Cape Sounion- Poseidon temple Tour

Cape sounion Poseidon Temple: According to Greek Mythology, Cape Sounion is the spot where Aegeus, King of Athens, leapt to his death off the cliff, thus giving his name to the Aegean Sea. The story goes that Aegeus, anxiously looking out from Sounion, despaired when he saw a black sail on his son Theseus's ship, returning from Crete. This led him to believe that his son had been killed in his contest with the dreaded Minotaur, a monster that was half man and half bull. The Minotaur was confined by its owner, King Minos of Crete, in a specially designed labyrinth. Every year, according to the myth, the Athenians were forced to send seven men and seven women to Minos as tribute. These youths were placed in the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur. Theseus had volunteered to go with the third tribute and attempt to slay the beast. He had agreed with his father that if he survived the contest, he would hoist a white sail on his return. In fact, Theseus had successfully overcome and slain the Minotaur, but tragically had simply forgotten about the white sail

Ancient Greeks believed that Sounio was the house of Poseidon, the God of the Sea. Today the Greeks still come and pay homepage to the divine nature of the Cape (Akrotirion) words cannot describe it . Standing on ground consecrated in times long gone by are the remains of the sanctuary dedicated to Poseidon on Cape Sounion. The temple, which was built of marble between 444 and 440 BC. on the orders of Pericles probably the work of the same architect who built the Theseum in Athens. It was a Doric building with a peristyle replacing an earlier 6c BC. which had been destroyed in the second Persian War by the Persians in 480 B.C. Abandoned for many years to the ravages of the weather and treasure seekers, it was restored in the 19th C, several columns have been re-erected. It is no exaggeration to state that some of the most beautiful sunsets in the world can be seen from this most striking spot .