Just south of Salerno Italy, in a small town called Paestum, there are three large temples that are among the best preserved Greek temples in the world, and the only Greek ruins left on Italy’s mainland.
This area of Southern Italy was colonized by the ancient Greeks in the 6th Century BC. Around 600 BC, they founded the town of Poseidonia, named after the Greek god Poseidon.
From about 420 to 273 BC, Poseidonia was occupied by an Italic people, the Lucanians. Then, in 273 BC, the town became a Roman colony under the name Paestum.
The town began to decline in the fourth century AD and with the fall of the Roman empire and worsening marshland conditions, the town was abandoned.
The Greek founders had chosen an area, called the Southern Sanctuary, in which to honor their most important deities. Three Doric temples were constructed here to honor the patron gods of the town.
The Greeks, the Lucanians, and then the Romans all filled this sacred space with buildings dedicated to their deities.
The oldest of the Greek temples was built between 560 to 520 BC. Eighteenth century scholars called it the Basilica, thinking it was Roman. It is now believed this temple was dedicated to Hera, the wife of Zeus, goddess of fertility and defender of the early Greek colonists.
This elegant temple has a long cella, or inner room, and was built with 9 columns at the front and 18 along the sides.
Since Paestum is far from any sources of marble, all the temples were built using travertine, a pale, golden rock which could be found nearby. The temples were then covered with white stucco and richly decorated with red, blue, yellow and green colors.
Next to the Basilica is the most impressive of the three temples. This temple is dedicated to Neptune, the Roman god of the seas. Built around 460 BC, it has 6 fluted columns on the front and 14 on the sides. It stands on an earlier building which lies below the surface.
These temples are symbols of the Doric order and their influence can be seen in many cities in Europe and throughout the world.
FInally, on the other side of the Sanctuary is the Temple of Athena, built around 500 BC. This temple has a colonnade of 6x13 columns and displays a combination of Doric and Ionic columns.
The city built by the Romans reused the street grid of the earlier city. The largest and most luxurious houses were located in the areas closest to the political and religious center of the city.
The Roman amphitheater was built around 50 BC, making it one of Rome’s earliest amphitheaters.
Only the western half is visible since in 1930, a road was built across the site, tragically destroying half of the temple. It is said the engineer responsible for bull dozing the amphitheater was imprisoned for wanton destruction of an historic site.
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