Temple of Hera in Pergamon

The Temple of Hera Basileia was an ancient Greek temple dedicated to Hera in Pergamon, in Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey. Its ruins are part of the UNESCO World Heritage of Pergamon and its cultural landscape of multiple phases.

The temple was built in the Hellenistic period, during the Attalid dynasty that ruled Pergamon. More precisely, it is dated to the reign of Attalus II, between 159 and 138 BC, according to a property inscription found in its architectural plans.

The temple was situated on the southern slope of the city's acropolis, north of the Pergamon gymnasium. It was a prostyle tetrastyle temple, that is, with four columns on its façade, and represented the Doric style. The visible parts of the building were of marble and the others of andesite. The size of the temple cella was 5.8 × 6.8 metres. There was a cult statue at the rear and statues on the side walls. Only the pedestals have survived. The floor was decorated with mosaics.

A staircase of 12 steps led to the temple. The temple was connected to a sanctuary area, which included an exedra of about 6 metres in diameter on the west side of the temple. The ruins have been restored. Some of the decorative elements of the temple are in the Pergamon Museum.