Ancient Greece extended once to southern Italy. From approximately the eighth century to. C., the Greeks founded many new independent cities in the Eastern Mediterranean. Magna Greciathe great Greece, extended to Sicily. Especially in Apulia and Campania, numerous Greek temples still testify to the secular presence of the Hellenes. One of these cities was Poseidoniatoday paestum.
Poseidonia
But as everywhere, there were always conflicts here. The rulers of Greek cities-states fought with each other and people had to flee. When the city of Síbaris lost a battle and was burned by its victorious opponents, the inhabitants fled. They settled in other parts of the Italian coast and founded a new homeland. They called their new Colonia Poseidonia, in honor of the god of the Poseidon Sea. This city, founded in the seventh century, was located near the current Paestum. However, for a long time the exact location of the new settlement was unknown. Too often, the remains of the Greek settlement had been conquered and built on the native Lucans and, later, by the Romans. Only the Greek temples complexes endured for thousands of years.
When the Romans defeated the Lucans and conquered the entire area in the third century, they simply took the city of Poseidonia and renamed it as Paestum. But under Roman domain, the once magnificent settlement quickly lost its importance. Despite several reconstructions and changes, people began to migrate. Due to the location in the swampy landscape, malaria spread. Due to the proximity to the sea, the inhabitants were increasingly exposed to brutal pirate attacks by the Saracean looters.
Poseidona – Paestum sank into the mud. He had to spend a lot of time until the lonely and abandoned temples that arose from the earth in a swampy area were “rediscovered” in the 18th century. Of course, they had never “lost”, they had been in the same place all the time. Only a young Italian named Vittorio Spinazzola began to dig patiently here. Soon several levels with interesting buildings, such as the amphitheater, the forum, the hot springs and the Hero.
Temple of Ceres-Paestum
When we get to Paestum’s temples, we quickly realize that we have too little time to see everything. The area seems to be really huge and very spacious. So we decided at least to take a close look at the great temples that can be seen from the road. We will leave the museum for another occasion.
The Ceres Temple is the first building we are going to. Incredibly well preserved, the Doric columns still rise to heaven. However imposing the temple seems, it is the smallest and probably the oldest of the three main buildings in the archaeological park. In supposedly past centuries there were walls between the pillars and the temple was used as a church and stable. From small statues and other objects found here, now it is supposed to be dedicated to Ceres, but to Athena.
The Great Tour
Shortly after these temples were rediscovered in the 18th century, they became a popular pilgrimage destination for European nobles and rich intellectuals. Goethe also visited Paestum on his trip to Italy. Later he recorded these memories in his daily travel notes (Trip to ItaliA, March 23, 1787):
Finally, without being sure of whether we were going between rocks or ruins, we were able to distinguish a large oblong-square masses, which we had already noticed in the distance, like the remaining temples and monuments of such a magnificent city.
Due to the great popularity that Paestum had in the nineteenth century, the first work restoration works began. While there were still attempts, with greater or lesser success, to restore and protect the findings in the excavation place, the Italian state had a new national road that crosses the place. The Tirrena Inferiore, Como SS 18, It crosses the old poseidonia and divides the old Greek settlement into two parts.
Paestum Basilica
The sand horse
We walk through the forum, we pass through an old pool and the temple of La Paz. We cross some young -looking archaeologists who are currently working here. To my big surprise, they even speak German! I would love to ask him a thousand questions now. But time ends. We must go further. I promise that on my next visit to the area, I will definitely plan a whole day only for this installation. There is so much to discover here!
Finally we arrive at the temple of Poseidon and the Basilica, as is also called the Temple of Hera. In the midst of all this is a four -meter -high horse. In its high pedestal, it is unmistakable and has an almost living quality while it is majestically among the old columns of the temple.
Neptune or Poseidon temple in Paestum
Only after my visit I realized that this horse is a very special work of art. He has returned here to the complex only since July. The sand horse is the work of Mimmo Paladino, whose real name is Domenico Paladino. Artist of Italian Transavanguardia, artistic movement of the 1980s.
Paladino’s creations often revolve around mythological issues, horses, riders and armor. It is even said that the horse was built with sand from the beach of Paestum. Hear an iron mask on the head. According to the artist, this aims to remind us of the tombs of Lugania’s time.
Why a horse? I wonder. I found the answer in a newspaper interview. There, Paladino remembers that among the Greeks, Paestum was dedicated to Poseidon, the god of the sea. And it was not only the god of the sea, but also protective and admirer of horses.
El sand horse – by Mimmo Paladino
Useful information about PAESTUM
As I suspected, I had very little time to examine everything more closely. This time I had to skip the museum. But I will definitely come back someday! My advice: bring enough time with you!
Paestum Archaeological Park
Via Magna Grecia, 919
84047 Capaccio Paestum (SA)
Website: www.museopestum.beniculturali.it
On the YouTube channel ” Archaeological Park of Paestum ”, The Museum Director, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, keeps lovers of antiquity informed about excavations.
The Paladino newspaper article can be found here: www.corriere.it
PAESTUM OPENING SCHEDULE
The Paestum Museum is open all year. The opening schedule is from 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
PAESTUM tickets input
Visiting the complex is cheaper in winter and more expensive in summer. During the winter months, from December to February, regular adult entry is only 6 euros. Now in September I pay 12 euros. In return, I can visit the entire site, including excavations and the museum.
The museum is closed on Mondays. On this rest day you can only visit excavations (with a cheaper entry price).
In 2019, until December, a special promotion is celebrated #Evadolmuso (I go to the museum): The entrance is free on Thursdays starting at 6 pm!
Arrival to Paestum
The easiest way to get from Naples is by train. The route lasts between an hour and an hour and a half. From the Paestum train station it takes about 15 minutes on foot to the excavation sites. However, the frequency of trains on the Paestum Napoli route is not particularly good. Another option is to take the train to Salerno and from there take one of the buses to the temples. The buses stop just in front of the Paestum train station.
If you arrive by car, you will arrive in Paestum through the aforementioned national highway, SS 18.
We spent the night in a holiday apartment near Castellabate. You can find more information here: www.azzurro-reisen.de
Note: During our stay in Cilento we were invited to Petra and Marko’s holiday apartment. Of course, as always, the opinion expressed here is mine.
This article and its photos are reproduced with authorization from the author.
The author loves to travel, and he believes that it is not always necessary to go very far, because even in central Europe there are still small unknown places, exciting landscapes and exciting stories that expect to be discovered. After finishing his studies, Nicole Biarnés moved to Spain, where he has resided near Barcelona for 23 years. As an independent writer, she writes travel books, writes texts for several websites, conducts in situ research for television productions and reports life in the Mediterranean in her travel blog www.freibeuter-reisen.org.
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