Aart Heering
The best preserved Greek temples are not found in Greece, but in southern Italy, the ancient Magna Graecia. The most famous are those of Sicily, with the Temple Valley of Agrigento, the remains of Selinunte and the beautiful temple of Segesta. But at least as important is Paestum, 40 kilometers south of Salerno in Campania, where temples and walls still look almost as they did 2.500 years ago. An absolute must for lovers of history, culture and Italy.
A 2.600 year old city wall
Paestum was founded around 600 BC as Poseidonia (city of Poseidon, the god of the sea) by colonists from Sybaris, a Greek city on the south side of Calabria. The new city was located close to the sea in the fertile plain of the Sele River and therefore met the main wishes of the colonists: accessibility, fresh water and arable land.
Although there were already a few native villages, their inhabitants were no match for the well-organized Greeks and were chased inland without much ado.
But the new colony was not completely safe either. That is why the Greeks built one at the mouth of the Sele heraion, a sanctuary dedicated to Hera, the wife of the supreme god Zeus. She had to protect them against the Etruscans, who posed a threat from the north.
A city wall several meters wide and 5 kilometers long was built around Poseidonia, most of which is still standing.
Map of Paestum showing the sights
The 3 Doric temples of Paestum
About 550 BC. the young city could boast of the construction, on the south side of the built-up area, of a prestigious Doric temple, also dedicated to Hera, known as the Basilica.
On the north side followed between 510-500 BC. a temple – il Tempio di Cerere – which according to tradition is dedicated to Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, but in reality it is a temple of Athena, goddess of wisdom and war.
The third and most monumental temple was built around 480-470 BC. next to Hera's. He is known as the Temple of Neptune, even though there is no indication that it was dedicated to the god of the sea (Poseidon in Greek, Neptune in Latin).
To whom, we do not know, but archaeologists have suggested that this structure could have been intended as a thank you to the gods for the Greek victories over Persians, Carthaginians and Etruscans in those years.
From Greeks, Lucani and Romans
That heyday came later in the 5th century BC. an end when the Greek city-states came to blows with each other, with the sad end being the gruesome feud between Athens and Sparta, exhaustively described by Ilja Pfeijffer in his novel Alcibiades.
Poseidonia did not escape this either. By the end of the 5e century BC it was taken over by the Lucani, an Italian people who already controlled a large part of southern Italy. They renamed the city Paistom, but in turn had to hand it over to the Romans, who annexed the city in 273 BC. and corrupted its name to Paestum.
During all these changes of power, relatively little was destroyed. It was probably a gradual transition, with the temples largely remaining intact and in use. Shortly after the beginning of our era, Paestum was still described as one oppidum (fortified city), but after that the area slowly emptied.
The houses of the ancient city collapsed and disappeared under earth on which sheep, horses and (mozzarella) buffalo grazed. Only the temples continued to tower proudly above it all.
Therefore, Paestum, which was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998, is still located in a rural area, unlike Agrigento, for example, where they have built new buildings almost as far as the Valley of the Temples.
Back in time
A walk in the Paestum park is a magical experience. Because of the dominating temples and the straight, perpendicular streets, which show what kind of architects and city planners the Greeks were.
Because of the ancient walls built in large blocks of locally quarried travertine, the basalt roads, the mysterious sacello (a kind of chapel) with its roof of terracotta tiles, the Roman theater, the monumental olive trees and holm oaks, not to mention the spacious picnic area and the adjacent restaurants.
All ingredients for a pleasant – and educational – day. (All year round, but especially in spring and autumn, when the weather is usually good and the temperature bearable.)
Museum Paestum: dancing women and the Diver
Don't forget the very modern museum (opposite the entrance to the archaeological site). Not only utensils, statues, masks and vases from Paestum have been collected here, but also dozens of them metopes from the heraion on the Sele (which itself is poorly preserved).
This concerns the reliefs in the shape of lion heads, dancing women and scenes from Greek mythology, which originally decorated the strip above the columns of the temple.
Furthermore, the museum has an enormous collection of - often wonderfully well preserved - paintings from the inside of Greek and Lucan tombs in the immediate vicinity of Paestum: images of people, animals and mythological creatures.
The best known of these is the Diver, the Diver, a naked young man who dives into the depths from a springboard, probably as a representation of the transition to the other world. (The Duiker hall is currently closed for maintenance, but will reopen in early 2024.)
The museum has about 300 painted walls of tombs, of which only a small part can be exhibited. But if you take a tour with the guide, you will also see the rest of the collection in the depths of the museum. And that is also an interesting experience.
Practical information Paestum
Opening times, prices and entrance tickets
- The Archaeological Park of Paestum and nearby Velia is open from 8.30:19.30 am - XNUMX:XNUMX pm.
- Prices: from November to February €10; young people up to 25 years €2; from March to November €15; young people up to 25 € 2.
- Entrance tickets can be purchased at the museum, at the main entrance to the Tempio di Nettuno or online. More information at Museo Paestum (official website). Also in English.
Eating and staying overnight
Aan dining options no want in Paestum. Opposite the main entrance to the archaeological site you can enjoy a plate of pasta or a quick bite. A little further on, on Via Tavernelle, you can have lunch or dinner right opposite the ancient city wall at Antiche Mura or Ristorante Tavernelle. A few kilometers further you can enjoy the grandiose (and slightly more expensive) cuisine of Ristorante Osteria Demetra, Via Laura 104 Capaccio. (Paestum is located in the municipality of Capaccio.)
On the map below you can see the options stay overnight close to the Archaeological Park of Paestum.
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