Temple of Poseidon

Temple of Poseidon

Today started with a few big thunderstorms, and for a bit we thought that we might have to cancel our previously planned day trip to Sounio and the Temple of Poseidon. However our hostess was undaunted, even inspired by the rain, and told us she'd pick us up at 1pm. In an extraordinary act of kindness she even filled our bellies up with a homemade lunch at her home before we set out on our adventure. It was a tasty feast, and yet another reminder that Greeks are generous and fabulous hosts.

Fully sated we hit the road, our driver easily navigating the twisty road that hugs the southern coastline. Our hostess tested our Greek language skills, peppering us with questions, and correcting our answers (learning Greek assumes a willingness to fail). Suddenly the Temple of Poseidon came into view, bright white columns against a blue sky. The temple, built between 444-440 BC, sits atop a 60 meter high cliff at Cape Sounion, a peninsula that juts out into the Aegean Sea. It is said that ancient sailors knew they were home when they saw the white columns against a blue sky.

Cape Sounion is a place steeped in Greek history and legend. My favorite is the story about the suicide of King Aegeus since it is the most tragic, and therefore seems the most Greek to me. The legend goes as follows.

 Aegeus's son Theseus was sent out by the king to kill the vicious half man half bull creature known as the Minotaur. Father and son agreed that if Theseus was victorious over the Minotaur he was to return to Cape Sounion flying white sails on his boat.  Black sails meant that Theseus had been killed in battle with the Minotaur. Aegeus' heart broke when he saw Theseus' ship returning with black sails, immediately assuming that his son was dead. Delirious with grief over the loss of his beloved son Theseus, King Aegeus hurled himself off of the cliff at Cape Sounion to his own death. However, Theseus still lived, his tragic mistake was flying the wrong color sails on his ship.

The Greeks commemorated King Aegeus' tragic death by naming the waters around the Cape of Sounion the Aegean Sea.

We had a great day with our hosts at Sounio, and hope to return again some day.

More soon.