Doric Temple (Reg VIII, Ins 7, 30)

The temple , built in the 6th century BC, occupies the southern part of the Triangular Forum. It was probably dedicated to Hercules and Athena.

Reconstructed several times in the Samnite era, it bears a strong resemblance to the temples at Paestum: it had sturdy, side fluted columns with wide, flat capitals completely surrounding the cella.

The foundations are well preserved (pictured opposite) with a narrow flight of stairs leading to the main entrance on its eastern side.

In front of the temple is the tomb dedicated to Hercules while further on is a sacred well ringed with Doric columns sponsored by N. Trebius.

Temple of Apollo (Reg VII, Ins 7, 32)

The temple itself stands on a platform and was reached by an imposing flight of stairs. The sacellum was surrounded by a total of 28 Corinthian columns, two of which are complete and visible in the accompanying picture along with the entrance stairway. .. In front of the entrance is a marble altar on a travertine base bearing an inscription of the temple's benefactors. Between the altar and the temple stands an Ionic pillar (pictured left) which supported a sundial erected by the Augustan duoviri Sepunius Sandilianus and Herennius Epidianus.		The Temple of Apollo lies to the north of the Basilica on the western side of the Forum. It was built during the 5th century BC, dedicated to Apollo. It was reconstructed during the 2nd century BC and was undergoing repair when Vesuvius struck in AD79. The temple is surrounded by a portico of Corinthian columns with statues of gods and basins for sacrificial water. ..
.. During the reign of Nero the appearance of the temple was dramatically altered by the addition of heavy stucco decoration, but little of this has survived. The statue of Apollo (above right) is situated on the eastern side of the complex (the original of is in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples).

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Temple of Fortuna Augusta (Reg VII, Ins 4, 1)

.. The cella is fronted by 4 slim corinthian columns across the face with 3 columns on the side and stands on a raised podium. Inside the cella part of the central aedicule and four lateral niches can still be seen. The whole sacrarium was faced with marble. One of the statues in the niches was the Emperor Augustus.

The Temple of Fortuna Augusta lies at the corner of Via del Foro and Via della Fortuna Augusta. It was built during the Augustan period by the official Marcus Tullius. On the lower of two sets of steps was the altar. Access to the upper set of steps was blocked by a gate. ..

Temple of Isis (Reg VIII, Ins 7, 28)

The temple dates from the 2nd century BC and was extensively rebuilt by N. Popidius Celsinus after the earthquake of 62AD. It was dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis, whose cult was spreading throughout the Roman Empire. ,,

.. The temple, which is built on a raised podium, has a porticoed entrance with niches on either side of the entry to the cella. The main altar was beside the steps (pictured left) with a second altar to the north. A series of living quarters for the priests opens off the south wall of the portico, while the west wing is almost completely occupied by a large hall with five arched entrances.

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This hall was where those initiated in the cult probably met. The walls are frescoed with five panels of sacred subjects in Egyptian style and images of Io in Egypt and Argos. The remains of an acrolythic statue were found in front of this room.

On the north side of the complex is a small temple with a stairway leading down to an underground cistern containing the sacred waters of the Nile.

The facade (right) has a broken triangular pediment and a frieze with two processions of priests converging towards the centre. Mars with Venus and Perseus with Andromeda are shown in relief on the exterior side walls.

Temple of Jupiter (Reg VIII, Ins 7, 25)

.. The portico was fronted by 6 Corinthian columns. The cella was divided into 3 parts by a series of columns, typifying a Greek influenced Roman temple.		The Temple of Jupiter stands on the north side of the Forum. It dates from the 2nd century BC and was originally dedicated to Jupiter Meilichios. It was built on a raised podium accessed by a double flight of stairs. ..
	.. The back wall of the cella was veneered in marble. ..
	As with the Temple of Apollo, the floor of the Temple of Jupiter had a rhomboid polychrome stone pattern, arranged in imitation of perspective cubes known as opus scutulatum. The Temple held a statue of Jupiter, of which, unfortunately, only the head now remains (pictured left). As with much of Pompeii, the temple was in the process of being repaired, having been seriously damaged by the earthquake of 62AD, when Vesuvius erupted.

Temple of the Lares Publici (Reg VII, Ins 9, 3)

This building lies next to the Macellum on the east side of the Forum. It was built after the earthquake of AD62 and consists of three sides round a central court.

The sanctuary, in brickwork, reticulatum and incertum, was not completely finished at the time of the eruption. It consists of a large unroofed atrium and a vast apse which occupies the back wall.

The side and end walls contained niches holding statues of the city's tutelary gods (the Lares Publici). The temple was thus a sanctuary dedicated to the protective deities, probably in the wake of the 62AD earthquake.

Temple of Venus (Reg VIII, Ins 1, 5)

The cella, facing the sea, was in the centre of a vast open space, extended during the Julio-Claudian period (first half of the first century AD) by earthworks. .. In 1863 a unique gold oil lamp was discovered near the temple, possibly an offering to Venus by Nero and his wife Poppaea when they visited the area in AD64. .. The building was considerably damaged during the earthquake of AD62 and was still under re-construction when Vesuvius struck in AD79. Sadly, little remains of the complex today.

The Temple of Venus lies immediately to the right on entering the city by way of the Porta Marina. The goddess Venus was the patron goddess of Lucius Cornelius Sulla as well as of the city of Pompeii. ..

Temple of Vespasian (Reg VII, Ins 9, 2)

The temple lies between the Temple of the Lares Publici and the Building of Eumachia on the eastern side of the Forum. The limited space available determined the irregularity of the plan, set at an angle with respect to the axis of the forum. The facade is in brick, parallel to the forum portico, projecting beyond the neighbouring Building of Eumachia. ..

.. The raised podium is surrounded on three sides by a wall decorated with a pattern of large blind windows framed by pilaster strips and with triangular and curved pediments set over them. The temple stands at the centre of the back wall of the courtyard accessible from the back by two side-stairs. The cella, which still has the base on which the cult statue was set, was originally preceded by a tetrastyle porch. .. In front of the podium, is a marble altar decorated with reliefs, one of which is the ritual sacrifice of a bull (visible in the photograph on the left). .. The temple had not been completed at the time of the eruption. A door in the back wall gave access to three rooms used by the personnel in charge of the temple and as storerooms.