The temple was first dedicated in AD45 and rebuilt by Agrippa about a century later. In the 5th century it became a church and was fortified in the 12th century for use as an Arab fortress.
The sanctuary is superficially a typical classical temple of the peripteral style (ie a rectangular building with colonades all the way round) but has various idiosyncratic gestures towards semitic temple design. For example the entrance is on the long side of the building, rather than the end, and the internal layout is completely different.