{"id":4474,"date":"2016-12-22T14:00:32","date_gmt":"2016-12-22T14:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.visionpubl.com\/en\/?p=4474"},"modified":"2016-12-22T15:37:54","modified_gmt":"2016-12-22T15:37:54","slug":"sanctuary-of-poseidon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visionpubl.com\/en\/cities\/cape-sounion\/sanctuary-of-poseidon\/","title":{"rendered":"Sanctuary of Poseidon"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Sanctuary of Poseidon at Cape Sounion<\/strong> stands on a high promontory in the southernmost reaches of Attica. In a prominent position on the promontory, the temple was the first and last visible sight of Attica<\/strong> for anyone arriving or leaving by sea.<\/p>\n

Access to the sanctuary was from the north side of the hill. The sanctuary was entered through a Propylon<\/em><\/strong>, next to which was a double portico with marble benches; a ramp led up to the temple, which was erected a little after the middle of the Vth<\/sup> century BC, over the remains of an older temple, which must have been started around 490 BC and was destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC.<\/p>\n


\n\u00a9 Photo credits by Stefano Costa<\/a> under CC-BY-SA-2.0<\/p>\n

The temple to be seen today is in marble<\/strong> from the nearby quarries of Agrileza<\/strong>, with thirteen fluted Doric columns on the long sides and six on the short sides. The columns have only 16 flutes<\/strong> instead of the traditional 20, which gives them a more slender appearance<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Inside the colonnade is the cell<\/strong>, which is divided into three parts according to standard practice: pronaos<\/em><\/strong>, naos<\/em><\/strong> (where the statue of the god was kept) and opisthodomos<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The area in front of the pronaos<\/em><\/strong> must originally have been decorated with scenes of battle against the Centaurs and Giants and scenes of the life of Theseus: some blocks of the frieze are still visible as they have been recycled in the fortifications to the left of the ramp leading up to the temple; one of the floral acroteria<\/em> is kept in the National Museum in Athens, but the sculpted decorations on the pediment have been lost.<\/p>\n

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\"Athens<\/div>\n

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Check out our guidebook to Ancient Greece<\/a>, with detailed history and Past & Present images of the Acropolis<\/strong>, the Parthenon<\/strong>, Olympia<\/strong> and all the greatest historical and archaeological sites of Ancient Greece.<\/p>\n

Check out our Guide Book to Ancient Greece<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

How to get to the Sanctuary of Poseidon<\/h2>\n