Fodor's Expert Review Temple of Jupiter

Constructed as a place to worship the Roman god Jupiter under Emperor Diocletian's rule, the temple was later converted into a baptistery by Christians. The entrance is guarded by a black granite sphinx, one of several Diocletian brought to the palace from Egypt and the only one with its head intact. Many of the imported sphinxes (you can see another within the Baptistery) were damaged or destroyed as Christianity became the dominant religion. Inside, beneath the coffered barrel vault and ornamented cornice, the 11th-century baptismal font is adorned with a stone relief showing a medieval Croatian king on his throne. Directly behind it stands a bronze statue of St. John the Baptist, a work by Ivan Meštrović.