Temple of Jupiter (Silifke)

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Temple of Jupiter in Silifke, Mersin Province, Turkey, is a ruined Roman temple from the 2nd century AD. It stood on a 2-meter-high platform and had a peripteral design with 14x8 Corinthian columns. The outer size was about 40 meters by 21 meters, and each column was about 10 meters tall. Today only one column remains; the site is fenced to protect it and there is no restoration. The temple was later turned into a church in the Byzantine era. A 5th-century legend by Zosimus says Apollo saved the crops from grasshoppers, and the people built the temple to thank the god. The city of Silifke sits on ground lifted by floods from the Göksu River, which is why few ancient remains survive on the surface, making this temple a notable exception. The temple stands west of İnönü Boulevard.