By Nicolas Bard

Very close to the village of Skilountia, Ilia, south of the Alfios River, are the remnants of a temple of Athena, dedicated to the goddess of Greeks by the inhabitants of ancient Makistos.

According to Herodotus, ancient Makistos was part of the Epiphany founded by the Mines in Trifilia and was near the temple. The whole area was deserted in the Hellenistic years, but today there have been great archaeological finds that demonstrate its importance.
The ancient cemetery of the 4th century. B.C. With burials of various types it is located on the provincial road, within walking distance of the temple of Athena, and probably belonged to Makista.

To date, however, some archaeological residues with this city have not been identified with certainty, and according to some scholars, ancient Makistos must be searched in today’s Samikos archaeological site and the area of ​​Kaiafa.

The Temple of Athena stands at the top of a fortified hill, at an altitude of 354 meters, which is “crowned” mainly holly, low vegetation and a few pines. A large oak is very close to the temple and offers its rich shade to visitors on hot summer days.

Due to the widespread lithoration of the temple in later times, only the trimthmus and a few, scattered architectural members are preserved from the monument today. The once impressive Temple was Doric and was entirely made of a crumbling coglies stone, a kind of local limestone from which the monuments of the Sacred Altist of Olympia have been built. According to morphological, historical and epigraphic testimonies, the church’s date is calculated between 525 – 460 BC.

The pediments on the roof of the temple had a rich decoration with sculptural compositions inspired by Greek mythology.

The east side hosted performances by Gigantomachia, while on the west side there were scenes of Amazon. The excavations of the temple began in 1880 by E. Kastorchi and P. Kavvadia. About a century later (1978-1981) during the excavations, a bronze inscription of the 4th century BC came to light. c. In a resolution of the Trifilia public, which explicitly refers to the goddess Athena and to the citizens of Makistos, which helps to identify the temple.

Many of the findings of the excavations of the temple and the surrounding area, such as the bronze inscription or some marble bearded forms, and a statue of a naked warship who once adorned the pediments, are hosted today at the Archaeological Museum of Pyrgos.

The Museum, a work by architect Ernesto Ziller, opened its gates to the public in 2013 and inside it hosts 1,120 objects and findings from all over the Prefecture of Ilia, which tells the rich history of the area from prehistoric to the post -Byzantine years.