User:Melissaac22/Temple of Poseidon, Sounion

Evidence of the establishment of sanctuaries in Sounion can be seen as early as the 11th century B.C. The construction of Sounion’s most prominent temples, the Temple of Athena and the Temple of Poseidon, however, were not believed to have been built until 700 B.C., with the appearance of kouroi, freestanding Greek statues, one hundred years later in 600 B.C. The material and size of these offerings indicate that the Temple of Poseidon was likely frequented by members of the elite and aristocratic class.

To the Greeks, Poseidon was considered to have been the "master of the sea." Given the importance of trade by sea and the significance of their navy in the creation and survival of their nation during the fifth century, Poseidon was of a particular relevance and value to the Athenians.

Geography
Approximately 13 kilometers south of Thorikos in the southern most region of Attica, the deme of Sounion is most well known for its sanctuaries of Poseidon and Athena. Its placement at the foot of Attica allowed it to function as a border deme as it could easily been seen by ships nearing Attica.

Placement
To the Greeks, the placement of sanctuaries often lent itself to the geographical closeness of the space to the particular deity it honored. Peak sanctuaries, for example, were often dedicated to Zeus, the god of the heavens and weather.

According to the authors of Ancient Greece – Temples and Sanctuaries, the decision to build the temple at Sounion is clear given the visibility of the sea lanes to and from Piraeus, which provided the first and final vantage points from which incoming and exiting ships could be seen.

Jessica Paga and Margaret M. Miles argue that the most plausible explanation for the location of the temple was in relation to the increasing strength and prominence of the Athenian navy. Coupled with the ongoing conflict with the islanders of Aegina was the threat of the Boeotians and Chalkidians to Athens in 506/5 BC. The placement of the temple can also be a result of both military and economic strategy. Cape Sounion, the most southern part of Attica, witnessed a lot of mercantile naval traffic and having a presence there could also have served as a method of surveillance for potential enemy attacks. According to archaeologists from the University of Vienna - Institute of Classical Archeology in Vienna, Austria, the degree of access or accessibility of Sounion itself for both the Athenians and members of the cult of Poseidon from other demes remains unclear.

Construction
Secured by its own peribolos, propylaea, and two stoas, the construction of the ancient Temple of Poseidon around 490 BC was likely a large investment made by the state of Athens. Between 508/7 and 480/79 BC Athens is believed to have supported the founding and expansion of several sanctuaries in Attica, including those at Rhamnous, Mounychia in Piraeus, and Eleusis.

Why was the temple built?
A reason why the construction of the temple can be attributed to military strategy and importance. Following the battle with the Persians at Marathon, the Athenians were weak and were vulnerable to a naval strike. Athens at the time faced nearby enemies, like the island of Aigina, that could have taken advantage of Athen's recovering army and attacked by sea. Therefore, Athen's needed a look out and Cape Sounion was the perfect place because anyone traveling by the coast of Attica needed to go around Cape Sounion. So, by constructing the temple right beside the water, it was a military tactic to secure an outpost in a highly trafficked area in order to keep tabs on the movements of their enemies.

Evidence of Cult Activity
The "leveled summit" on the edge of Cape Sounion, as is indicated by literary and archaeological evidence, was likely a cult site from as early as the end of the eighth century BC. Two cult centers, each dedicated to either Athena or Poseidon, were believed to have been developed by 700 BC.

Physical Layout
The Temple of Poseidon at Sounion can be found on the top of a cliff on the Sounion Cape in Greece. The Cape of Sounion can be found on the coast of the Myrtoan Sea in the southern part of Greece. It has been found that the original plan for the temple was to construct 6x12 columns rather than the 6x13 columns that we find at the temple today, which was discovered by German archaeologist Wilhelm Dorpfeld. At the temple, it can be seen that there are large stretches of the paintings on the temple were preserved from erosion on the marble. The parts that did suffer erosion still have remnants of the outline of the art that once covered the surface. Excluding the corner blocks, each side of the temple was composed of twenty-three intermediate blocks.

Materials
There are many materials that went into the construction of the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion. The main temple we see today is mainly made out of marble with an intricate taenia (the fancy borders on the ceiling). The marble is an Agrileza marble. The marble used on the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion came from the marble quarries, a place where marble is removed from the earth, in the Agrileza mines. This type of marble was 'coarsed grained' meaning that it had a rougher texture than smooth, shiny marble. What makes the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion so interesting is that it was built on top of another old temple. The materials that the older temple was made out of was limestone rock, which was also integrated into the structure of the current remains of the temple. This was discovered in 1884 by German archeologist Wilhelm Dorpfeld. Dorpfeld found that the new temple, considered Classical, was built on top of another temple from a different time period regarded as the Archaic period. When building the new temple on top of the old, the marble was laid on top of the old limestone crepidoma, in a way that enveloped it. The Archaic period dates back to 800 BCE to 650 BCE a period of time that began after the Persians left Greece. The classical period dates from 480-323 BCE.

Ceiling
American architectural historian William Dinsmoor argues that the marble ceilings of the flanks of the temple are rare in the design of Greek temples. Of the slot type they presented having marble beams wider than the slots. The holes formed by this design were then enveloped by two thin slabs of marble. Similar to the architecture of the Hephaisteion, the temple of Hephaestus, the ceilings of the porches including those behind the end colonnades were of the coffer type and normal beam.

Crepidoma
Two euthynteria blocks of the archaic temple remain somewhat visible and in situ lying beneath the southeast corner of the modern version of the temple. Their overall dimensions are difficult to determine given the overlap between modern limestone and ancient marble. There are visible indentations, however, from what were likely close-tined claw-tooth chisels. With nineteen individual step blocks along the east and south sides of the temple, these blocks remain distinguishable by the consistency in length, height, lifting bosses, and chamfered edges. Several of these blocks appear discolored, providing a potential indication of burning.

