Throwback Thursday: Visit to Cape Sounion

Ancient Temple of Poseidon, Cape Sounion! Αρχαίος Ναός Ποσειδώνα, Σούνιον!

This #ThrowbackThursday photo brings me back to last year's visit to beautiful Sounion.

A short, impressive 70 km drive via all of the Athens Riviera and you arrive to the ancient Greek Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion!

I hope to go back again very soon .

History:

Built during 444–440 BC, is one of the major monuments of the Golden Age of Athens under the rein of Pericles (who also ordered the rebuilt of the Parthenon).

A Doric temple, it overlooks the Aegean sea at the end of Cape Sounion, at a height of almost 60 metres (200 ft).

The temple was constructed of marble from the valley of Agrilesa, about four kilometers north of the Sounio Cape. The architect is thought to be Ictinus (or Iktinos), who built the Temple of Hephaestus in the Ancient agora in Athens. He built the 16 columns at the Temple of Poseidon in a way that ensured they would stand the test of time and resist the harshness of the environment, and made the Doric columns more slender at the top so they would look taller.

Like many other temples, the Temple of Poseidon in Sounion is intertwined with bits of legend. It is thought to be the spot where Athenian King Aegeus killed himself by jumping off the cliff.

Aegeus, who had positioned himself at Sounion to look out for the return of his son Theseus from Crete, saw the black sails on the ship and mistakenly thought Theseus had been killed by the Minotaur, a creature with the head of a bull and the body of a man. In fact, young Theseus was victorious but had forgotten to replace the black sails on his ship with white ones upon returning, which ultimately led to his father’s death. And so, in commemoration, Aegeus’ name was given to the Aegean Sea.

With excerpts from Wikipedia and www.theculturetrip.com