Cyrene, Libya

Cyrene is an archaeological complex of a once-powerful Greek city in northeastern Libya, later incorporated into the Roman province of Cyrenaica. The site is notable for large Hellenistic and Roman ruins including temples, public buildings and a major necropolis.

Prominent visitor features include the hilltop Temple of Apollo and the extensive necropolis that contains numerous tombs and mausolea. The remains of residential areas, stoas and civic spaces give a clear sense of the city’s Greek and Roman urban plan. The site is important for the study of Hellenistic urbanism and the spread of Greek culture in North Africa.

Cyrene was founded by Greek settlers in the first millennium BCE and developed into a major polis before becoming part of the Roman sphere; it later declined in late antiquity. Archaeological work has focused on the city’s temples, agora and funerary monuments.

The ruins sit near the modern town of Shahhat in the Jabal al Akhdar region of northeastern Libya, on an elevated site that overlooks the surrounding plain.

• Origins: Founded by Greek colonists in the first millennium BCE, the city later became an important centre under Roman rule in Cyrenaica.

What to See #

• Temple of Apollo and agora: A hillside sanctuary complex dominated by the Temple of Apollo and surrounding civic remains that form the city's core.
• Necropolis: An extensive necropolis with hundreds of tombs and funerary monuments that line the slopes below the city.
• Urban quarters and Roman remains: Residential blocks, public buildings and later Roman additions that illustrate the city's development under Greek and Roman rule.