Guides: No 41

© 1979
ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECEIPTS FUND
17, Phil ellino n Str., Ath ens Sounion
Acknowledgements Costis Davaras
The author is deeply gratefu I to Dr. H. W.
Catling, Director of the British School at
Athens , for kindly reading and correcting
his English text. He also thanks Mr. A. Deli-
vorrias for his permission to use the plan of
the restored frieze, Mr; K. lliakis for th e
drawings of the capital and the acroterion,
and, for their help with the plans, Mr. B.
Ginopoulos (Fig. 3) and Mr. N. Vlachos
(Figs. 6, 8-9, 12, 25).

SOUNION
Editor : Kate Ninou
Assistant Editor : Lou la Kypraiou ARCHAEOLOGICAL GUIDE
Typograp hical corrections: D. Zafiropoulou

Cover design and lay-out : Lucy Braggiotti

Photographs : Ma kis Skiadaressis

Aerial photographs: Nikos Kontos GENERAL DIRECTION OF ANTIQUITIES AND RESTORATION
Contents

Historical Notes 12

The Cult 18

Topographical Notes
General Description 20
The Fortress 21
The Temenos and the Temple of Poseidon 28
The Temenos of Athena Sounias 51

The Finds 62

Glossary 73

Bibliography 77 Fig. 1. Aerial photograph ol the Sounion coast.

Fig. 2 . The Temple of Poseidon from the north west.
 B

-ab-

Fig. 3. Topographical plan of the Sounion area : 1. Temenos of~

Athena Sounias, 2. Eastern hill, 3 . Tourist pavilion, 4 . Temenos of
Poseidon, 5. Fortress, 6 . Shipsheds, 7. Beach, 8. Road from Athens,
9 . Road to Laurion - Thoricos - Athens . .
 Historical Notes
An imposing crag, about 60 m . high, with sheer
slopes dropping to the sea - this is the tip
of the headland that Attica thrusts into the
Aegean Sea at her southeastern extremity. The
Sanctuary of Poseidon is built on the wide
level area at the top of this rock, indeed on
the most approp riate site in all Attica for the
sanctuary of the great god of the sea ( F i gs.
1 - 4) .
Sounion is known in Greek history from the
earliest times. Homer was first to mention it
(Odyssey, y 278), referring to it as " holy" , in
this way revealing that even then Sounion was
a place of worship . According to Homer Mene-
laos buried his helmsman Phrontis in Sounion,
who was killed by the arrows of Apollo . It was
from here that Leto, persecuted by her jealous
rival Hera, fled to the island of Delos when
she was about to give birth to Apollo .
Excavation finds reveal that the area was in -
habited from prehistoric times . However, the
life of the sanctuary seems to begin in the
Geometric period and develop during the 7th
century 8 .C. Around 600 8 .C., a number of
colossal kouroi * statues were erected in the
open-air Temenos of Poseidon . These kouroi
are among the earliest examples of their kind
in Greek art ; one of them was recovered nearly
* When first appearing in th e t ext, word s in italics
are bri efl y ex pl ain ed in th'e · Glo ssa ry on pag e 73 ff.
12
intact along with fragments of the others. At
the same time, Athena Sounias was also wor-
shipped at another open-air temenos situated
on a neighbouring lower hill. This Temenos of
Athena is surrounded by a small peribolos,
which is perhaps the oldest structure in the
whole area . A small temple was also built
there around the beginning or the middle of
the 6th century 8 .C.
Construction of the poros Temple of Poseidon
started at the beginning of the next century,
sometime before 490 8 .C. A propy!on made
of poros was also being constructed at the
same time in order to erect a monumental
entrance to the temple of the god of the sea,
whose worship became ever more important
as the naval power of Athens grew. However,
the temple was never completed , 'because it
was seriously damaged by the Persians who
invaded Attica in 480 B.C. , just before the
naval battle of Salamis. The same fate was
also in store for the ,Temple of Athena and
the ancient Parthenon on the Acropolis of
Athens. A small temporary temple for the needs
of worship was built in later years close to
the ruins of the Temple of Poseidon. That
crude small temple was preserved until c. 444
B.C., when the Athenians - masters of the
sea by then - erected a magnificent new
marble temple to the god of the sea on the
site of the old temple . A few years before that
they had also built a new and larger temple
to Athena near the old temple of their patron
goddess.
Before the naval battle of Salamis, at the
suggestion of the Athenians, the fugitive dem-
13
ocrats of Aegina under Nicodromos settled
in Sounion from where they carried on their
guerilla war against the oligarchic government
of their island .

A significant milestone in the history of Sou-

nion was the Peloponnesian War. According to ·
Thucydides, when the Spartans took Dekeleia
and severed communications between Athens
and the Euboean Gulf via Oropos, the Atheni-
ans built, in the year 412 B.C., a very strong
fortress on the rock of Sounion to secure the
passage of their grain ships. Indeed, the choice
of Sounion is a perfect one for a fortress,
because this point controls the entrance to
the Saronic Gulf and the southern Euboean
Gulf, at the same time protecting the whole
of southern Attica and above all the valuable
silver mines of Laurion nearby. As witnessed
by the inscriptions which have been discovered
in the area, the commander of the fortress
was a general ·" on a service term", who not
only commanded the garrison of those "con-
scripted for Sounion " (oTpmeuoµevwv foi
:rouvf4,1), but also l.ooked after supplies and
the maintenance of the wall. We are also told
that the garrison would frequently honour the
general by dedicating to him honorary decrees
and offering him golden wreaths.

