THE THOMS SUNDAY TRAVEL SECTION.
You spent a few hours in Athens on a trip right after college, so you have seen everything in Athens. That may be your belief, but it’s probably not a reality.
After following this website, you know there is so much more to see.
But what about outside of Athens? Are there any should-see sites or areas?
Places that may, or may not, warrant an overnight?
I can think of one under the tip of your nose. It’s on the southern tip of the Attica Peninsula.
How about a day in Sounio (Sounion)?
What is Sounion? Well, let’s start at the very beginning…
The earliest literary reference to Sounio is in Homer’s Odyssey. Are we talking Homer Simpson??
Homer.
Homer is famous for being the first to write down the epic Greek stories “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey.”
Two “tales” that repeat through Western culture to this day. He is the Walter Cronkite of his time. On the frontline, he is going up and over alongside Odysseus and Achilles.
The Odyssey Cliffs Notes
The long-awaited sequel to the Illiad, it is a story about mortals who do not stand a chance for happiness. It seems the Greek gods are still acting like spoiled children. The time frame is a few months or years after the Illiad.
The hero, Odysseus, departs Troy at the end of the war to sail home to his wife. This journey should take three to four weeks. For the next ten years, he makes a Mediterranian cruise as many gods toss obstacles in his path. Meanwhile, his wife Penelope hosts 120 drunk lecherous men in her house, all wanting to marry her. Carnage, meals, death, and hilarity ensue.
And here we run into our first “discrepancy.”
Although no one seems to know, most agree Homer was alive in the 8th century B.C. The results from ancient ancestors.com are still pending.
Regardless, Homer probably was not present when these “real” stories take place.
Many believe all he did was write down someone else’s telling of the story. Similar to our modern news media.
Then there is the question if he writes the Illiad. It has a different manner of narrative and vocabulary, amongst other discrepancies.
Yet another school believes Homer, the man, does not exist. It was a group of poets and writers using the same name.
And why does any of this matter?
Because much of the Greek history contains the terms, “Homer first mentions…” or “appears in Homer’s…”
Do we believe Zeus or Homer?
Ancient Sounio History.
Sounio’s earliest written reference is by Homer in the “Odyssey.” What did I tell you?
King Menelaus, while rounding Holy Sounio Cape, lands to cremate Phrontis, one of his fallen men.
We now know the Trojan war was circa 1200, and Homer wrote about it in 800 B.C.
Another “discrepancy,” archaeological finds in this area only date from as early as 700 BC.
The First Temple
The temple you see today is not the first temple in this area. It sits on the ruins of an earlier temple to Poseidon, which may date to 700 B.C.
A marble statue, the Sounion Kouros, is in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.
A kouros would mark the area for votive offerings to the gods or demi-gods, before reaching the temple. This ten-foot statue dates from circa 600 B.C., lending support to an earlier temple.
The Third Temple
Dating from circa 470 B.C., this is also not the temple you are picturing. The Temple of Athena Sounias is invisible to tourists. First, it is to the left as you catch your first glimpse of the Poseidon temple to your right. Even if you do know where to look, you cannot see anything from the road.
It sits on the site of the first Athena (second Sounion) temple, dating from circa 600 B.C.
It is unusual as it only has an arcade on the southern and eastern sides. Maybe they thought no one was going to look behind.
Nearby is the burial mound and shrine to Phrontis from the Odyssey. Who knows?
There is little left of the temple outside of the foundation outline. It does offer a perspective of the Poseidon temple few others ever see.
The Fourth Temple at Sounio
The current Temple of Poseidon at Sounion dates from circa 440 B.C. The rebuilding takes place due to the Athenian statesman Pericles, who has them rebuilding the Parthenon in Athens at the same time.
The temple is approximately 200 feet above the Aegean Sea that surrounds it on three sides.
After 2400 years, only 15 of the original 36 columns are still standing. For a better idea of its authentic look, see the Temple of Hephaestus, overlooking the Athen’s agora. There is evidence that both were the design of the same architect.
King Aegeus
Another myth involving Cape Sounion involves Aegeus, the king of Athens.
Every nine years, the Athenians must send seven young men and seven young ladies to Crete. Here, they must find their way out of the labyrinth or become dinner for the Minotaur. Every time the ships would return to Athens with black sails, indicating no survivors.
Theseus, the son of Aegeus, volunteers to go as he knows he can kill the beast and end the sacrifices. His father gives him a white sail to hoist if he is successful.
Theseus prevails, but due to drinking and celebrating on the return trip, he forgets the white sail.
