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Temple of Poseidon, Cape Sounion

Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon

Temple of Poseidon, Cape Sounion

A craggy headland looking out over the Aegean Sea, Cape Sounion is capped by the white-marble Temple of Poseidon. With private transport from your Athens hotel and an expert guide to explain the history and significance of the site, you’ll get a good understanding of Greek myths and legends as well as building techniques of the time on this private, five-hour tour. Your guide will help you understand how and why the site was chosen, its spiritual and logistical importance and how the ancient Greeks used this grand temple surrounded on three sides by water.

Your private driver will pick you up from your Athens hotel at the start of the tour and take you to Cape Sounion at the tip of the Attic Peninsula, a drive of an hour to an hour and a half.

You’ll drive south along the coast to the town of Cape Sounion, where the stately Doric columns of the ancient Temple of Poseidon look out onto the sea.

Here, you’ll meet your private guide to tour the temple, which is dedicated to the god of the sea. Your guide will reveal the history of the structure, which is built in marble and dates to the 5th-century BC, as well as relaying the importance of the Doric style.

You’ll hear how the temple features in Greek mythology, what it meant to ancient mariners, and the impression it left on British romantic poet Lord Byron.

The temple towers above the sea and offers panoramic, far-reaching views across the Saronic Bay. Your guide will point out the islands in the bay as well as the isle of Kea and the Peloponnese visible in the distance.

After touring the temple, your driver will pick you up and take you down to the nearby beachfront. There’s a traditional taverna where you can enjoy lunch with a view out over the sea and up toward the temple.

After lunch, your driver will take you back to Athens.

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