In addition to being an important sanctuary

and fortress, Sounion was also a deme of
Athens (c5fjµo<; Louv1ewv), and according
to Strabo it was considered a most eminent
township . The Sounion area originally be-
longed to the Leontis tribe, but in 200 B.C.
it passed to the Attalis tribe . The importance Fig. 4 . The Temple of Poseidon from the southeast.

14
of the area is also shown by the existence of
a mint mentioned in various sources.
The fortress has a chequered wartime his-
tory. In 322 B.C. it was probably manned by
a Macedonian garrison, which was expelled
in 307 B.C. by Demetrios Poliorketes (the
Besieger). In 263 B.C ., after the Chremonidean
War, the Athenians put up a stout resistance
against the attacks of the Macedonian king
Antigonos Gonatas, but in the end the fortress
fell , along with the fortresses of Piraeus, Sal-
amis and Mounychia, and a Macedonian gar-
rison was reinstalled. The Athenians only re-
gained the fortress in 229 B.C., when Aratos,
the leader of the Achaean League, intervened
and the garrison commander Diogenes sur-
rendered the fortress for the sum of 150 talants.
In 104-100 B.C . the fortress was captured by
a thousand slaves from the Laurion mines who
had revolted following the example of the
slaves of Sicily.
During his travels in the 2nd century AD.,
Pausanias visited Soun ion and he records the
fact in the beginning of his book " Attica" .
However, he only mentions the Temple of
Athena Sounias and he omits the Temple of
Poseidon . A passage may be missing from the
text as we have it, and this created a misun -
derstanding over the Temple of Poseidon which
was later thought to be the Temple of Athena.
The truth was only established after the exca -
vations that were carried out by the Greek
archaeologist Valerios Stais. Colourful but at
the same time entirely out of the question is
Pausanias' assertion that travellers sail ing past
Sounion could see the tip of the spear and
16
the crest on the helmet of the bronze statue
of Athena Promachos, the work of Pheidias,
on the Acropolis of Athens.
The latest ancient writer to mention Sounion
is the geographer Scylax. Thereafter, until the
17th century when the travellers Wheler and
Transfeldt visited the area, Sounion remains
abandoned and nothing is known about it
throughout those centuries. These two travel-
lers were the first of a number of more recent
reliable sources ; they only found 17 columns
standing in the temple . By 1830, when the
Greek State was established, no more than 12
columns we re still standing . Unfortunately,
quite a few pillaged parts of the temple's col-
umns are now in various parks in Germany,
Italy and England .
Minor investigations in the sanctuary were
first conducted by the English Society of Dil -
ettanti (end of the 18th century) and the
Expedition de Moree under Blouet in 1829.
The first real excavation which revealed a
large part of the temple was carried out by
the German Wilhelm Dorpfeld in 1884. From
1897 onwards Va_lerios Stais made systematic
excavations sponsored by the Archaeological
Society. He uncovered the entire Temple of
Poseidon and he also discovered the Temple
of Athena. This corrected the pre-existing idea
about the god who had been worshipped in
the large temple .
In recent years, the Greek Archaeological Ser-
vice has carried out extensive restoration work
on the temple and in other parts of the sanc -
tuary .
17
 The Cult

Poseidon was worshipped at Soun ion; he was

also called locally "Poseidon from Sounion"
or "Poseidon Souniaratos" . Every four years,
while the Minor Panathenaea were being cel -
ebrated in Athens, a naval festival was held
in Sounion complete with trireme races . He-
rodotus mentions that the Athenians would
also participate with one trireme. In addition
to the god of the sea, whose protection was
sought alike by the naval state of Athens and
by travellers doubling the cape through its
rough seas, Athena, the patron goddess of
Athens, was also worshipped at Sounion,
where she was referred to as "Athena Sou-
nias" .

Literary and epigraphic sources mention that

as well as these two main cults, there were
also other secondary cults at Sounion. Zeus
was worshipped there as " Zeus Sounieus" and
" Zeus Meilichios". An inscription refers to
Apollo, and another mentions "Aphrodite Pon-
tia ". A decree records that in 222/ 1 B.C. the
Athenian general Theomnestos built a sanc-
tuary and dedicated a grove to Asklepios .
However, this Asklepieion has not y.et been
found in the excavations. Finally, there was
also a cult of Heracles, and some archaeoloc
gists have suggested that Hermes and the
Dioskouroi were also worshipped at Sounion.
Fig . 5 . The propylon of the Temenos of Poseidon.

