As the myth goes, the ancient king of Athens held a competition between the gods as to whom to worship and name his city for. Poseidon and Athena entered, each tasked with giving a gift to the city that would help it, thereby proving their worthiness of worship. Poseidon, god of the sea, struck a rock with his trident, and out flowed water. But it was salt water, incapable of nourishing people, animals, or plants. Athena was up next, and she gave the king an olive tree. He immediately saw the utility in this gift, as olives could be eaten, wood used in construction, and shade provide protection from the hot summer sun. Athena was declared the winner, and so Athens was named for her.

But Poseidon was unhappy. So to placate him, the people of Athens built a mighty temple in his honor at the place where the sea began: Cape Sounion, just outside the city of Athens. Here on this narrow peninsula southeast of the city, Poseidon would be worshipped alongside Athena.

Today, Cape Sounion is one of the most popular places for Athenians to go to escape the heat of the summer. Sandy beaches, resorts, and restaurants sit alongside mansions reminiscent of Malibu or La Jolla. Tourists, too, flock to the area, but they come for the Temple of Poseidon itself, and a promise of the best sunset Athens has to offer.

There is evidence that a sanctuary to Poseidon has existed on this spot since roughly 1100 BCE. However, what was once here was, like most of Athens, destroyed by the Persians when they sacked the city in 480 BCE. So the new temple dates to about 440 BCE, when it was reconstructed as part of Pericles’ building program. Its placement was important, as ships reaching the Athenian port of Piraeus sighted this jut of land first (and last when leaving). So having a temple to the god of the sea just before land disappeared over the horizon (or immediately upon sighting it after being gone) made good sense. Sounion was also a place for the Athenian fleet to shelter in the case of storms, so again, placating the god of such things would have just been smart.

The temple itself is what seems to be a fairly standard size for non-Athena temples in Athens during this period, a six by thirteen pillar rectangle with Doric architecture. (It seems basically exactly the same size as the Temple of Hephaestus in the Ancient Agora in Athens itself.) It is made of marble rather than limestone, and the specific type of marble used has held its white color better than many, despite millennia of weathering.

Today, the remains are in reasonably decent shape, with more than a dozen columns still standing, and a portion of the marble block above them still in place. And while visitors cannot enter the temple itself, other marble remains are able to be used as benches, something hugely important for those waiting for sunset, the prime time to visit.

Without a car – and I don’t think I’d ever recommend driving in Athens – the best way to visit Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon is via a bus tour. There are several options, and I pick one from Ammon Express that also stops at the remains of the ancient theatre of Thorikos, because why not? The cost was about €12 different, and hey, ancient theatres are rad. This one is no longer protected due to Greece’s budgetary woes, so we are able to walk right in and climb up it.

We also see the remains of a silver mine, important because it is the silver from this region that funded the building projects under Pericles.

But of course, the highlight is sunset at the Temple of Poseidon. It takes about ten minutes to circle the temple and read the three or so pieces of signage, and then one settles in to watch the beauty unfold. Here, the sun sets behind a couple tiny Aegean islands (from a map it seems like Arsida is the main one but that’s purely a guess), and into the blue. It is truly magical, and my only regret is that there is no great way to have the temple in the foreground since it sits higher than the walkways around it, and significantly higher on the sea side.

After the sunset, it’s about an hour and a half back into Athens, making it a rather long afternoon for a mere hour of brilliant beauty. But it’s a worthwhile trip to take once, and easily the best sunset I experienced in Greece.

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