Temple of Poseidon and sunsets over the sea, Greece

The Temple of Poseidon stands at the highest point of Cape Sounion, the southern tip of Attica, about 70 km south-east of Athens. The Doric marble temple was built around 444–440 BC on the ruins of an earlier temple destroyed by the Persians, and 15 of its original 34 columns still stand. Sailors used it as a landmark for centuries and called the cape Kavokolones, the Cape of Columns.

According to myth, King Aegeus of Athens threw himself into the sea from these cliffs when he saw his son Theseus’s ship returning from Crete with a black sail, and the Aegean was named after him. Homer mentions Sounion as a sacred place in the Odyssey. A name carved into the base of one column is attributed to Lord Byron, who visited Sounion in 1810–11. In antiquity the cape also guarded the sea route to Piraeus and the silver mines of Lavrio.

Visitor Information

A ticket costs €20 (reduced €10) and can also be booked online at the official Hellenic Heritage ticket store. The site is open every day from 09:30 until sunset all year, with last entry 20 minutes before closing, and is closed on 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter Sunday and 25–26 December. Entry is free on 6 March, 18 April, 18 May, the last weekend of September, 28 October, and the first and third Sundays of each month from November to March.

Sunset is the most popular time, and in summer the site gets crowded an hour or more beforehand, so arrive early to walk around the temple while the light is soft. The hilltop has little shade, and there are beaches and fish tavernas in the bay below the cape.

By car, the coast road along the Athens Riviera takes about 1.5 hours from central Athens. KTEL Attikis buses leave from Pedion tou Areos and take about two hours along the coast. Half-day sunset tours from Athens are also widely available.