18
 Topographical Notes
General Description
Leaving t_he tourist pavilion behind us, we
take the uphill path leading to the fenced area .
We enter at a point where the fortress wall
is destroyed. It seems, however, that the an-
cient entrance was lower down, towards the
northwest and near the sea, a short distance
from where traces of two shipsheds have been
preserved (Fig . 6). Continuing towards the
temple, we pass a large four-sided bastion on
our left. Near it there is a small museum store-
room , closed to the public, housing various
small architectural parts of the two temples,
three grave stelae from the 4th century B.C.
belonging to Artemidoros, Gnome and Kallias,
and the grave loutrophoros of Eschation.
We enter the peribolos of the temenos by the
propylon (Fig . 5) . On our right we pass the
ancient guard-room and two stoas at right
angles to each other, and we then climb to
the high·est point of the plateau where the
Temple of Poseidon stands .
The view from the temple is superb: on the
horizon to the south . is the island of Macro -
nesos, behind which lies Kea (Tzia), the Cyc-
ladic island closest to the mainland; to the
right the eye ranges over the Saronic Gulf with
Aegina in the background and " the Island of
Patroclos" near the coast.
In the area below the sanctuary, between the
20
line of the wall and the sea, were the quarters
of the garrison and of the staff of the sanctuary.
Some of these dwel I ings have been exca-
vated .
On the northern part of the promontory, on
a lower hill 500 m. from the fortress, are the
remains of the Sanctuary of Athena (Fig . 3) .
This sanctuary has two temples within its peri-
bolos, the smaller of which is also the oldest.
The Fortress
The Sounion fortress covers an irregular square
area approximately 350 x 220 m., i.e. an area
of something less than 9 acres, occupying the
western side of the promontory (Fig . 6) . On
the landward side the fortress is defended by
a strong wall fortified by ten towers spaced
at irregular intervals (Fig . 7) . As we hav e al -
ready mentioned, this wall was built in 412
8 .C., during a critical phase of the Pelopon -
nesian War. It is constructed in polygonal
fashion , but to a great extent it is faced with
paras blocks in ashlar masonry ( F i g. 6) .
The actual wall begins at the point where
it abuts on the peribolos of the Temenos of
Poseidon, because at the time when the for-
tress was being built the eastern side of that
peribolos (Fig. 11) was considered strong
enough also to be used as a rampart . Still, it
was strengthened by the addition of Tower I
and by an outer facing which covered the
area between that tower and the wall proper.
Between Towers II and Ill the wall is pierced
by a small gate, which was the only entrance
to the fortress in this whole area, because the
21
wall continues without a break all the way to
Point E near the sea where the main entrance
mu.st have been. This small gate lost its original
function when a large bastion (D) was
erected later on - perhaps during the Mac-
edonian occupation of 263-229 B.C. This
bastion is of n shape with curvilinear corners
and ends abutting on Towers II and Ill. Its
walls are lavishly built - a double row of rec-
tangular marble blocks - and they still stand
about 3 m. high ; they used also to have a
brick superstructure to give them the right
height for defence ( F i g . 1 0) . Later repaired
on the outside with conglomerate blocks, this
bastion en_closes a large inside area with a
paved floor; entrance to it is from the old
small gate . It appears that this area was also
used for other purposes ; the excavator of the
site, Valerios Stais, believes that it served as a
granary and an arsenal, but other archaeolo-
gists think it may have been a mint or a
heroon.

Of the remaining towers of the wall , V and

VI I are of interest: the first because it is the
only one still showing inside the lower founda -
tions of the stairway leading up to its top and
to the rampart walk; the second because, bui It
at the point where the walls form an angle,
it is as big as a bastion and has a facing of
a double row of blocks in ashlar masonry.

After Tower VI II the wall changes appearance,

because it is built in a rough way and without
the outside facing we saw above. It was doubt-
less built like that to save time and money,
since this side of the hill is stronger and offers
sufficient natural protection. The main en-
Fig. 6 . Topographical plan of the fortress and the Teme_n os of Po-
seidon: 1. Walls of polygonal and square blocks supenmposed by
flat stones, 2. Ashlar masonry w alls of paras blocks, 3 .. Marble w alls
in rubble or ashlar masonry, 4 . Ory- stone w alls, 5. Ftllmg of rough
but mainly flat stones (after Mussche ) .

22
Fig. 7. The Temple of Poseidon and part of the fortification .
trance of the fortress seems to have been lo-
cated near Point E where the wall widens con-
siderably. A large building almost abutting at
this point on the interior side of the wall must
have been involved with the entrance - per-
haps a guard-house or a barracks.

Contemporary with Bastion D is another line

of fortifications (Fig . 6, F to H). This is a
wall with three towers (XI , XII and XIII) built
of marble, in a mixture of rubble, ashlar and
isodomic masonry. This new wall runs almost
parallel to the old one providing additional
· .. • ·
protection to this most sensitive point in the
defences of the fortress .

Two earlier sh i p sheds in this area were

also incorporated into this new fortification .
The present remnants of the shipsheds are no Fig . 8 . Restored elevation of the shipsheds (after Kenny) .

more than a deep rectangular cutting ·in the

bedrock, 20.50 m. long and 11 .50 m. wide .
The bed of the cutting slopes towards the sea
at an angle of 15° 50' . Two slipways - i.e.
two long cuttings on the floor of the main
one-, 2.60 m. wide at the surface of the rock
but sloped to 1.15 m. at their bottom, start
from a point 6.50 m. away from the inside
narrow surface of the cutting and run for 21 m.
towards the sea, where they go underwater O•
(Figs. 8-9) . The total depth of these slipways
is · 1 .25 m. Fitted on them was a wooden
structure for protecting the keel and the under -
~------c:=====i)
sides of the ships when hauling the vessels
out of the sea . The two ships kept here were
certainly not large triremes, but smaller craft
used in war emergencies. The big cutting of
a 1
the shipsheds also had a gabled roof.

Starting from the entrance of the fortress, there

Fig . 9 . Plan of the shipsheds (after Kenn y).
26
was a road 4 m. wide cutting across the in-
terior of the fortress and climbing up to the
temenos. To the left and right of that road
excavations brought to light various small
dwellings of three or four rooms each, used
for housing the garrison and the staff of the
sanctuary. The many pilgrims to the temenos
were also given shelter in these dwellings.

Finally, we should note that there was also

a wall on the seaward side, although it was
lower than the main fortifications and did not
have any towers . The excavation of this wall
and on the interior of the fortress has not
yet been completed .

The Temenos and the Temple

of Poseidon

The Temple of Poseidon stands at the highest

point of the plateau, inside a four-sided t em-
e n o s constructed on a site levelled by clear-
ing away the rocks and building a terrace
(Fi g.s. 5-6) . The temenos has its own peri-
bolos whose eastern side (later strengthened,
as already mentioned) was also used as a wall
of the fortress . Built on its original site in po-
lygonal masonry, this side of the wall turns to
right and extends along the bluff _ w here it
forms the southern side of the temenos which
is built in the same way, but running only half
distance, maybe because the missing part has
been destroyed. The northern and western sides
separate the temenos from the interior of the
fortress, and they are made of poros blocks
in ashlar masonry with a marble facing that
is probably later. Fig . 10. The Bastion D.

