Second Temple

The Second Temple is the name for the Jewish temple that stood atop Mount Zion in Jerusalem from the sixth century B.C.E. until its destruction by the Romans in 70 C.E. It was built in place of the First Temple, also called Solomon’s Temple, which lasted from the reign of Solomon in the tenth century B.C.E. to its destruction by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E. As proscribed in the Torah, the Temple served as the cultural and religious center of life in ancient Israel.