[2025 Lavreotiki Attraction] Travel Guide for Temple of Poseidon (Updated Mar)

There are many Poseidon temples built in honor of Poseidon. One of the most famous ones is located in Cape Sounion, southeast of Athens and at the southern tip of the Attica Peninsula, about 70 kilometers from Athens. The temple stands on a cliff about 65 meters high, which is a good place to enjoy the Aegean Sea and sunset.Cape Sounio is surrounded by the sea on three sides, with the Aegean Sea on the left, the Mediterranean Sea in front, and the Ionian Sea on the right. The Athenians believed that places with better views were suitable for building temples to worship gods. The Temple of Poseidon was built between 444 and 440 BC to protect sailors and pray for good weather, and was later destroyed by the Byzantine Emperor Arcadius in 399 BC.Climb up the hillside on the west side of the Cape Sounion parking lot, and you can see the charming style of this temple: Like other Greek temples, the Temple of Poseidon is rectangular, about 80 meters long and 60 meters wide, supported by columns on all four sides. There were originally 34 marble columns, but only 13 have been preserved. The stone columns are about 6 meters high and adopt the Doric style. The capital is an inverted cone, similar to the Parthenon. The relief decorations on the stone columns depict the scenes of the battle of the gods. Currently, some of the original reliefs are collected by the Acropolis Museum in Athens. When the poet Byron visited Greece in the 19th century, he engraved his name on a column of the Temple of Poseidon.The location, building materials and design of the Temple of Poseidon made it very conspicuous from the sea and visible to the naked eye from a long distance. This provided great help to ancient ships. Sailors returning home could also use it to identify the direction.The sunset view here is equally not to be missed as the Temple of Poseidon. Looking down, you can see the azure Aegean Sea, looking up, you can see the gorgeous sunset glow, and in the distance, you can see the dotted ships. It is a beautiful sight.