The church is in fact a Baroque elaboration of the Greeks' Temple of Athena (fifth century b.c. ), with its columns incorporated into the masonry of the outside walls.
The architecture of the church was inspired by the Greek Temple of Athena.
Romans who delight in Bernini's scorn for his rivals suggest that the Nile god covers his head rather than look at Borromini's church of Sant'Agnese in Agone, and the river god of the Americas is poised to catch it in case it collapses.