Valley of the Temples Quiz: Agrigento's Greek Ruins

This Valley of the Temples quiz explores the ruins of ancient Akragas on Sicily's south coast. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on Greek colonists around 580 BC, the well-preserved Temple of Concordia, why it survived as a church, the giant telamons of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the temples of Juno and of Castor and Pollux, Pindar's praise and UNESCO.

Start Valley of the Temples Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Island
Which island is the Valley of the Temples on?
City
What was the ancient Greek city called?
Founded
Around when was Akragas founded?
Best
Which temple is among the best preserved Greek temples?
Why
Why did the Temple of Concordia survive so well?
Style
Which Greek column style do the temples use?
Giants
What are the telamons of the Temple of Olympian Zeus?
Four
Which temple is known for four columns standing together?
Poet
Which Greek poet praised Akragas as most beautiful?
Ridge
Where do the temples actually stand?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which island is the Valley of the Temples on?
Answer: Sicily
It is near Agrigento.
Q2: What was the ancient Greek city called?
Answer: Akragas
Romans later called it Agrigentum.
Q3: Around when was Akragas founded?
Answer: 580 BC
Colonists came from Gela.
Q4: Which temple is among the best preserved Greek temples?
Answer: Temple of Concordia
Most of its columns stand.
Q5: Why did the Temple of Concordia survive so well?
Answer: It was turned into a church
Christians reused it in the 6th century.
Q6: Which Greek column style do the temples use?
Answer: Doric
Doric columns are sturdy and plain.
Q7: What are the telamons of the Temple of Olympian Zeus?
Answer: Giant stone male figures
They helped support the structure.
Q8: Which temple is known for four columns standing together?
Answer: Temple of Castor and Pollux
It is a symbol of Agrigento.
Q9: Which Greek poet praised Akragas as most beautiful?
Answer: Pindar
He wrote victory odes.
Q10: Where do the temples actually stand?
Answer: On a ridge, not in a valley
The name is misleading.

Doric Columns Above the Sicilian Sea

The Valley of the Temples lies near Agrigento on Sicily's south coast. Despite its name, the temples stand along a ridge facing the sea. They belonged to Akragas, a Greek city founded around 580 BC by colonists from Gela, which the poet Pindar praised as the most beautiful city of mortals.

The Temple of Concordia is among the best preserved Doric temples in the world, because it was turned into a church in the 6th century. The vast Temple of Olympian Zeus, now in ruins, used giant stone male figures called telamons to help hold it up; one has been reconstructed.

The Temple of Juno stands at the ridge's eastern end, and four reassembled columns of the Temple of Castor and Pollux have become a symbol of Agrigento. The archaeological park was listed by UNESCO in 1997, and almond trees bloom among the ruins in early spring.

What This Quiz Teaches

History fans will enjoy these questions.

Who founded Akragas
Which temples survive
Why some survived
Which giants stood there
How the site is protected

Did You Know?

An almond blossom festival is held in February.
The archaeological museum displays a telamon.
Evening visits show the temples lit up.
Ancient tombs were cut into the city walls.
Kolymbethra Garden lies in a valley among the ruins.