After the battle between the Greeks and the Carthaginians, the only peripteral temple in the city was built on the left bank off the Imera River, on the eastern side off the Lower City. This area, inhabited since Archaic period, was home to some artisan activities. Private dwellings were demolished to make way for the sacred boundaries off the terenos which included the temple. Several architectural elements discovored in the area lead us to believe that the temenos, enclosed by perimeter wall, was adorned with smaller buildings and votive monuments. According to Diodurus Siculus, the temple was built to celebrate the Greek victory over the Carthaginians. Although it is not known for certain to which god the emole was ded caleo n has been usually attributed to Athena, as it is similar to the temp'e of Athena in Syracuse.

THE EXCAVATION
in the first two decades of the nineteenth century, Nicold Palmen found at Himera the remains of a Greek temple. The first excavations were carried out in 1862 by Giuseppe Mel who uncovered the stylobate from the northeast corner of the "Temple of Bonfornello" and parts of the sima with lion head waterspouts. An accurate survey by Luigi Mauceri (1908) showed a link between the remains of the temole and a large windowed tower from the 16th cenfury, a small church and a housing complex built
around.
Mauceri's drawings unveiled a peripteral hexastyle temple with 14 columns on its long sides.
Pirro Marconi (1929-1930) uncovered the surviving structures of the Temple together with parts of the entablature wiich had plummeted from above and were found alonaside the temole. The blocks or the sima with fon head waterspouts referring to two different types, some of which still retained their bright colours, were of particular interest. Twelve leonine heads from the northern side of the temple are exhinded here and in front fie examples of the souther side. made by drierent workers and characterized by a more accentuated plasticism and greater expressiveness.

THE ARCHITECTURE
Tho Tempo of Victory was part of a now archtectural movement which devoloped in the first half of tho 5th century BC. Afer the battle in 480 BC. the Temple of victory ot Himero and the Athension in Syracuse wore bunt folloming this innovative tendency. Both were smiar in size and had the some architectural characteristics: the symmetrical balance of the lavout and the harmonous proportions between vertical and horizontal structures.
Tho building rests on a base (kropidoma) wth four steps that load to the stylobale whxh aves nse to the columns of the penstasis six on the short sides and fourteen on the long sides These have the same diameter (1.91m ano aro oqualy spaced (« 19m). The large contral naos is flanked by the pronaos and the opisthodomos.
We have been unable to rebuild the acroterial figures while the low fragments found suggest that the theme chosen for the pediment was the Gyantomachy. The restoration of the polychrome decoration was based on Pirro Marconi's ouseratons and on Rosario Carta's drawings.