Capitoline Of Sbeitla

Capitoline of Sbeitla

Sbeitla, Tunisia

2nd century CE

70 m. X 67 m.

From left to right: Temple of Minerva is in the best condition, while the Temple of Jupiter next to it has almost all of its walls still standing. The Temple of Juno has fared worse, but there is plenty to help you imagine what it must have looked in pristine condition. To the south of the forum is the Arch of Antionius Pius.

The southernmost of the three temples was dedicated to Minerva, which was the daughter of the two gods revered in the other two temples. She was considered to be the virgin goddess of warriors, poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, crafts and inventor of music. Her temple appears as the most impressive of the three from the outside, and even the interior is in excellent condition.

The Temple of Jupiter stands in the middle, being the temple of the most important of all gods in the Roman pantheon. It is the largest temple, and deduced from its present, excellent condition, it was the object of first-class engineering. It is noteworthy that the temple has no entrance by itself, it was entered by bridges across arches from either of the other two temples. 

The Temple of Juno is by far the least impressive of the three making up the Capitol. It is also the most ruined one. Juno was the Queen of the gods, the wife of Jupiter and the mother of Minerva. The niche in the middle had a statue of the goddess, which has never been found.