Poseidon Temple

At the southern tip of Greece's Attic peninsula lies the temple of Poseidon at Sounion Head: the first landfall in the classical city-state of Athens when coming from the south, a temple to the god of the ocean.

Walking the tan dust of the path to the temple, you see first massive columns of white marble rearing the temple epistyle into the sky. Then, as you walk forward, past the columns you see the sea.


The headland that holds the temple is surrounded on three sides by water. Ahead, to the south, you see a scattering of islands, the beginning of the Cyclades. But what impresses you most is not these islands, not the striking temple, but their setting. Water. Water on all sides, deep sapphire blue: the wine-dark sea. The smell of salt. Fishing boats pass, occasionally a freighter, though my companions and I saw surprisingly little shipping when we visited last October.

Enfolded in the Sea

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