In the market place of ancient Mantineia, a short distance east of the southern passage of the theater, the foundations of an ancient temple have been preserved, which has been identified with the temple of Hera. This identification was based on the laconic testimony of Pausanias (8, 9, 3), that the temple was located near the theater, in the market, center of the public life of Mantineia, which was richly decorated with temples, sanctuaries, heroes and works of art, which impressed the traveler. The old excavations of the site did not manage to sufficiently illuminate the possessing god of the particular temple, however, the old case for its identification with Heraeus of Mantineia remains attractive, until the archaeological dig sheds more light on the deity worshiped there. Nevertheless, the monument is particularly important for the historical development of the market place, since it seems that, despite the newer interventions it may have received, the first phase of its construction goes back to a period older than the re-foundation of the city in the 4th century. p.X.
It is a temple of simple architectural form, with dimensions of 16.2 x 9 m. It belongs to the two-style pediment type, with two columns between the pediments of the facade, which was on the eastern narrow side. The building did not have a superstructure, a fact that argues in favor of its ancient dating. According to Pausanias' description, the Heraion in the market of Mantineia housed the cult statue of the goddess, who was represented seated on a throne and surrounded by her daughter, Hebe, and Athena. As the creator of this constitution, the traveler mentions the most important sculptor of the 4th c. BC, Praxiteles. The spread of the cult of Hera in Arcadia remains limited and is located in areas near the western and eastern borders of the Arcadian land, where the influences and influences from the great centers of goddess worship in Olympia and Argolis were narrower. In particular, the presence of Hebe, witnessed throughout Arcadia only in the case of Heraeus of Mantineia, brings to mind Argos, where mother and daughter are honored side by side. The appearance of Athena in Praxiteles' constitution commemorates the close relationship of the goddess with the Arcadian land.
The temple was excavated in the 19th century by the French, who suggested its identification with the temple of Hera.
Source: MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND SPORTS
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