A temple dedicated to Poseidon at Sounion has overlooked the Aegean since the early fifth century BC. Built on the foundations of the original, the temple we see today is Doric style, dating from the Classical period. It is an example of how the Greeks skilfully married their architecture with the landscape surrounding it to make a meaningful and dramatic sacred statement.

The Layout of the Temple Precinct

The archaeological remains of the sacred precinct are at the southernmost point of the Sounion peninsular. They consist of the temple, which lay at the highest, most southerly point of the temenos; the propylaia or gateway to the site and the stoa, which accommodated pilgrims.

The entrance to the temenos was via the propylaia to the north. It was a grand structure of marble and local poros stone; it had a pediment roof and divided into three gateways. Visitors were guided up to the temple through the gateways via pathways divided by Doric columns. The middle path was a ramp for animals and wheeled vehicles. The two tracks flanking it were for pedestrians.

The stoa marked the northern and western sides of the temenos. The column bases of the north colonnades remain on the site in their original positions.

Design of the Temple

The surviving Temple of Poseidon was built between 444-440 BC on the debris of the earlier temple. Marble from local mines replaced the local poros stone previously used.

The Doric temple is 31.12 metres long and 13.47 metres wide and is the indisputable focal point of Sounion, whether viewed from land or sea. It was constructed with several unique features, as was the nearby temple of Athena.

Firstly, the temple’s metopes, which ran outside the temple as a base strip between the pediment and columns, were unadorned. The frieze usually found here instead ran above the columns and wall inside the pronaos (the “porch” created by the outside colonnade and the interior wall of the temple). Secondly, the cella or interior of the temple had no internal colonnade to divide it.

Archaeologists have identified the frieze decoration of the temple as originating from the Cyclades. Depicting the myths of the Giants and Centaurs and the adventures of Theseus, they are preserved in the Lavrion museum. Of the pediment décor, little remains except for the torso of a seated female figure.

The Temple of Poseidon and the Landscape

The elevated situation of the temple of Poseidon was exaggerated by building it on a raised platform, making the temple a visual nexus connecting sea, sky and land. The building was central to every visual axis, whereas specific landscape views only came into play one at a time, depending on the direction of the viewer.

When outside the temenos, the northern stoa hid the platform so that only the temple columns were visible, rising to meet the sky. The land seemed to fall away from the rising columns, and the sea was not visible.

However, as the viewer entered the temenos through the propylaia, the barriers of the temenos would slowly fall away, revealing views of the sea, which gradually became the backdrop of the temple. Once at the front of the temple, the total dramatic interplay between landscape and architecture could be fully appreciated. The viewer would be confronted by the overwhelming sight of the sea, with the temple acting as an actual and metaphoric barrier between the worshipper and Poseidon.

Resources

Robertson, D S, Greek and Roman Architecture. Cambridge University Press.

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

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