Temple of Poseidon, Sounion

A Doric temple crowning the promontory of Cape Sounion at the southernmost tip of Attica, built 444-440 BC under the statesman Pericles after the earlier archaic temple was destroyed by Persians in 480 BC. Constructed of white marble from nearby Agrileza quarries, its original 34 Doric columns stood 6.1 meters high, of which 15 remain standing today. The temple was designed by the same architect who built the Temple of Hephaestus in the Athenian Agora. Strategically positioned to control sea passage to the Aegean and protect access to the rich Lavrion silver mines, its tall marble columns also served as a navigational landmark for sailors returning to Athens.