Trips throughout Greece

Athens - Pireaus - Cape Sounion - Poros - Santorini - Zakynthos - Rhodes - Mikonos - Delos - Corinth - Theater of Epidauro - Nafplio - Mycenae - Delphi - Arahova - Ioannina - Vikos Gorges - Meteora - Messenia and Peloponnesus

We chose a simple trip as the first excursion in Greece, the Cape Sounion. You have to take the bus on the corner linking Ioulianou and Mavromateon streets. The cape is 70 km. far from Athens and there is the possibility to go along the seaside or through the inner land.

We selected the coast (called Apollo's coast ) to see nicer landscapes.
The bus drives to the Piraeus and afterwards it goes bordering the coast, beaches and creeks of crystalline and clean water. Of course there are many buildings breaking the nature. The road is worthy, but in my opinion it is too long. It lasts two hours to go and then another two hours returning, as the bus makes many stops.

Suddenly at the background of many cliffs and hills with little vegetation and scorched by the sun, the cliff where the temple of Poseidon rests straightens up at more than 60 m. high, dominating the sea.
This cape is a prolongation of the Attic region and it seems to be the guard that keeps the access to the Saronic gulf and the Aegean sea. It was impossible to choose a better place to honour the god of seas.

Poseidon is the Zeus brother and together with the third brother Hades, they fought against their father Chronos and they defeated him. Afterwards they drew lots for share out the world. Zeus obtained the ground and the sky, the water for Poseidon and for Hades the subsoil and the dead kingdom.
Among the most known actions of this god we can emphasize that an offended Zeus punished Poseidon and Apollo by sending them to help to the king of Troy, Laomedonte. This king asked them to build an enormous and invincible wall around the city and he promised them to reward them generously, but afterwards he refused to keep it.

In vengeance, before the Troy war, Poseidon sent a marine beast to attack Troy . Heracles (Hercules) defeated this beast.
Poseidon is also known due to his hatred towards Odiseo (Ulysses), and the god avoided Ulysses to return home ( Ithaca island) for 20 years, a story that is told in the Odyssey of Homer.
Poseidon is always represented with a beard and a trident, emerging from the sea on his shell shaped carriage pulled by sea horses and throwing a storm, earthquake or tidal wave. Poseidon married a nymph called Anfitrite but the god was unfaithful very often.

The marble temple is partially in ruins, but it worth a visit not only due to the temple but also for the impressive views . Pericles ordered its construction from 440 to 444 B.C. Really it is only a part of the ancient Acropolis, that stills conserves some parts of the walls. The wind erosion and the treasure searchers have done much damage.

The Doric columns (6 m. high) have the upper radio smaller than the lower, a technique very common in classic buildings to give a sensation of more height. One of the pillars is stained with graffitis, one of them belonging to lord Byron (from 1810), a poet in love with Greece . The sunsets are famous and spectaculars from here, but as we would have had to wait for long till that and the temple is isolated, with no other entertainment, we went back. In Greece we enjoyed many occasions to contemplate unforgettable sunsets.

When returning we stopped in Vouliagmeni beach. It is a beach where the Athens inhabitants go on weekends to relax. There are many other similar beaches (Glyfada, Ano Voulas, Varkiza, Lagonissi....), and they use to be crowded very often. The beach is very nice, but you have to pay to enter. It is located at the end of a quiet bay surrounded by pines. Finally we ate in the village and went back to Athens , passing near the super tourist locality called Glyfada, a place really lively in summer, full of nightclubs.

The cape is charming and you need half day to go and return. Hence I recommend that if you are hesitating about which places to visit, and you have other interesting options, I suggest to eliminate this excursion from your plan because you loose around 5 hours to see a temple in half an hour.