28
 Entrance to the temenos was from the north
through a p r o p y I o n - a structure with
a monumental fa<;:ade . Only the lower parts of
that building can still be seen today. Built of
poros stones, this propylon had at each end
two Doric in-antis columns supporting the ar-
chitrave and the pedimental roof. Two square
pillars in the middle divided the building across
its breadth. In this way, along with the col-
umns we mentioned before, two stoas were
formed - the outer one being deeper. We
enter the outer stoa by· ascending three steps,
now very dilapidated . The square pillars we
saw, along with the two antae starting from
the side walls, would form three entrances, the
middle one being 2.20 m. wide, while the
width of the two side ones was only 1 .12 m.
The middle entrance was reached by a ramp
of coursed masonry, the highest point of which
resting on the sty/abate of the pillars (Fig. 5).
Wheeled vehicles would have come this
way; their tracks are left on the rock .

When the new Temple of Poseidon was built,

the propylon acquired a new magnificence, be-
cause along with the pillars and the antae its
walls were covered by marble slabs. The only
evidence of this that may be seen today are
traces of the fitting of these slabs over the
poros stone courses of the antae of the pylon
and especially at its eastern corner where the
original dark red stucco coating placed on its
walls before the marble sheathing may still
be seen .

As we enter the temenos, we have a small

room which served as a g u a r d - h o u s e
Fig. 11 . East view of the Temple of Posei don . for the propylon on our right . This guard-house

31
 had as a north wall the wall of the temenos, Fig. 12. Ground plan of the Temple of Poseidon (after Gruben) .
as an east wall the western wall of the prop-
ylon, and as a west wall the eastern wall of
a stoa that we shall see later. Therefore, for
the guard-house to take shape all that was
needed was a wall linking the propylon with
the stoa, with an entrance on its eastern end .
Traces of the original dark red coating of the
poros blocks are still preserved at certain points
in the interior of the guard-house.

The st o a mentioned above was built of

poros and occupies the whole of the remain-
ing length of the temenos' peribolos, which
it actually uses as a northern wall. It is 25 m.
long and 9 m. wide, and it is based on a crep-
B
idoma. The stoa was apparently constructed
after the marble propylon. At the front it had
eight or nine Doric columns ; the corners of
the fa9ade were enclosed within walls which
(\y \
are partially preserved . There was also an in-
side colonnade of six columns without flutes
still carrying traces of a coating. In the opinion
of Valerios Stais who excavated the site, these
columns originally belonged to the colonnades
of the eel/a of the old poros Temple of Po-
seidon. Like all structures of its kind , so com-
mon in densely peopled places like the agorae
of the cities and the great sanctuaries, this
stoa was used to provide some shelter from
the sun and the rain for the innumerable vis-
itors.

Another stoa, smaller (20.80 x 4.50 m.) than

the first one and without an internal colonnade,
was later built beside the western wall of the
temenos and at right angles to the larger stoa.
At the front it had a colonnade with an un-
known number of columns. .o...,1<=o2....,3==>-4- c=
5 ====':;_0----'-='= = = =20M

32
 Fig. 14. The Temple of Poseidon from the southeast.

-,..

Fig. 13. The northeast corner of the Temple of Poseidon from the eel/a.
The Te m p I e o f P o s e i d o n was built
in 444 B.C. to replace the poros temple that
had been destroyed by the Persians. The high
crepidoma of poros courses in ashlar masonry
remains from the old temple and was used as
a foundation also for the new temple, which
was almost totally built of snow-white Agrile-
za marble ( F i g s. 1 4, 16). This type of soft
marble comes from a quarry on the L.avreoti-
kos Olympos, a distance of 4 klm . from the
sanctuary. Since it contains no iron this marble
has the property of maintaining its whiteness
without turning yellowish like Pentelic marble.

The temple (Figs. 12, 15) , 31 .12 m. long and

13.47 m. wide 1 , is a Doric peripteral temple,
i.e. with a colonnade on each side. Specifically,
it has six columns on the short sides and
thirteen columns on the long sides, if we count
the corner columns twice (Fig . 12) . Together,
all the colonnades form the peristasis. The
columns of this temple are 6.12 m. high, and
they have only sixteen flutes instead of the
usual twenty. This was done in order to cope
with the softness of the Agrileza marble, and
at the same time to also temper the high and

1. For those who ma y be interested , ce rtain mea sure-

ments are given below: lower d ia meter of th e co lum ns :
1.10 m. (1 .12 m. for th e corn er column s) ; upper di-
ameter of the columns : 0.79 m.; intercolumniation :
2.522 m. (2.374 m. at th e corn ers); depth of the
pronaos and opisthodomos: 3.41 m .; depth of the
cella: 10.35 m.; width of all three : 6.50 m . ; prob-
abl e width of the thyraion (doorway betw ee n pronaos
and cella ) : 2.64 m. ; height of steps : 0.345 m.
~ - - - ·•--·
(h eight of lower taenia: 0.10 m. ) ; hei ght of wall
courses : 0 .30 m. and 0.60 m., a_lternately. Fig. 15. A x onometric restoration of the Temple of Poseidon (after Plommer) .

36
 Fig . 16. The Temple of Poseidon from the northeast.
slender analogies presented by these Doric
columns (Fig . 22) . Also missing from these
columns is the usual entasis, the very slight
convex curve that starts from the base and
ends at the top of the column. The columns
stand on the stylobate, i.e. the upper of the
three steps surrounding the base of the temple .
It should be also noted that the lower part of
the fai;:ade of these steps had a shallow
recess which was slightly shadowed . This
attempted to create the impression of smaller
structural volumes in the temple .

