Image Details

Bill Lyons

Unlike most classical Roman shrines, the Temple of Bacchus (shown here) has an elaborately ornamented interior. The walls of its central chamber (visible at right and left in the photo) were lined with seven fluted pilasters, topped with exquisite Corinthian capitals and detailed frieze carvings. At the rear of the building, two broad flights of steps led to the temple’s inner sanctuary, or adyton, where a raised and canopied altar once held a statue of the wine-god, Bacchus.