The king, standing on the clifftop at Sounion, sees the black sail and throws himself to his death.
Those Greeks sure are dramatic. You would think they were the inventors of drama.
In his honor, they name the sea after him, Aegean.
The Sounio Walls
Athenians build the walls around 413 B.C., during the Peloponnesian War.
It was not as protection to the temple, but to guard their port at Euboea from the Spartans. When the Spartans cut off the supply routes by land to the north of Athens, this is their only route.
Rebel slaves from the nearby silver mines of Laurion will later take control of the fortification.
Mines of Laurion (Lavrion)
In the mountains, north and east of Sounion, are the remains of ancient mines.
Evidence points to preliminary mining dating back to circa 3400 B.C., probably for copper and lead ore.
More full-scale mining (by slaves) begins in the 6th century B.C. and is for silver.
Athens will mine enough silver to fund a navy of 200 ships to defeat Persia during the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 B.C.
Not So Ancient Sounio
By 30 B.C., the Romans control all of Greece.
They begin replacing the Greek gods with Roman ones, including Neptune, the god of water. The Romans do not worship Neptune like the Greeks did Poseidon. Eventually, they abandon the temple at Sounion.
By the time the Byzantine Empire takes control of Greece in 330 A.D., Christianity is already spreading through Greece. Constantine gives it a nudge by destroying all pagan temples. The destruction of Sounion is unknown. It may be by disregard, earthquakes, people recycling building material, at the hands of Christians or all of the above.
When the Ottomans arrive circa 1450, they have no interest in the area.
By the late 1600s, European writers and poets pen about seeing the ruins at Sounion. Perhaps Lord Byron, on one of his many trips to Sounion, chisels his name in a column. Or maybe a brilliant person on the staff at Sounion earns a Christmas bonus that year. Thank goodness there is no spray paint or sharpies at that time.
You can no longer access the area where the engraving sits.
Mining for ore, silver, and other metals begins again around 1864.
In the late 1800s, some excavating takes place until funds run out circa 1913.
Today
Much of the restoration you see today is by the Greek Archaeological Service beginning in the 1950s.
By 1978, the mines are no longer profitable and close.
Today the area of Ancient Lavrion is under consideration as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Presently, the mines are archeological sites and off-limits to the public.
Visiting Sounio Today.
Besides the archeological site, the Sounion peninsula has lovely weekend homes, a deluxe resort, and a small beach area. The temple is approximately 90 minutes’ drive south from Athens along the Greek Riviera on the west coast. From the Athen’s airport on Attica’s east coast, it is closer to 40 minutes’ drive down the east side.
The Sounio Area Summary
I try to break up the drive, usually on the return, by adding something to the outing.
Just below the temple is a lovely resort where you can have lunch or afternoon cocktails poolside. There are tavernas as well. Most have some view of the temple.
The Anavyssos P.G.I Wine Region is approximately 25 minutes from Sounion. Why not arrange a wine tasting or sip a glass at a nearby beach taverna?
Speaking of beach tavernas, if you are looking for fresh Greek seafood, look no further than the ones in Anavyssos. Have a delightful lunch or dinner on the way to or from Sounion.
The Athens Riviera is in the Vouliagmeni area, approximately 50 minutes northwest of Sounion. Expect more crowds and higher prices, but the scenery is beautiful.
East Coast
A 45-minute drive up the east side will put you right in the middle of Attica’s largest wine region. Here you can arrange several visits and fill an afternoon.
If you have a minimum of eight hours, combine a visit to the temple with an Athens orientation tour. When time is tight, I always recommend the smallest group size you can afford. The larger the group, the slower it moves.
Read more about Sounion.
Scroll down to the “Please Leave a Reply” section at the bottom. Please tell me your thoughts on:
“Can you feel Sounio calling you?”
Please help me spread the news by rating, commenting, and sharing this blog below. – THANKS!
“See the World” Continued on Page T3. “Taste the World” Continued on T11.
Today’s column is absolutely one of your VERY BEST. “AncientAncestors.com”, Zeus, the “Big Cheese”, etc. HA! So funny, yet always informative and evocative. Loved this tour through a lesser known site in Greece. Peel me a grape!
This country and it’s history continue to impress me with it’s wealth. I am again reminded of how the language and stories are intermingled into our own. What a surprise is this hidden gem, not being in the path of most tourists it is a rare find in the Greece exploration. I look forward to exploring more of this area. Thanks for the Sunday morning mind vacation.
Fantastic history lesson Thomas! And I love Michael’s description of a “mind vacation” – these posts really do take me to another place, another time. Well done.