Poseidon’s Temple and the Aegean Sea

Cape Sounion (Ancient Greek:Ἄκρον Σούνιον) is at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula.

The temple of Poseidon (Latin: Neptune, the god of the sea) is at Sounion.  Archaeological finds at the site date from as early as 700 BC. Herodotus tells us that in the sixth century BC, the Athenians celebrated a quadrennial festival, which involved Athens' leaders sailing to the cape in a sacred boat.  The original temple of Poseidon was likely destroyed in 480 BC when King Xerxes invaded Greece. The later temple at Sounion, whose columns still stand today, was built in 440 BC. 

Poseidon (Greek: Ποσειδων) the "God of the Sea" is one of the twelve Gods of the Greek Pantheon.  Poseidon was the protector of many Hellenic cities and according to Plato the island of Atlantis was his favorite place.  He was the brother of Zeus and he was saved by his mother Rhea, who hid him among a flock of lambs to protect him from his father Cronus. 

The philosopher Martin Heidegger visited Sounion during his journey to Greece.  He refers to the "gleaming-white ruins of the temple". In the strong sea breeze "these few standing columns were the strings of an invisible lyre, the song of which the far-seeing Delian god let resonate over the Cycladic world of islands". He marvels at "the way that this single gesture of the land suggests the invisible nearness of the divine and dedicates to it every growth and every human work". He goes on to reflect, "the people of this country knew how to inhabit and demarcate the world against the barbarous in honor of the seat of the gods”.

According to legend, it was at Cape Sounion the king of Athens Aegeas (Greek: Αιγέας), leapt to his death off the cliff, thus giving his name to the Aegean Sea.  The story goes that he anxiously waited for the return of his son Theseus and despaired when he saw the black sail on his son's ship.  This led him to believe that his son had been killed in his fight with the dreaded Minotaur.  Theseus had volunteered to go and attempt to slay the beast that devoured 7 young men and 7 young women, Athenians sent every year to King Minos of Crete as a tribute.  He had agreed with his father that if he survived the fight, he would hoist a white sail. In fact, Theseus had succeeded to slain the Minotaur, but tragically had forgotten to hoist a white sail.

Poseidon’s Temple was a popular destination with the ancients and modern Athenians alike.  The view of the full moon in August is a memorable and sought-after spectacle.