| Temple of Proserpina | |
|---|---|
Tempju ta' Proserpina | |
 Statue of St. Nicholas in Mtarfa stands on the site of the former Temple of Proserpina, Malta | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Status | Destroyed |
| Type | Temple |
| Architectural style | Ancient Roman |
| Location | Mtarfa, Malta |
| Coordinates | 35°53′29.6″N 14°24′4.6″E / 35.891556°N 14.401278°E |
| Construction started | Unknown |
| Renovated | 1st century BC or AD |
| Destroyed | Unknown, ruins cleared 17th–18th centuries |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Marble |
The Temple of Proserpina[1] or Temple of Proserpine[2] (Maltese: Tempju ta' Proserpina) was a Roman temple in Mtarfa, Malta, an area which was originally a suburb outside the walls of Melite. It was dedicated to Proserpina, goddess of the underworld and renewal.
The date of construction is unknown, but it was renovated in the 1st century BC or AD. The ruins of the temple were discovered in 1613, and most of its marble blocks were later used in the decoration of buildings, including Auberge d'Italie and the Castellania in Valletta.[3] Only a few fragments still survive today.
- ^ "Anna and Malta". maltahistory.eu5.net. Archived from the original on 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
- ^ Some theories suggest that the temple was a Greek Temple dedicated to Persephone, the Greek equivalent to the Roman Goddess Proserpina. Two theories are that: the temple was located outside Melite (a Roman city) as it was Greek not Roman; and that close by in Mtarfa there was the Temple of Zeus. Persephone was the daughter of Zeus. However the restoration marble refers to the temple as of Proserpina not Persephone. in Cult and continuity.
- ^ Bonanno, Anthony (2016). "The Cult of Hercules in Roman Malta: a discussion of the evidence". In Victor Bonnici (ed.). Melita Classica (PDF). Vol. 3. Journal of the Malta Classics Association. pp. 243–264. ISBN 978-99957-847-4-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2019.