After the latest restoration works of the Archae-

ological Service, nine out of all the columns
of the peristasis stand today on the southern
flank, another six on the northern flank (Figs.
14, 16). The columns supported the archi-
trave on which rested a frieze with triglyphs
and metopes. Contrary to usual practice, the
metopes were not decorated in a relief, a
feature which we shall see in another part of
the temple.

The main temple is divided into three parts : the

pronaos, the cella and the opisthodomos. The
pronaos and the opisthodomos were of equal
dimensions, and on their respective fai;:ades
they had two columns in-antis. The only parts
which have been preserved are the two antae
and one column in the pronaos (Figs. 13,
16). These two ou_ter areas of the temple were
separated from the cella - housing the cult
statue of the god - by two lateral walls . The
dividing wall of the opisthodomos was closed ,
whereas the respective wall of the pronaos had
a doorway, the thyraion, which was also the
only entrance to the cella. It seems that there

38
 0 41>
M

Fig. 17. Restored frieze over the pronaos of the Temple of Poseidon (after Delivorria

Fig. 18. Slabs from the frieze of the Temple of Poseidon .

 Fig . 19. From the frieze of the Temple of Poseidon; slab No . 8.
were no interior colonnades inside the cella .
The walls of the temple were built in pseudo-
isodomic masonry, i.e. in a variation of ashlar
masonry with alternating high and low courses.

The prodomos was closed by a grille fastened

in cuttings made in the antae and the columns,
and standing on a base on the floor. The base
linked the antae with the columns, and also
the columns among themselves . Only traces
of the joints of the base have been preserved .
Note that the antae are covered by graffiti
scratched by visitors to the temple throughout
_ the ages. An ancient inscription on the southern
anta reads : ONHrlMOr EMNHr0H THr
ALlE/\<t>Hr XPHHHr (Onesimos in memory
of his beloved sister) , while the name of
Lord Byron is carved on the northern anta . Of
course, today any such carving is very strictly
forbidden .

There was a prominent relief decoration on a

frieze over the architrave, which was sup-
ported by the two columns and the antae of
the pronaos. This architrave, and along with
it the frieze, were not contained within the
breadth of the pronaos as is normal in classical
temples; they extended both sides as far as
the peristasis. The same construction is also
found in the Temple of Hephaestos, the so-
called Theseum or Theseion , in Athens. It
should be noted that in the view of most
archaeologists these two temples were built
by the same anonymous architect, who is also
credited with having built the Temple of Ares
in the ancient Agora of Athens near the The-
seum, and the Temple of Nemesis in the deme
of Rhamnus in Attica . The unique feature of

42
 the Temple of Poseidon is the fact that the
frieze also extended over the architrave, on
the inside of the peristasis - and not only to
right and left, but also to the inside of the
fa<;:ade of the temple. In this way the frieze
occupied all four sides of the rectangular
compartment behind the front colonnade
(Fig . 15) .

The s c u I p t u r a I d e c o r a t i o n of the
temple was carved in Parian marble, most likely
by Cycladic artists. Fourteen slabs (0.82 m.
high, but of varying widths) have been pre-
served from the frieze mentioned above. Un-
fortunately, all these slabs are very badly
damaged ; they are now kept in a small shed
near the propylon (Fig. 18) . The entire frieze
depicted scenes from the Battle of Centaurs
(Fig . 17) , the Battle of Giants and the La-
bours of Theseus. Despite their bad condition ,
it is worth describing these slabs briefly:

1. Slab No. 8: shows the galloping horses

of a quadriga (Fig . 19). The reins were made
of bronze straps fastened on small open ings
which can still be seen. Traces of paint are
seen at certain spots. It is not clear to which
of the sculptural groups this slab belongs.

The slabs that follow are from the Battle of

the Centaurs :

2. Slab No. 4 : very badly damaged ; the Cen -

taur seems to be raising an uprooted tree over
his head in both hands.

3. Slab No. 3 : a striding Lapith attacks a

Centaur from _b ehind, perhaps grasping him
by the hair. The nude Lapith 's chlamys hangs
from his left arm. Fig 20 Female figure from the pediment of the TempC/e oNf Po3se4i1d0o)n
· · (Nat. Mus. at. o. .

44
4 . Slab No. 2 : two Centaurs are trying to
batter the Thessalian hero Caeneus with tree
trunks or poles, but to no avail because Earth,
the hero's mother, is receiving him inside her
and so the hero is already buried up to the
waist .

5. Slab No. 11 : this scene is obscure, because

the slab has been damaged very badly.

6. Slab No. 13: the only scene preserved

from the Labours of Theseus. It depicts the
killing of the gigantic wild boar of Crommyon.

The remaining slabs are from the Battle of the

Giants:

7. Slab No. 7 : Athena spears a Giant (who

vainly tries to defend himself) grasping him
by the hair with her left hand .

8. Slab No. 10: Artemis fires her bow at a

nude Giant who raises a weapon with both
hands. Between them there is an unidentified
figure - probably a wounded Giant.

9. Unnumbered slab : depicts a bearded Giant

who falls on his shield, dying. He is wearing
a Corinthian type helmet originally fitted with
a metal crest. Unfortunately, the crest was
not found.

10. Slab No . 1 : depicts a male figure - maybe

a Giant, or Ares, or Theseus.

