The Heraion of Samos "Ireo" was built by the architects Rhoikos and Theodoros ca. 540 BC. The temple stood opposite the cult altar of Hera in her sanctuary.

World Heritage sites : The Heraion of Samos, sculptures at the Sacred way leading to the monumental Hera Temple.

Part of the Heraion

It was a dipteral temple, that is with a portico of columns two deep, which surrounded it entirely. It had a deep square-roofed Pronaos in front of a closed Cella. Cella and Pronaos were divided into three equal aisles by two rows of columns that marched down the Pronaos and through the Temple. The result was that Hera was worshipped in a Temple fitted within a stylized grove of columns, eight across and twenty-one deep. The columns stood on unusual bases that were horizontally fluted.

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The Heraion of Samos was the first of the gigantic Ionic temples. Unfortunately it stood for only about a decade before it was destroyed, probably by an earthquake. One of the giant statues from the Heraion survives in the Samos Archaeological Museum.