Where nothing, save the waves and I,
May hear our mutual murmurs sweep...
–Isles of Greece: Romantic poet Byron
Yes, you got it. Today I’m going to take you on a trip to Greece with me. Are you ready?
I can see a few excited, smiling faces. Let’s first head to Cape Sounion, about 20 kms from Athens, the town of Anavissos. You must be wondering, ‘What’s there?’ Cape Sounion is the site of the ruins of an ancient Greek temple of Poseidon, the God of the Sea, in classical Greek mythology. The remains are perched on the cliff, surrounded on three sides by the sea. So before we go there, I’m sure you want to know more about Cape Sounion, right?[break]
Cape of Sounion
The Cape of Sounion is associated with the myth of Theseus and the Minotaur, a monster that was half man and half bull. King Minos of Crete had confined it in a specially designed maze. Every year, the Athenians were forced to send seven men and seven women to Minos for the Minotaur to eat. Theseus had volunteered to go with the third tribute and attempted to kill the beast. The sails of the ship, which carried the young people to Crete, were black due to their tragic destination. King Aegeas had asked his son, Theseus, to kill the Minotaur if possible and return home by changing the black sails of the ship to white ones.
King Aegeus, anxiously looking out from Sounion for his son, Theseus, saw black sails instead of white ones on the ship returning from Crete, and he became very upset. This led him to believe that his son had been killed while fighting the Minotaur. This is the spot where King Aegeus leapt off from the cliff, thus giving his name to the surrounding sea: the Aegean Sea.
In fact, Theseus had killed the Minotaur, but had forgotten to put up the white sail. This myth dates back to a thousand years before the temple of Poseidon was built. Now that you know the story, let’s move forward.
Let me warn you. It’s very windy up there. Also you will have to walk about 10 minutes to the temple of Poseidon. Now let’s go. Be careful and don’t push each other.
There you are. This magnificent temple is called the temple of Poseidon. You all want to know is who Poseidon is, right? He was called the ‘God of the Sea’. He was also known as the ‘Earth-shaker’, because the myth is, he caused earthquakes.
According to ancient Greek religion, in terms of power, Poseidon came second, just after Zeus (Jupiter), the supreme God himself. Poseidon was very powerful. He was usually portrayed carrying a trident, supposedly used to stir up storms. Storms frequently resulted in shipwrecks and drowning, so mariners left gifts to make Poseidon happy at the temple at Cape Sounion. The original temple of Poseidon was built during the archaic period (800 BC – 480 BC), out of tufa: a kind of limestone. This was destroyed in 480 BC by the Persian troops. The current temple was built in 440 BC, over the ruins of the previous one. It originally had 42 columns but currently, there are only15 columns.
I see a few ‘What happened to the rest of the columns?’ faces. In 399 AD, the Byzantine emperor, Arcadius, destroyed the temple of Poseidon in an attempt to demolish all non-Christian temples. A 5-meter-tall statue of Poseidon used to stand inside the temple, but today only a part of it survives and it is displayed in the Archaeological Museum of Athens.
Now that you know about the cape of Sounion and the temple, let’s see the wonderful sunset over the Aegean Sea from the ruins. It’s spectacular.
I’m sure that by now you’re ready to tell people about the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion in Greece. While you are at it, tell them that the view from the Cape is breathtaking, won’t you?
Pokharel is an educationist, consultant and author of several children’s books.
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