---
title: Temple of Poseidon at Sounion
author: Frank van Mierlo
source: https://www.worldhistory.org/image/250/temple-of-poseidon-at-sounion/
format: machine-readable-alternate
license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
updated: 1970-01-01
---

# Temple of Poseidon at Sounion

_Authored by Frank van Mierlo_

## Image File

[![Temple of Poseidon at Sounion](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/250.jpg)](https://www.worldhistory.org/uploads/images/250.jpg)

## Image Caption

The [temple](https://www.worldhistory.org/temple/) of [Poseidon](https://www.worldhistory.org/poseidon/) was constructed in approx. 440 B.C., over the ruins of a temple dating from the [Archaic Period](https://www.worldhistory.org/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](https://www.worldhistory.org/sounion/) temple stand today, but intact it would have closely resembled the contemporary and well-preserved Temple of [Hephaestus](https://www.worldhistory.org/Hephaistos/) beneath the [Acropolis](https://www.worldhistory.org/Acropolis/), which may have been designed by the same architect. As with many [Greek](https://www.worldhistory.org/disambiguation/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.

## Cite This Work

### APA
Mierlo, F. v. (2012, April 26). Temple of Poseidon at Sounion. *World History Encyclopedia*. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/250/temple-of-poseidon-at-sounion/>
### Chicago
Mierlo, Frank van. "Temple of Poseidon at Sounion." *World History Encyclopedia*, April 26, 2012. <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/250/temple-of-poseidon-at-sounion/>.
### MLA
Mierlo, Frank van. "Temple of Poseidon at Sounion." *World History Encyclopedia*, 26 Apr 2012, <https://www.worldhistory.org/image/250/temple-of-poseidon-at-sounion/>.

## License & Copyright

[Original image](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Temple_of_Poseidon.jpg) by [**Frank van Mierlo**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Temple_of_Poseidon.jpg). Submitted by [Jan van der Crabben](https://www.worldhistory.org/user/jvdc/ "User Page: Jan van der Crabben"), published on 26 April 2012. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0deed.en). This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon a work even for commercial reasons, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.