GREECE ATTICA ATTICA SOUNION

The temple, of white marble from Agrileza, was erected in the middle of the 5th century BC on the sheer southeast side of the peninsula. It stands above an earlier poros temple from the late 6th century BC that was destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC. The peripteral Doric temple (31.1 x 13.5 m) that we see today had 6 x 13 columns. Above the epistyle was a frieze with a relief decoration continuing on all four sides. It depicted legendary battles between the Centaurs and Lapiths, the Giants and Gods, as well as scenes of the Labours of Theseus.

Investigation of the temple was started by Wilhelm Dörpfeld in the 19th century, followed by Valerios Staes 1897 - 1913. The present state results from the work of Anastasios Orlandos in the 1950s.

Above: Inscribed parts of the temple. From the 17th century on foreign travelers viewed the ruined temple of Poseidon in a romantic mood. Some of them, like Lord Byron in 1810, engraved their names on the marbles.

Below: Inside the fortification is a settlement, first found in 1907 by Valerios Staes. The main feature is a street, 3-3.60 m wide and 100 m in revealed length. On both sides of the main street narrower streets formed regular blocks of buildings. The settlement underwent several transformations, with the phase now visible belonging to the Hellenistic period.