The Colonnades
At least forty-one column limestone drums have been identified. Several of these drums contain cuttings that are diverse in their depth and size, ranging from 0.065-0.075m per side. At least one third of the column drums possess an articulated band that were likely used to properly arrange and align the drums into the correct placement or order within the column shaft.

Excavations by Valerios Stais
Executed between 1897 and 1915, Valerios Stais’ excavations of the Temple of Poseidon and the Temple of Athena at Sounion were, and continue to remain, the most elaborate and thorough excavations of these sights. As a result of his excavation, Stais uncovered a significant array of pottery, which included terracotta relief and painted plaques, small, terracotta sculptures, seals, scarabs, faience amulets, and metal objects that were likely remnants of jewelry or weapons. Stais also uncovered inscriptions that offered greater insight into who the temples were built for, falsifying Pausanias’ claim that the temple on the cliff was dedicated to the goddess Athena, rather than the god Poseidon. In his excavations of both the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion and the Temple of Athena at Sounion, Stais found large pits (bothros) filled with fragments of marble sculptures and remnants of votive offerings, leading him to believe that these remains came as a result of the destruction of both temples by the Persians in 479.

At the temple of Poseidon at Sounion, there are many remnants of pottery and handmade ceramics. It has been observed that there are many handmade votives and made remarkable observations about the gendered figurines. Many terracotta artifacts have been found at the sanctuary. Votives in ancient Greece were a symbol and a representation that one visited and was present at the temple. The votives served as an offering to the god to whom the temple was dedicated. For example, three votives that are worth noting are the three plaques found at the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion. A notable remnant found at the temple are three plaques that each depict different images. One is of a god, it is believed that the figure on this plaque is a god because the figure on it has wings. Another plaque has an image of a piece of clothing called a chiton that was used by both men in women during that time period. This second plaque however does not show the entire figure, so it is unknown if it if male or female because only the lower half is depicted. The last one is the image of a male and it is believed that it due to the characteristics of the man, he was a chariot driver (charioteer).

Bothros
Of particular significance of the bothros he uncovered was in 1907, just outside the old polygonal wall at the south-east corner of the sanctuary. Inside the bothros were a variety of offerings including scarabs and seals, terracotta relief plaques, pottery, and faience figurines, the majority of which could be date to the late eighth to the early fifth centuries BC.

The most significant of these offerings is the intricate metalwork. Consisting of twenty four copper based artifacts found not too far from the Laurion mines, it is very possible that several of these objects were produced locally. These artifacts include a human figurine depicting that of a warrior god from the east with two spiral rings from the eighth century BC, the sculpture of bull from the mid-seventh century, and a cylinder shaped bead, six functional arrowheads, seven plain-finger rings, a pair of tweezers and a nail cap, one ex-voto double axe, and one ex-voto spearhead all from the seventh-sixth centuries BC.

Zoomorphic Figurines
Zoomorphic figurines also compose a large portion of the offerings uncovered in the bothros. At least two thirds of those found are chariot groups and horses with and without a rider. The remaining third of figurines includes bovines, goats, rams, a dove, and a dog.

Archaic Temple
In 1884, Wilhelm Dörpfeld conducted a systematic excavation of the area surrounding the Temple of Poseidon. Of his most significant findings, Dörpfeld uncovered the remnants of a previous Archaic limestone temple beneath the modern Temple of Poseidon. This led Dörpfeld to argue that the previous temple had been demolished by the Persians in 480/479 BC, thereby providing explanations for the archaic temple’s unfluted columns, lack of a roof, and evidence of a tremendous fire. During his excavations, Valerios Stais uncovered part of the inner foundation that likely supported an interior colonnade of the previous temple. According to archaeologists Jessica Paga and Margaret M. Miles, although not complete in its construction at the time of its demise, this archaic temple possessed measurements (ca. 13.06 x 30.20 m.) that are consistent with today's temple. The Archaic temple, before its destruction, is likely to have been considerably close to being completed. Archaeologists have found that the Archaic temple may have had at least its walls up before it was destroyed. The construction is believed to have reached to geison-level, and possibly have been partially roofed with just the wooden structure. It is very likely that the Archaic temple's peristyle was as tall as the geison and columns of the current temple. The Archaic temple and modern temple share very similar features and dimensions. However, the modern temple was constructed just slightly large enough to cover the crepidoma of the old temple. The crepidoma is the slightly raised structure at the base of a Greek temple, which are considered as the steps that lead into the temple. Based upon its architectural style, this earlier temple was likely constructed sometime around the first quarter of the 5th century.

Demise
Some archaeologists have argued that disaster struck the Archaic temple, the date of which is unknown. Staїs, for example, theorizes that the temple’s collapse could have been due to the strength of high winds or by an earthquake. Based upon the architectural style of the remains, archaeologists argue that the archaic temple was built around 500 BC. It is worth noting that the construction of such an extravagant building likely required the receiving of funds and administrative support from central Athens. Given the evidence of advanced organizations dedicated to administration and finances, Athens was likely capable of supporting the construction of these temples.

Visiting and Tourist Accessibility
According to the Ministry of Culture and Sports, the sanctuary is open to visitors during the winter and summer seasons, from 9:30 am to sunset. Free admission days include the sixth of March (to remember and honor Melina Mercouri), International Monuments Day (April 18th), International Museums Day (May 18th), the last weekend of September every year, October 28th, and the first Sunday of the month beginning November 1st to March 31st. The full price of admission is generally €10 and the reduced rate is usually €5. The sanctuary is closed on March 25th in celebration of Greek Independence Day.