Paestum: 12 March 2013

When wandering around Italy it is forgivable to think that places earning the designation of UNESCO World Heritage Site are common as dirt. Little could be further from the truth. It is simply a reflection of the fact that roughly half of the so designated areas are in Italy. Thus it was that the second day of our southern school trip brought us to the ruins at Paestum, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The modern town of Paestum is a tiny little place with next to nothing else to offer except the occasional tourist trap and a museum dedicated to artifacts discovered during the excavations of the ruins.

Founded by the Greeks at the end of the 7^th century BC, Paestum was an important city in the region. It continued to prosper over the centuries, even under Roman rule, until it was eventually abandoned during the middle ages. Interest was rekindled in the site during the 18^th century at roughly the same time as the rediscovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The majority of the 60 acre site is an open field crisscrossed by the foundations of the original buildings and an occasional column jutting up into the air. 

However, what really sets it apart are the standing remains of three Doric-order temples. Attributing these temples is often an imprecise game accomplished mostly by looking at the statuary which remains inside. However, when more than one deity is prominently represented or if the identification of that deity is disputed, then disagreements occur. Such is the case at Paestum. The oldest temple on the site is the Temple of Hera, built around 550 BC. It is 9x18 columns and lacks some of the optical refinements found on later temples. It was originally misidentified as a Roman era administrative building rather than a Greek era temple. Hence its original title of the Basilica.

Next to it is the second Temple of Hera also attributed at various times to Poseidon/Neptune and Ceres. It was built about 100 years after the first temple to Hera and is smaller, with fewer columnsm(6x12) more widely spaced. Over time the Greek architects came to understand that they didn’t need as many supports and were able to open up their buildings more. In addition to being narrower at the top than the bottom, the columns lean slightly inward and the long top support is slightly bowed to give the building better aesthetics when viewed from a distance.

What I find mindblowing is the amount of interior structure which is still present. The double tiered rows of columns used to support the roof as well as the cella are all still largely intact.

A few hundred meters away at the other end of the site is the Temple of Athena, built around 500 BC.

In addition to the three main temples, there are several theater complexes which are more intact than most of the other structures. Here is the Greek Ekklesiaterion, built around 480-470 BC. It was originally used for political assemblies and was later converted to a sanctuary.

At this time of year it plays host to a wide assortment of yellow and white wildflowers, a tiny bouquet of which were picked by a student and presented to Amy.

The nearby museum holds artifacts from the site such as this reproduction of the Olympic Woman.

Paestum is also famous for its painted tombs, found in necropolis outside of the original city wall. Most of them date from the time after the cities fall to the Lucanians. However, perhaps the most famous is the only one known to be from the Greek period. It is referred to as the Tomb of the Diver. The diver was on the top cover of the enclosure with other paintings on all 4 walls. The diver is diving from above into the unknown of the afterlife.

This December Amy and I journeyed to Athens to visit the Acropolis and see the Parthenon. It was certainly a sight to see. But, for all my friends who wax poetic over it I have to say you ain't seen nothing. It is a distant third on my list of Greek temple sites (maybe even fourth or fifth) behind the temples at Agrigento on Sicily and now these at Paestum. Believe it or not, if you only get to see one set of Greek temples in your life, you might want to skip Greece altogether and visit this one.