| Garni Temple | |
|---|---|
 The temple in 2021 | |
  Location within Armenia | |
| General information | |
| Status | Museum (part of a larger protected area), occasional Hetanist (neopagan) shrine |
| Type | Pagan temple or tomb[1][2] |
| Architectural style | Ancient Greek/Roman |
| Location | Garni, Kotayk Province, Armenia |
| Coordinates | 40°06′45″N 44°43′49″E / 40.112421°N 44.730277°E |
| Completed | 1st or 2nd century AD[1] |
| Destroyed | 1679 earthquake |
| Management | Armenian Ministry of Culture |
| Height | 10.7 metres (35 ft)[a] |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Basalt |
| Floor area | 15.7 by 11.5 m (52 by 38 ft)[3] |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Alexander Sahinian (reconstruction, 1969–75) |
The Garni Temple[b] is a classical colonnaded structure in the village of Garni, in central Armenia, around 30 km (19 mi) east of Yerevan. Built in the Ionic order, it is the best-known structure and symbol of pre-Christian Armenia. It has been described as the "easternmost building of the Greco-Roman world"[6] and the only largely preserved Hellenistic building in the former Soviet Union.[c]
Built in the Ionic order, it is conventionally identified as a pagan temple built by King Tiridates I in the first century AD as a temple to the sun god Mihr (Mithra). A competing hypothesis sees it as a second century tomb. It collapsed in a 1679 earthquake, but much of its fragments remained on the site. Renewed interest in the 19th century led to excavations in the early and mid-20th century. It was reconstructed in 1969–75, using the anastylosis technique. It is one of the main tourist attractions in Armenia and the central shrine of Hetanism (Armenian neopaganism).
- ^ a b Khatchadourian 2008, p. 251.
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