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Garni
ancient temple
was constructed in the 1st century AD by the King
Tiridates I of Armenia and
probably funded with money the king received from
emperor Nero during his visit to
Rome. The temple was most
likely dedicated to the
Hellenistic god
Mithras. The roof is supported
by 24
columns with
Ionic capitals and Attic
basements. Unlike other Greco-Roman temples, it is made of
basalt. In
1679 it was destroyed by an
earthquake. Most of the
original pieces remained at the site until the 20th century, allowing
the building to be reconstructed between
1969 and
1979.
Several additional buildings were constructed since then, such as the
king's palace, baths and the site's most famous and best preserved
building, a
Parthenon like temple. Of
particular interest is the bathhouse, located in the northern part of
the site which has a preserved heating reservoir. The interior floor is
decorated with a colour mosaic with depictions of Greek mythological
figures, such as Tethys. One of the intact
inscriptions in
Koine Greek reads: ΜΗΔΕΝ
ΛΑΒΟΝΤΕΣ ΗΡΓΑΣΑΜΕΘΑ (Without receiving anything we toiled).
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