“Marcus Porcius, son of Marcus; Lucius Sextilius, son of Lucius; Gnaeus Cornelius, son of Gnaeus; Aulus Cornelius, son of Aulus, quattuorvirs, awarded the contract for its construction, in accordance with a decree of the town councilloprs.” Alison and Melvin Cooley confers this is the inscription on both sides of the large altar in front of the Temple of Apollo.
The temple was built in the 3rd century B.C. It consisted of 48 Ionic columns but during Nero’s reign they were changed to Corinthian columns. A brief description by August Mau and Francis Willey Kelsey, authors of “Pompeii: It’s Life and Art” , express that in the cella stands a block of tufa having the shape of a half of an egg; “this is the Omphalos, the familiar symbol of Apollo.” The temple also consisted of other deities like Diana, and possibly Mercury.
(source: Pompeii: Its Life and Art, by August Mau, Francis Willey Kelsey)
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