Archaeological research has recently located

various fragments belonging to the figures on
the frieze, and this has permitted a better as- Fig. 21 . Marble acroterion from the pediment of the Temple of Poseidon
(Nat. Mus . Cat. No. 1112) .
sessment of the idiosyncrasies of the island

46
 . 22 ' Part of the south colonnade of the Temple of Poseidon.
F,g.
style that characterizes these reliefs. Thanks to
these newly discovered fragments, it has been
possible to perceive a connection among some
other reliefs of uncertain origin, which are pre -
served in the store-rooms of the National Ar-
chaeological Mu~eurn of Athens . Among these
reliefs there is also one which had been con-
sidered as coming from the metopes of the
poros temple. On this new evidence, a different
restoration of the Battle of Centaurs is now
being attempted placing the scene of that battle
either over the architrave of the pronaos, or
in the exactly opposite position .

Out of the entire sculptural decoration of the

two pediments of the temple - depicting un-
known scenes - only the figure of a seated
female has been preserved and is now kept
in the National Archaeological Museum (Fig.
20) . Maybe a nymph, today this figure stands
mutilated, headless and armless ; she is wearing
a pep/as with soft folds, open at the right side.
The style is still somewhat severe and does
not display the maturity of the sculptures of
the Parthenon . New fragments of exceptional
artistic distinction have also been discovered
recently, including a head of Athena .

The crown of each pediment was decorated

by a high acroterion in the shape of an anthe -
mion . Only one of these acroteria has been
preserved ( Back Cover and Fig . 21 ) . It is made
of Parian marble, considered to be among the
best of its kind, and is now in the Nation-
al Archaeological Museum (Catalogue No.
1112).

The construction of the o Id po r o s t em-

p I e, destroyed by the Persians in 480 B.C. ,

, .48
 had started only a few years before its de- The Temenos of Athena Sounias
struction and was never completed. In es-
sence, its design and dimensions 2 were the
same as those of the new temple . It is very If we follow the road leading down from the
doubtful whether it had a double interior col- tourist pavilion for some 400 m. we come
onnade. What survives today from this temple to a low hill on our right . The Temenos of
are parts of the crepidoma that supports the Athena Sounias lies on the top of this hill
marble temple too, which was shifted some- ( F i g. 3) . This is an older temenos than
what to the west thus leaving the eastern that of Poseidon . It has a surface area of 350
section of the crepidoma uncovered . Also sq . m ., and it is delimited by a polygonal peri-
preserved are column drums and other archi- bolos of limestone blocks probably contem-
tectural members, which were re-used in later porary with the small Temple of Athena . Traces
constructions, as in the stoa of the temenos
and in a small temporary temple with walls of
simple stone construction . The small temple
was erected for the needs of the cult near the
southern flank of the temple, maybe to house
temporarily the cult statue of Poseidon - ap- Fig . 23. Topographical plan of the Temenos of Athena Sounias (after Orlandos).
parently spared from the destruction - until
the new temple was built.

2 . Stylobate : 30.20 x 13.06 m.; lower diameter of

th e columns : 0.98 m. ( 1 m. at the corner columns) ;
intercolumniation : 2.449 m. (2.306 m. at the corn ers).

50
0 10
of the peribolos have been preserved only on
the south and west sides. On the east side
there are still some traces of a more recent
ashlar-built wall of poros blocks, which had
replaced the older polygonal wall at this point.
Halfway along its length, this second wall still
retains remnants of an uphill access connecting
the sanctuary with the road that leads to a
small harbour to the east. Traces of shipsheds
are also to be found in this area .

The northern side of the polygonal wall meets

an irregular round peribolos of large loose
blocks occupying the northern side of the hill.
Inside that peribolos there was an ancient
sanctuary, probably without any buildings
since no traces of any structures were found
during the excavations (Fig. 23) .

Inside the first peribolos there were two tem-

ples of Athena Sounias - an older small one
and a more recent larger one (rig . 23) which
replaced the first temple. Only the founda-
tions of these temples have been preserved .

The small temple was built in the years 600-

550 B.C. It is a simple rectangular prostyle cella
(Fig . 24), i.e. with two columns i n the front.
The columns of the cella were Doric. Only
their square foundations have been preserved .
A capital found nearby may have belonged
to these columns . The cella had an external
length of 6 .80 m . and a breadth of 5 m ., and
its rough foundations were built of unworked
I
stones and mortar. The · walls had an outer 0
;
and inner plaster rendering painted red on the
interior. The floor was mortar-paved with a
solid coating of plaster and coarse sand . The

52 Fig . 24. Ground plan of the small Temple of Athena Sounias as i t 5tands t oda y ( after Orlandos) .
 roof of the temple was made of wood, and
the fragments of the entab!ature that have
been found show it had a coating of clay and
painted decoration. The pedestal of the cult
statue of Athena is still in place at the far
end of the cella . Made of two pieces of blue-
black stone joined together, this pedestal is

I
.
0.40 m. high, 1.33 m. wide and 1.08 m. long.
At its upper front it has a tormos, i.e. a recess . ·.
where the plinth of the statue was fitted. The
statue is lost, but we know from the shape
of the tormos that its left leg was extended.

A small sacrificial altar was also found in front

of the temple.

After the destruction of this temple by the

Persians, the Athenians decided to build a
new and larger temple, perhaps c. 470 B.C.
or later. They brought down the debris of the
old temple and used it as material for levelling
the space in front of the new temple nearby.

0 2 3 4 5 10 15 M
The design and the wall construction of the
new temple (Fig. 25) were the same as those
of the old one, but the dimensions were ap-
proximately double (16 .40 x 11.60 m.) 3 . Still
preserved at this point are also ·s ome ortho-
states, i.e. the bottom courses of the wall . At
the far end of the cella a floor of marble slabs
·supported the statue of the goddess. This

3. We note certain more accurate measurements than

those on the plan : length of cella: 16.40 m.; breadth
of cella: 11.60 m. ; east wing :_ 14.62 m. long and 2.94
m. wide ; south wing: 19.18 m. long and 3.18 m.
wide; total length of the western side of the temple :
14.84 m.
Fig . 25 . Restored ground plan of the large Temple of Athena Sounias.

