Known as the “holy lands end of Attica”, the history of sacred activity at Sounion dates back to an archaic chthonic warrior cult situated to the north of the peninsular. The sanctuary of Athena Sounias was the natural successor of this cult. 

Nothing now remains of the temple of Athena at Sounion. After the site became abandoned and redundant in the first century AD, the temple was dismantled and rebuilt in the Athenian Agora. However, its remains offer clues to how this religious site demonstrates how classical architecture and the landscape combined to make dramatic sacred statements.

The Layout of the Temenos of Athena

Older than the sanctuary of Poseidon, Athena’s sacred site grew up in an area of the archaic sacred temenos during the sixth century BC. Situated on a low hill 500m north of the sanctuary of Poseidon, it is trapezoidal in plan and a precinct wall marks out the temenos.

The site of the archaic temenos can still be traced. Situated to the west of the remaining temenos of Athena, it is elliptical and marked by a wall of local red stone. Nothing remains of the grove that marked the spot as sacred.

The cult of Athena was a natural development from the warrior cult associated with the site and preserved many of its relics. Along the southeastern edge of the Classical sanctuary, a 15 m deep ditch was discovered with steps leading into an artificial cave. This cave acted as the sanctuary’s sacred repository, discovered full of votive offerings from the earlier cult. In the fifth century, during the building of the new temple, the ditch was covered and the space levelled.

The Temples of Athena

Two temples to the goddess are in evidence at Sounion: a small Doric temple destroyed by the Persians and the larger Ionic fifth-century temple.

An impression of the original temple has been reconstructed from its foundations and remains on the site. It was of plain design with 12 Doric columns marking out the cella, or sacred space. The walls were painted red and its entablature decorated.

The later, Hellenic temple was double its size with a plain undecorated pediment. The cella divided into three, with the sacred statue of the goddess at the very back behind a grill. Besides being larger, this temple had several unusual features.

Firstly, the temple’s orientation was clearly designed to be viewed and approached from the southeast. Usually, it was at the front of the temple that the altar was situated. However, while the front of the temple faced east, at the temple of Athena Sounias, the altar was located to the south. 

One final feature emphasised the unique orientation: the fact that the stylobate or ionic column base surrounding the temple was only built on the south and eastern sides. The unique orientation of the later temple of Athena Sounias is why it was not built over the archaic version.

The Role of the Landscape

But why the change in orientation? Here, the landscape of Sounion was key for a southern view made a statement. Athena was a chthonic deity. Her cult was of the earth. Both the setting and architecture of the later temple ensured it was tied into the land. If viewed from the south, the colonnade blocked out the sea, emphasising the land. Once past this feature, the mountains acted as a backdrop to the temple, rendering the colonnade superfluous.

Resources

Salliora-Oikonomakou, Mary. Sounion. Ministry of Culture Archaeological Receipts Fund, Greece.

Scully, Victor. The Earth, The Temple And The Gods: Greek Sacred Architecture Vincent Scully. New Haven and London, Yale University Press.