Heraion at Foce del Sele

At one point, the best surviving pieces, including approximately 70 sixth-century metope reliefs, were excavated and moved to a museum at Paestum and very little was left at the original site other than the lowest courses of the buildings.

[citation needed] Although the existence of the sanctuary is reported by ancient historical sources, for a long time its location was not corroborated by other evidence.

Strabo,[1] attributed the foundation of the complex to Jason during the expedition of the Argonauts and he described the location of the Sanctuary of Argive Hera at the northern border of Lucania, on the left bank of the river Sele, about fifty stades from the city of Paestum.

The ancient sanctuary was founded at the beginning of the sixth century BC by the Greek colony at Paestum who originally were from further south at Sybaris.

[2] Initially cult activities must have been performed in the open, in a sacred area equipped with an altar and bounded by porticos for hosting pilgrims.

After the takeover of Paestum and the area by the local Lucanian people at the end of the fifth century BC, the sanctuary reached its highest cultural peak, with the reuse of more ancient materials for the construction of new buildings: a new portico and then a meeting house.

Based upon the known cultural traditions of the time and these, it is theorised that in this building during each year, women about to be married would weave a new peplos dress that was offered to the cult statue of the goddess at an annual procession.

The metopes of this early group depict episodes from the Twelve Labours of Heracles, the Trojan War, and the lives of Jason and Orestes.

Most of the early group of metopes were carved in sections, consisting of a triglyph on the left and a relief panel with figures on the right, all on a single piece of stone.

The more recent group of approximately thirty metopes from the main or second temple, depict young maidens dancing in bas-relief, reflecting the emphasis of the sanctuary cult on marriage.

If only for this reason the figures in the reliefs are lightly modelled and relatively flat, but around their outlines the stone has been deeply cut back.

The identification of some subjects among the metopes and the extent to which the ensemble reflects a coherent programme, have continued to be discussed by scholars as excavations reveal more accurate evidence.

It contained approximately six thousand artefacts, including terracotta statues and small bronze objects, dating from burials between the fourth and second centuries BC.