54
 Fig . 27. Marble capital from the Temple of Athena Sounias
(Nat. Mus . Cat. No. 4479) .

Fig. 26. Restoration of the marble capital from the Temple of Athena Sounias.
 section was isolated from the rest of the cella , Fig: 28. Restored front elevation of the Temple of Athena Sounias (af ter Orlandos).
by a metal grille, but only traces of the setting
for that grille have been preserved .

Before the middle of the 5th century B.C.,

the temple was embellished by the addition
of two Ionic colonnades on two of its sides :
the eastern one and, contrary to what was
prescribed by normal design, to the adjoining
southern flank instead of the side facing west.
It was only after the excavation of the temple
that we were able to understand what the
Roman author Vitruvius had meant when
writing about the irregular design of this
temple : "All that were supposed to be at
the fronts were transferred to the sides" 4 .
The addition of the colonnades necessitated
the extension of the wooden pedimental roof.
But this also called for two columns to be
placed in the interior of the cella to support
the central beam of the roof, plus another
two columns not for static support but for
the sake of symmetry (Fig . 25) . Th is way
we have a tetrastyle interior, probably Ionic,
supported on square marble plinths only one
of which is preserved along with the very
lowest foundations of the other columns in
their respective positions.
--
- . -

Archaeologists conclude that this hemiperip- 1

teros temple had ten columns on the eastern I

I
side (F i g. 28), twelve on the southern flank I:
and one each between the respective north-
eastern and southwestern antae and each of
II
!I

4 . " Omni a qu ae so lent esse in fro ntibu s ad latera sunt

tran slata" (V itru v iu s, IV. 8 ) . @
58
 their corner columns . The foundations of the
crepidoma were of paras, while the stylobate
- although not preserved - must have been
of marble like the columns . These columns
were Ionic. Indeed, this is the first time that
this order was used in Attica. The capitals
of the columns were decorated with a lesbian
cymation in between the helices (Figs . 26-
27) . Of course, the architrave was also made
of marble, and following the archaic tradition
it was level without any taeniae . It seems that
there was a marble pediment only on the
eastern front side of the temple, but it is
unlikely to have had sculptural decorations.

In front of the southern flank of the temple

there are still the remains of the sacrificial
altar. It is assumed that this altar was not
placed on the eastern side, wh ere it should
normally have been, because of the lack of
space.

A pit was found at the southeastern end of

the sanctuary with fifteen steps I eading down
15 m. to an artificial cave. This pit was used
as a deposit for the numerous dedications in
the sanctuary as they became redundant to
make room for new offerings. Clay figurines,
weapons - mainly swords - and hundreds
of intact pottery vessels were found at the
bottom of the pit.

F~. - 29 . Votive marble relief of youth cro wning himself

4)
(Nat. Mus. Cat. No . 334 .
60
The Finds

Apart from a very few prehistoric finds like

Early Helladic sherds and two Cycladic figu-
rines, the oldest finds of the excavations be -
long to the Geometric period . We have many
finds from the next centuries - the 7th and
the 6th (Figs. 32 - 37). Among these are sev-
eral archaic seals, as well as Egyptian scarabs
mainly from the 26th Dynasty- a fact indi-
cating a close connection with Egypt.

In the fill that was formed after levelling the

area for the Temenos of Poseidon, excavations
revealed two colossal kouroi and fragments
of two or three other statues which are now
in the National Archaeological Museum. These
two kouroi are among the first of their series
- which lasts throughout the 6th century
8 .C. - and they must have been made either
at the beginning of that century or at the end
of the preceding 7th century. A votive statue
in a strictly prescribed p attern, the kouros
showed a youth , always nude, with long well-
tended hair, broad shoulders and a narrow
waist, with a symmetry in all th e parts and
a somewhat rigid appearance . However, this
immobility and frontality are only a matter of
superficial impression . The extended arms are
held stiffly close to the body with fists to the
thighs. The left foot is slightly extended in

Fig . 3 0 . The Sounion kouro s ~

62 (Nat. Mus . Cat. No . 272 0 ) V
front . The shape of the figure as a whole
Fig . 31 . The Sounion kouros (Nat. Mus . Cat. No . 3645) .
reveals the four separate sides of the rectan -
gular marble block out of which the statue
was carved . As Gisela Richter put it, the ideal
of that age was not realism, but the simplified
conception of the human form in a harmonic
and standard construction where the essen -
tial parts are emphasized and generalized into
expressive designs.

The more important kouros of the two ( Na-

tional Museum Catalogue No . 2720) (F .i g . 30)
is 3.05 m. high and has a few restorations to
the body and the face . The head is cub ic,
the eyes are large and almond-shaped with
painted iris. The ears are large, flat and styl-
ized, and they resemble the helices of an
Ionic column capital. The expression of the
face is austere. The hair rolls down on the
back in fourteen tresses, divided vertically and
horizontally and tied with a band wh ich is
double in the front and encloses a row of
spiral curls, while on the back it is t ied in
reef knot with forked ends hanging . The nip-
ples on the chest are surrounded by carved
spoked lines, and this is also seen on the
second kouros (National Museum Catalogue
No. 3645) of which only the torso survives
(Fig . 31).

