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Cape Sounion Private Tour

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A scenic drive along the scenic coastal road of the Saronic Gulf passing through some of Athens most beautiful beach towns (Glyfada, Voula, Vouliagmeni, Varkiza). In Cape Sounion you will visit the 5th century B.C Temple of Poseidon with one of the most breathtaking panoramic views in the world (on a clear day you can see at least seven islands) and you will have lunch or dinner by the sea.

The ancitn peri-style temple of Poseidon, standing some 60m/200 feet above the sea at the edge of a cliff on Cape Sounion, in one of the most breathtaking and deeply moving sites in all of Greece. And Greece has many of them. The temple is an hour’s drive from central Athens and both the site itself and the route leading to it are worth every minute of the drive.

The road runs along the Saronic coast and from the window of your car or bus you can enjoy the endless and brilliant blue sea. If you are traveling by car make sure you stop for a breath of sea-scented air and a walk on the beach. You will also find many coffee shops, fresh fish tavernas and ouzeri along the way.

The promontory of Sounion is the southernmost tip of Attica. Here, on the windswept bluff rising above the Aegean Sea, stands the temple of Poseidon, one of the most impressive classical monuments to have survived to the present day. It was built shortly after the middle of the 5th century B.C. during the same period that saw the beginning of work on the great monuments on the Athenian acropolis.

Although it is today in ruins it still dominates the surrounding countryside from its site on the highest point of the region. Quite close by there is also the sanctuary of the goddess Athena.

Sounion receives today countless visitors from every part of the world. There are now two roads linking Sounion with Athens, which means that the trip can be made swiftly and in comfort, and that it is possible to take a different route on the return journey and thus see two entirely different facets of the Attic countryside.

Temple of Poseidon: At the end of the Archaic period an imposing temple was constructed in the position of the Classical one seen today, but it was slightly smaller in dimensions. It was Doric, made of poros, with an external colonnade of 6 x 13 columns, and an internal one which supported the roof. Its construction was interrupted by the Persian invasion and the temple remained unfinished. The later temple, the one preserved today, was also Doric, with 6 x 13 columns, made of Agrileza marble, but without an internal colonnade. The stylobate measured 13,47 x 31,12 m. It was constructed in 450-440 B.C. and, according to another theory, was the work of the architect who had also built the Hephaisteion ("Theseion") in the Ancient Agora of Athens, the Temple of Nemesis at Rhamnous, and the Temple of Ares which was probably erected in Acharnes. The sculptural decoration of the temple, made of Parian marble, is preserved in a poor condition. The frieze of the east side depicted Centauromachy, and the east pediment (of which only a seated female figure is preserved) probably depicted the fight between Poseidon and Athena for the domination of Attica. The two antae of the east side and several of the columns of the east part of the temple are still preserved today, while the west is completely destroyed.

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