The Temple of Poseidon

MythicalAdminGreece — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 08:31:25 +0000

The Temple of Poseidon was built in the 5th century B.C., on a 60-meter rock fascinating to every visitor. The Temple of Poseidon was designated a Unesco’s World Heritage Archaeological Site in 2014, as part of Ancient Lavrion. Homer, in the Odyssey (c 278), calls the Cape of Sounio as “the sacred cape of the Athenians”. Moreover, Herodotus, the historian, recorded that the Athenians celebrated a great four-yearly festival in the cape of Sounio inside the Temple of Poseidon. It must be noted that the sanctuary of the Temple of Poseidon is also mentioned by the tragedians Euripides and Sophocles as well as the comic poet Aristophanes.

It is universally known that the Temple of Poseidon has attracted international celebrities and historical personalities, such as the romantic poet Lord Byron. Enchanted by the Greek landscape, the British philhellene wrote to his friend “If I am a poet, … the air of Greece has made me one”. It should be stressed out that Lord Byron was inspired by Sounio to write his poem “Isles of Greece” and until today his calligraphy signature is exposed to one of the marbles of the Temple of Poseidon, dated 1810.

Place me on Sunium’s marbled steep,
Where nothing, save the waves and I,
May hear our mutual murmurs sweep;
There, swan-like, let me sing and die:
A land of slaves shall ne’er be mine—
Dash down yon cup of Samian wine!

Visit today the Temple of Poseidon through a full-day private tour to Cape of Sounio. We offer 2 differernt combinations, which are Athens & Sounio or Marathon & Sounio.

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Temple of Apollo Epicurius

MythicalAdminGreece — Fri, 17 Dec 2021 07:30:54 +0000

The Temple of Apollo Epicurius is the first listed monument as the Unesco’s World Heritage Archaeological Site in Greece. The Temple of Apollo Epicurius also called the Temple of Apollo the therapist, spreads out stoically in Phigalia on the border of Arcadia with Messinia and is located at Bassae.

It was built in 420-400 B.C., while it was designed by the same architect who built the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens, Iktinos. The Temple of Apollo Epicurius is built on a natural rock, in a specially designed plateau. It does not have the usual A-D orientation, but B-N, probably for worship purposes. The most important decorative element of the temple was the marble Ionic frieze, which existed over the Ionic semi-colonies in the nave. It had a total length of 31 m and consists of 23 marble slabs. The 12 marble slabs depict the battle between the Amazons while the other 11 the battle between the Centaurs. During the excavation of 1812, the marble slabs were found covered with architectural members and in 1815 they were moved to the British Museum where they are exposed today. The sculptor of the frieze might have been Peonios, who also sculpted the famous statue of Winged Victory in Ancient Olympia.

There is the view that the Temple of Apollo Epicurius rotates around itself 50.2 seconds of fate. The mysteries of the temple are many, from stellar phenomena to space-time.

According to Pausanias, the Temple of Apollo Epicurius is considered the second largest after the temple of Tegea in harmony and beauty. The only thing for sure is that the Temple of Apollo Epicurius will enchant you with its beauty not to mention that it is one of the UNESCO’s World Heritage Archaeological Sites since 1986.

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Unesco's World Heritage Archaeological Site - MYTHICAL GREECE

The Temple of Poseidon

Temple of Apollo Epicurius