KERAMEIKOS -- ATHENS GREECE

Kerameikos is one of the archaeological sites in Athens just outside the city wall. It was also the potter's quarter of the city from which the the word Ceramic was derived, and also the site of the important cementery and funeral sculptures. The inner Kerameikos was the former potter's quarter and the outer covers the cemetery and public burial monument. Kerameikos was the official cemetery of ancient Athens from the 11thc BC till the 2nd AC.

Within the site are the ancient walls of Athens and the Sacred Gate which was only used by pilgrims from Eleusus using the sacred road to and from that site during the annual procession. Nearby is the Dipylon gate which was the main entrance to the city, where the Panathenaic procession began and where the cities prostitutes congregated so they could make themselves available to weary travelers. It was from this spot that Pericles gave what was probably his most well-known speech honoring those who had died in the first year of the Peloponesian war.

Kerameikos Cemetery

Kerameikos Cemetery

Grave Markers

Grave Stones

Grave Markers

TEMPLE OF POSEIDON-SOUNION GREECE

The Temple of Poseidon, this is one of the many places we've visited in Greece. The temple which is  at Cape Sounion was one of the most important sanctuaries in the Attica. As we go away from the suburbs of Athens we pass  towns and settlements mostly in harbors and beaches. Greece has the bluewish sea water its very clear and clean. You can see it on my photos. Going to Sounion is not difficult and expensive. They have busses, tour busses and taxis operating from Athens to Sounion.

HISTORY:

The "sanctuary of Sounion" is first mentioned in the Odyssey, as the place where Menelaus stopped during his return from Troy to bury his helmsman, Phrontes Onetorides. Archaeological evidence has shown that there were two organized places of worship on the cape by the 7th century BC: a sanctuary of Poseidon at the southern edge and a sanctuary of Athena about 500 m to the northeast.
Construction on a grand Temple of Poseidon began around 500 BC but was never completed; the temple and all the votive offerings were destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC. The Temple of Poseidon that now stands at Soúnio was built in 444 BC atop the older temple ruins. The Temple of Athena was also built at this time, atop her ancient sanctuary on the cape. The sanctuaries began to decline from the 1st century BC onwards. Pausanias, who sailed along the coast around 150 AD, wrongly believed the prominent temple on the hill was the Temple of Athena. Modern travellers visited Sounion long before excavations started on the site, including Lord Byron in 1810. Systematic excavations began on the site in 1897 and continue today.

FACTS:

TEMPLE OF POSEIDON
Names:	Temple of Poseidon at Soúnio; Sanctuary of Poseidon at Soúnio
Location:	Soúnio, Attica, Greece
Faith:	Ancient Greek
Dedication:	Poseidon
Category:	Greek Temples
Architecture:	Greek
Date:	444 BC
Size:	Temple floor area: 13.47 x 31.12 m
Status:	ruins

Photo was taken from the bottom of the hill.

Back view of the Temple of Poseidon.

Right Side View 

From Far Down

The way up to the Temple.

Front View of the Temple

 Photos below are the beautiful views surrounding the Temple of Poseidon.

TEMPLE OF THE OLYMPIAN ZEUS ( GREECE-VACATION )

During our Greece vacation we've visited a lot of  historical and ancient places, which Greece is known to have with. First stop is the Temple of the Olympian Zeus.

PHOTO GALLERY:

FACTS: The Temple of the Olympian Zeus also known as Olympeon is located  on Amalias Ave. 500 meters south-east of the Acropolis and 700 meters south of  Syntagma Square which is opposite to  the parliament building. The building itself began in the 6th Century by Peisistratos but work was stopped because Pisistratus's son, Hippias, was overthrown in 510 BC. The temple was not finished until the Emperor Hadrian completed in 131 AD, seven hundred years later. There were other attempts to continue the building. The Classical Greeks (487-379)left it unfinished because they believed it was too big and symbolized the arrogance of people who believed they were equal to the Gods. During the Third Century when the Macedonians ruled Athens work was begun again by Antiochus the IV of Syria who wanted to build the world's largest temple and hired the Roman architect Cossotius to complete the job, but this ended when Antiochus died. In 86 BC, during Roman rule the general Sulla took two columns from the unfinished temple to Rome for the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill which influenced the development of the Corinthian style in Rome.

Other structures surrounding the Temple of the Olympian Zeus.
1. Hadrians Gate - 131--- 132 AD
2. Roman Baths  - 124--- 134 AD
3. Remains of Houses - 5th Century BC- 2nd Century AD
4. Basilica of Olympieion - 450 AD
5. Valerian Wall - 256 -- 260 AD
6. Temple of Apollo Delphinios - 450 BC
7. Lawcourt at the Delphinion - 500 BC
8. Temple of Kronos and Rhea -  150 AD
9. Sanctuary of Panhellenios Zeus - 131 --- 132 AD
10. Gates of the Themistoklean Wall - 479----478 AD