Temple of Poseidon

Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon | Greece's most beautiful viewing platform, history and sunsets The Temple of Poseidon dates back to the 5th century BC and has stood on Cape Sounion for over 2,500 years. It is a spiritual center of Greece and a great place to watch the most spectacular sunset in Greece. The Temple of Poseidon stands on the cliff top of Cape Sounion and is the focal point of the skyline. Built in the 5th century BC, it was one of the most important religious sites in ancient Greece and a beacon for returning to Athens. The Temple of Poseidon was built in 444 BC and completed in 440 BC. It was built during the reign of the Athenian politician Pericles, who also rebuilt the Parthenon in Athens. The building is nearly 60 meters (200 feet) above sea level and is stunningly beautiful. It was built on the ruins of an earlier temple dating back to the Archaic period. Only part of the original columns remain today, but if intact, it would be very similar to the Hephaestus Temple below the Acropolis in Athens, which is contemporary and well-preserved, and may have been designed by the same architect. Although now lost, a huge bronze statue of Poseidon, possibly six meters, or twenty feet high, once stood in the Temple of Sounion. Like all Greek temples, the Temple of Poseidon is rectangular in shape and has colonnades on all four sides. There were originally 36 columns, 15 of which still stand today.