Today, we visited Cape Sounio to see the Temple of Poseidon. It was a gorgeous site, but on such an amazingly hot day, we stayed just long enough for me to snap pictures and then we happily hopped back into the air conditioned Jeep. Since I personally knew nothing about the Temple of Poseidon before today, this is what my little guide book said:
Cape Sounio, on the southern tip of Attica, was a landmark for boats sailing between Pireas and the islands for centuries. On its tip stands the captivating fifth-century B.C. Temple of Poseidon, built in the time of Pericles as part of a major sanctuary to the sea god.
The temple owes much of its fame to Lord Byron, who visited in 1810 and immortalized the place in verse:
Place me on Sunium’s marbled steep,
Where nothing, save the waves and I,
May hear our mutural murmurs sweep;
There, swan-like, let me sing and die,
A land of slaves shall ne’er be mine –
Dash down yon cup of Samian wine!
Here, here Lord Byron. I’ll drink a glass of Greek wine to the beauty of Poseidon’s Temple. Oh and here are the incredibly practical shoes that I chose to wear while climbing slippery marble. Brilliant, huh?
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