As I mentioned when discussing the Temple of Zeus earlier, temples’ locations reflected the god they honored. So it would make sense that a temple to Poseidon would be placed on a peninsula surrounded by water, and that is exactly how I would describe the location of this temple. This was the southern most tip of Attica and was home to a military settlement and the 3rd harbor for Athens. The town overlooked all possible avenues for attacks and had fast boats to counteract these attacks. They also had fryktoria here, which were towers with fires, creating a network for communication.
The Greeks kept rebuilding their temples on top of previous temples, so this is the last iteration of this temple. In archaic times there was just an altar here. Then in the 6th century there was large statue. The limestone temple wasn’t begun until the 5th century and wasn’t finished until 444 BC. It was thought to have the same architect as the Temple of Hephaestus because of several characteristics that were also seen in that temple: it had the beam that ties the peristyle to the noas; it was hexastyle Doric, but a slenderer Doric with only 16 flutes instead of 20; and it’s design was 6 by 13 columns. Another unusual characteristic of this temple was that it had no crepis (a base that typically consisted of 2 to 3 layers of stone).
This was by far my favorite temple. The dramatic placement on top of a hill overlooking the sea on 3 sides is gorgeous and definitely makes an imposing impression on you. With the wind blowing and the sound of waves crashing on the coast, I can see how Poseidon would feel at home here.
The Greeks kept rebuilding their temples on top of previous temples, so this is the last iteration of this temple. In archaic times there was just an altar here. Then in the 6th century there was large statue. The limestone temple wasn’t begun until the 5th century and wasn’t finished until 444 BC. It was thought to have the same architect as the Temple of Hephaestus because of several characteristics that were also seen in that temple: it had the beam that ties the peristyle to the noas; it was hexastyle Doric, but a slenderer Doric with only 16 flutes instead of 20; and it’s design was 6 by 13 columns. Another unusual characteristic of this temple was that it had no crepis (a base that typically consisted of 2 to 3 layers of stone).
This was by far my favorite temple. The dramatic placement on top of a hill overlooking the sea on 3 sides is gorgeous and definitely makes an imposing impression on you. With the wind blowing and the sound of waves crashing on the coast, I can see how Poseidon would feel at home here.