The Doric temples of ancient Poseidonia

Poseidonia is an archaeological site found in Campania, Italy. It was established in 600 BCE as a Greek colony by settlers from Sybaris. For almost two centuries, the city grew and witnessed the birth of democracy. In 400 BCE, it was seized by the Lucanians, and then by the Romans in 273 BCE, who renamed it Paestum and created a Latin colony. Eventually, the city's decline came with shifts in trade routes and the onset of flooding and marsh formation.

Buried and forgotten for many years, the site was rediscovered in the 18th century. Today, the remains are located in the modern frazione of Paestum, part of Capaccio Paestum in the Province of Salerno. The site is famous for its three ancient Greek temples, dating back to 550-450 BCE. These remarkable structures are in the Doric style, featuring massive colonnades with a very pronounced entasis - widening as they go down - and very wide capitals resembling upturned mushrooms.

These structures were dedicated to Hera and Athena, although they were often identified otherwise following eighteenth-century arguments. The two temples of Hera are right next to each other, while the Temple of Athena is on the other side of the town center. The Temple of Athena was built around 500 BCE and was for some time incorrectly thought to have been dedicated to Ceres. Its architecture is transitional, being mainly built in early Doric style and partially Ionic.

The second Temple of Hera was built around 460-450 BCE. Instead of the typical 20 flutes on each column, they have 24 flutes. The Temple of Hera II also has a wider column size and smaller intervals between columns. This temple was also used to worship Zeus and another deity whose identity is unknown. It is also possible that the temple originally was dedicated to both Hera and Poseidon, as some offertory statues found around the larger altar are thought to demonstrate this identification.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons