Temple of Poseidon at Sounion

Illustration

Jan van der Crabben
by Frank van Mierlo
published on 26 April 2012
Temple of Poseidon at Sounion Download Full Size Image

The temple of Poseidon was constructed in approx. 440 B.C., over the ruins of a temple dating from the Archaic Period. It is perched above the sea at a height of almost 70 m. The design of the temple is a typical hexastyle i.e. it had a front portico with 6 columns. Only some columns of the Sounion temple stand today, but intact it would have closely resembled the contemporary and well-preserved Temple of Hephaestus beneath the Acropolis, which may have been designed by the same architect.

As with many Greek temples, the Poseidon building was rectangular, with a colonnade on all four sides. The total number of original columns was 36: 18 columns still stand today. The columns are of the Doric Order. They were made of locally-quarried white marble. They were 6.10 m (20 ft) high, with a diameter of 1 m (3.1 ft) at the base and 79cm (31 inches) at the top.

Remove Ads
Advertisement

Cite This Work

APA Style

Mierlo, F. v. (2012, April 26). Temple of Poseidon at Sounion. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/250/temple-of-poseidon-at-sounion/

Chicago Style

Mierlo, Frank van. "Temple of Poseidon at Sounion." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified April 26, 2012. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/250/temple-of-poseidon-at-sounion/.

MLA Style

Mierlo, Frank van. "Temple of Poseidon at Sounion." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 26 Apr 2012. Web. 04 Dec 2024.

Membership