Sounion [antikvár]

Historical NotesAn imposing crag, about 60 m. high, with sheer slopes dropping to the sea this is the tip of the headland that Attica thrusts into the Aegean Sea at her southeastern extremity. The Sanctuary of Poseidon is built on the wide level area at the top of this rock, indeed on the most appropriate site in all Attica for the sanctuary of the great god of the sea (Figs. 1-4).Sounion is known in Greek history from the earliest times. Homer was first to mention it (Odyssey, y 278), referring to it as "holy", in this way revealing that even then Sounion was a place of worship. According to Homer Mene-laos buried his helmsman Phrontis in Sounion, who was killed by the arrows of Apollo. It was from here that Leto, persecuted by her jealous rival Hera, fled to the island of Delos when she was about to give birth to Apollo.Excavation finds reveal that the area was inhabited from prehistoric times. However, the life of the sanctuary seems to begin in the Geometric period and develop during the 7th century B.C. Around 600 B.C., a number of colossal kouroi * statues were erected in the open-air Temenos of Poseidon. These kouroi are among the earliest examples of their kind in Greek art; one of them was recovered nearly* When first appearing in the text, words in italics are briefly explained in the Glossary on page 73 ff.12