Paestum: visiting the temples of ancient Magna Graecia

Visiting historical places is a truly educational experience because we can identify with the past time of our ancestors and admire the masterpieces built centuries ago, when innovation and engineering certainly were not comparable to today's. Yet, the magnificence of the works created still shines and enchants today, much more than modern works.

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Taking advantage of the beautiful spring days, we visited the archaeological site of Paestum, an ancient city of Magna Graecia which still houses the most important temples built in the area and dedicated to the Greek gods,

The temples of Paestum are among the most important archaeological finds found in ancient Magna Graecia. Thanks to an optimal structural condition of the Temples of Paestum they make them among the most appreciated monuments of Greek civilization. The Temples are among the main attractions of the Archaeological Park of Paestum and make it one of the most important archaeological sites of Magna Graecia

The Temple of Hera, also called Basilica, we find it in the Southern Sanctuary of Paestum, next to the Temple of Neptune. The Basilica of Paestum today is in excellent condition despite the fact that the upper parts of the temple are completely missing, including the pediment and frieze.

The Temple of Hera appears to be the only Greek temple of the Archaic era to have all the columns of the structure intact. The total columns of the Basilica are 50 and it has 9 columns on the facade and on the back with 18 columns on both sides, a feature that counts it among the peripteral ennastyle temples. The construction of the Basilica of Paestum began, more or less, around the year 550 BC. It is a Doric temple dedicated to Era, the goddess of Fertility.

The Temple of Neptune or Temple of Poseidon is the largest in the Archaeological Park of Paestum. In reality, the temple was erroneously attributed to Neptune, but, most likely, this temple was also dedicated to Hera. Other sources attribute the dedication to Zeus or Apollo.

The internal area of ​​the temple is the most intact of the three temples of Paestum, making it one of the best preserved temples of the entire Greek era. The temple was built a century after that of Hera, around 460 BC.

The Temple of Athena, also known as the Temple of Ceres. The Temple of Athena was built on the ashes of an old sanctuary, later destroyed by a fire. An artificial relief was created above the ashes of the old sanctuary, where the Temple of Ceres was born. The relief places the Temple of Athena higher than the entire ancient city of Poseidonia.

In the silence of nature, it is possible to imagine the life of the population in those times: the green avenues were perfectly communicating with each other and led mainly to the temples, as well as to the main structures of the city such as the Forum, a large square on which artisan activities are born which will contribute to the life and commercial expansion of the city of Paestum.

We walked through the gardens of the city, which has now become a large archaeological site and the numerous finds of new foundations continue, such as the great walls or the remains of small houses, as well as various artifacts and finds.

If there is heaven, I really hope it is very similar to this place!