A remarkable marble relief .w as found in the

area of the Sanctuary of Athena . It is the
well-known figure of a nude youth crown ing
himself with a wreath (National Museum Cat-
alogue No. 3344) (Front Cover and Fig . 29) .
The wreath was not recovered , but it was
made separately of gold or bronze and at -
tached to a series of dowel-holes still seen

64
 below the hairband. The body of the youth has
an admirable plasticity. The relief was made c.
470 B.C., but it retains some archaic charac-
teristics . It is believed to have been a votive
offering dedicated to the goddess by a win-
ner in games held locally.

Quite a few other finds also come from this

same fill. Two of the most important are a
small lead kouros (Fig . 34) made in a mould,
and the head of an archaic maicien (Fig . 35) q •
i r,•,&.)1 I I I
I I I A A I I I
•
a I
I I I I I 1
I "
1
1
It
1, 1
carved in Parian marble. I I•

Of the other finds from the area , mention must

be made of an early votive clay tablet de-
picting a ship and warriors (Fig . 36) , as
well as a series of small votive bronze shields.

Figs . 32-33. Corinthian vas-

es from the Temenos of
Athena Sounias (Nat. Mus.
Cat. No . 14933).

66
/
 Fig . 35. Head of an archaic maiden (Nat. Mus. Cat. No . 3446).
Fig. 34. Small lead kouros (Nat. Mus. Cat. No . 14930) .
Fig. 36. Votive clay tablet with ship and w arriors
(Nat. Mus. Cat. No. 14935) .

.,. Fig. 37. Plastic vase in the shape of the head of a warrior, from the Temenos
of Athena Sounias (Nat. Mus . Cat. No . 14936).
 Glossary

Acroterion (pl. acroteria) : The ornaments at the lower angles or crown

of a pediment.

Agora (pl. agorae) : Open market-place and place of public assem-

bly, corresponding to the forum of the Romans.

Anta (pl. antae) : Pilaster •term inating the side wall of the temple,
with base and capital differing from those of adjacent
columns .
Anthemion (pl. anthemia) : A continuous pattern of alternating pal-
mette and lotus.

Architrave Lintel, beam ; the lowest division of the entablature stretch-

ing from column to column.

Ashlar masonry M asonry co nsisting of smooth, accurately squared stones

laid in regular courses , with vertical joints.

Capital The moulded, crowning member of a column .

Cella The principal c hamber or sanctuary of a temple .

Chlamys A long rob e or gown.

Crepidoma (pl. crepidomata) : The stepped platform of a temple.

Deme (also demos): Village or small town.

Entablature Th e beam-like division from above the co lumns of a temple

to the rafters, compris ing architrave, frieze and cornice
(the projecting crow ning member) .

Entasis Th e slightly convex t apering of a co lumn used to co unteract

the optical illusion of c urving slightly inward .

Flute (a!so fluting) : Th e narrow concave cha nnels c ut vertically

on columns.

Frieze Th e middle division of the entablature . Any long, horizontal

decorative part of a design at high level.
Helix (pl. helices): A volute spiral.

Hemiperipteros A temple with a co lonnade on two of its four sides only.

Heroon A small shrine or monument dedicated to a hero.

/
73
In-antis column Column or columns in between antae. S cara b Seal or gem shaped like a beetle, with an intaglio design
lnter columniation The distance between the columns of a colo nnade, defined on its flat under-s ide.
in terms of the lower diameter of the columns. Stele (pl. stelae ): An upright slab or a pillar, usually with inscriptions
lsodomic Regular ashlar masonry with equal courses. or carved decorations.

Kouros (pl. kouroi): An archaic statue of a nude Greek youth. Stoa A long colonnade open in the front, with a wall or even a
row of shops at the rear. The term corresponds to th e por-
Lesbian cymation (pl. cymatia; also Lat. cyma-cymata, or cyma re versa): A
ticus of the Romans.
wave moulding of double curvature with the convex part
protruding. Sty/abate The platform on which a colonnad e is placed.
Loutrophoros (pl. loutrophoroi): A jar with a long neck and two round Taenia {pl. taeniae ): The projecting band separating the archi-
handles, often co pied in marble. trave from the frieze in the Dori c order.
Metope The sunk panel betwee n th e triglyphs. Temenos Sa cred enclosure fenced off from common use, for temples,
etc.
Nymph A spirit of nature personified as a semi-divine maiden in-
habiting the sea, rivers, fountains, woods or trees. Tetrastyle Having four columns in a row .

Opisthodomos The re cessed rear porch of a t~mple, serving as a treasury Trig!yph A fluted rectangular projection between the metopes on the
when enclosed with bronze grilles. frie ze of the Doric entablature.

Pediment The triangular low gable above the entablature. Trireme A warship with three banks of oars .

Pep/as The woollen garment, also called the Doric chiton, worn Votive Dedicated, offered, consecrated, etc., often in . fulfilment of
by Greek women; often open on one side, and fastened a VOW.
on both shoulders.

Peribolos {also peribolus) : San ctua ry; shrine; sacred enclosure sur-
rounding the sanctuary.

Peristasis (also peris t yle) : A covered co lonnade surrounding a building.

Plinth (lit. a brick) : Rectangular block in ashlar masonry; pro-

jecting square block at th e base of a co lumn ; projecting
base of a wall or other structure, even a statue.

Polygonal Multi-cornered. I
Paras Soft and coarse limestone, often filled with fossil shells.
The most frequent building stone employed by the ancient
Greeks .

Prodomos Corresponding to the pronaos mainly in the case of ordi-

nary houses.

Pronaos The front porch of the eel/a.

Propy!on A simple entran ce gate-building of the temenos or sacred

enclosure of a temple .
Prosty!e An open portico of columns standing in front of a building.

Pylon Gateway.
Ouadriga A chariot with four horses abreast.

74I
75
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77
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1
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78