Héraion (Temple of Hera) of Greece.

Ruins of Temple of Hera.

Lying eight kilometers west of Pythagórion is the Heraion, the Temple of Hera, one of the island's top tourist attractions. A succession of temples was built on this site from the eighth century BC onwards, culminating with a colossal structure measuring some 45 meters by 80 meters, supported by at least 100 columns, which was begun around 570 BC.

The structure was destroyed 30 years later in a Persian raid. A replacement was planned on an even larger scale, and would have been the largest Greek temple ever built, but it was never to be completed.

Today, the archaeological site around the Heraion includes altars and smaller temples, as well as the ruins of a fifth-century Christian basilica. Finds from the site are exhibited in the archaeological museum in Samos Town.