First Temple of Hera (Paestum)

[4][2][3] The temple is peripteral with 9×18 external columns on a three-step stylobate, a feature that contributes to its pseudodipteral layout.

[2] This division has led to other unusual choices, such as the double entrance and three columns for the pronaos (front porch).

The dedication to Hera is confirmed by votive gifts, most of which are small female terracotta statues bearing the Greek letters ΗΡ or ΗΡΑ.

[3] Despite subsequent conquests by the Lucanians and Romans, the worship of Hera remained important and continued after the construction of a second temple dedicated to the same goddess.

It was abandoned in Late Antiquity or the Early Middle Ages, probably for being too vulnerable to Saracen raids, the remaining population moving to the safer site of Agropoli nearby.