Sumptuous Sounion

We had a fantastic sail from Porto Rafti to Sounion at the bottom of the Attica Peninsula.  We set out just after sunrise.  The seas were a bit lumpy but we had a great 10-12 knot wind on the rear quarter and were able to sail the whole way – such a treat in the Motorterrranian.  

  

As we approached the Sounion headland the 5^th Century BC Temple of Poseidon loomed on the cliff.  We sailed into the bay and anchored amongst a dozen other sail boats.  

The Temple of Poseidon from the sea

Our anchorage

After a late lunch on board we got the dinghy down and went ashore.  There were no pontoons for dinghies so we had to drag our rather heavy tender onto the beach.  This was the first time we had to do this in the Med and it went well as there was a good sandy beach on which to slide the dinghy. Good thing it went well as there were lots of bathers on the beach and one never wants to muck up in front of an audience!

The beach front

We walked up the hill to the Temple.  I thought we might be ruined out after 3 years of tramping around ancient piles of rock but these old structures never fail to thrill us.  To walk around areas where others have been walking and living 2500 years ago always excites the imagination.

The 5^th Century BC Temple was built on an area of sanctuary dating back to the 10^th Century BC.  Poseidon was the god of the sea and sailors believed bad storms were the wrath of Poseidon.  They offered sacrifices at the Temple to placate Poseidon in the hope of good weather.  The Cape of Sounion was mentioned in Homer’s epic poem, Odyssey, as the place where Odysseus’s helmsman, Menelaus of Sparta, died on their return trip from Troy.  Byron carved is name in one of the columns and wrote a poem about the place.  We couldn't find Byron's graffiti but there were plenty of examples of others from the 19th Century carving dates into the stone.

Today there are buses directly to Athens, and holiday makers come to the one resort and two small tavernas to enjoy the beauty and history.

 

 

Lots of partridges scratching around

After visiting the Temple we went to one of the tavernas for an beer mezze while watching a spectacular sunset, the temple glowing in the twilight and a full moon rising.  Perfect!

Enjoying a Mythos and sardines