The small temple next to the theater in Side is one of the rare examples of a pseudoperipteros in the Eastern Mediterranean. As such, it has been discussed as an indicator for Roman influence in Southern Asia Minor. The 1960s-reconstruction of the presumed early Augustan temple with a long cella has been considered exceptional but hardly questioned.

Recent trenches inside and outside the preserved podium along with a careful study of the architectural remains back up a considerably different layout of the temple with a shorter podium and a reversed orientation. Initially, it was accessed by a narrow staircase from the south. This ʻunorthodoxʼ design raises the question if it is exclusively based on Roman models, and it supports a late Hellenistic, possibly pre-Augustan date.

This Hellenistic temple had to be thoroughly modified in the 2nd century AD due to the construction of the Roman theater which cut the pronaos. The subsequent well-crafted extension of the podium to the North – with architectural members from the original structure – suggests that the edifice was turned and reconstructed in a revised form.

The construction, deconstruction and reconstruction of the ʻTemple of Dionysusʼ in Side challenged pre-modern masons, and they challenge modern research. Last but not least, they highlight the potential of a reevaluation of apparently well-known monuments.