ape Sounio, on the south-eastern tip of Attica, is inextricably linked  with one of the most beautiful monuments of classical architecture, the Temple of Poseidon.  The elegant silhouette of the temple perched atop a high cliff was admired already in antiquity, but then and later it was often mistakenly called a temple of Athena because a temple dedicated to the goddess was situated on an opposite hill.  The Temple of Poseidon was built between 444 and 440 BC, perhaps in connection with Pericles' extensive construction program in Athens and Attica.  According to scholars, the building was constructed by the same architect who designed the Temple of Hephaistos at the Ancient Agora in Athens.  Both temples featured 6 Doric columns on short sides and 13 on long.   Only 15 columns  are still standing  today.  The columns are unusual because they have only 16 flutes instead of the customary 20.  The smaller number of flutes was supposed to make the temple more resistant to erosion caused by the sea.  In 1810, Lord Byron, who left his mark on European Romanticism, visited Sunio and, impressed by the temple's location and appearance, included its descriptions in some of his poems.  The most famous is a quote from Child Harold's Pilgrimage: "Save where Tritonia's airy shrine adorns / Colonna's cliff, and gleams along the wave..." (Canto II, LXXXVI).  Equally famous is Byron's decision to leave his mark on the north pillar of the naos (ill. 2).  Even though the poet was not the first to leave such a memento, defacing the temple's columns and pillars became  a customary thing to do (ill. 6-8).  Finally, the authorities had to cordon off the marble surfaces to protect them from the tourists.

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© 2000 by Alexander Boguslawski