Visit the temples of the Greek gods and goddesses

Greek gods and goddesses were worshiped and celebrated throughout Greece and the Mediterranean. Its ruined temples, some more excavated and interesting than others, can be found everywhere from the heart of Greece’s largest cities to the middle of a vineyard, to the bottom of a gorge or the edge of a cliff.

Still, looking for the best of them can add an element of fun detective work to your Greek vacation. It may not be exactly like the Hollywood celebrity homes tour, but visiting the temples of the Greek gods and goddesses can be fascinating. Here’s a quick guide to the houses of the ‘stars’ from Greek mythology.

01
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Apollo at Delphi

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The Sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi was probably the most important international sanctuary in the ancient world. The Temple of Apollo at Delphi is halfway to the sanctuary on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. And if you do the climb, you may be disappointed at first by what looks like six columns and a platform of dressed stones cut out with steps and passages you can’t enter.

But take a moment first to enjoy God’s sight. Like all celebrities, Apollo chose the best views for himself. Below the temple, in the Phocis Valley, a deep green river of millions of olive trees stretches and sinks from the mountains to the sea. Note that supplicants to the god had to climb all the way from the sea before visiting his Oracle.

Apollo spoke in prophecy and riddles through the voice of the Pythia, the Oracle of Delphi, and the fate of the ancient world was formed. Kings, ambassadors and military leaders, friends and foes, came from all over the known world to consult the mysterious oracle. The place was a bit like Geneva or The Hague: it was a neutral place where the warring parties could usually come together to negotiate, worship and compete in the games.

The Temple first because it was associated with Apollo in about 800 BC. C., but it is probable that the oracle is much earlier, it dates from approximately 1400 a. C., the era of the semi-mythological Mycenaeans (think Helen of Troy and Odysseus).

how to visit

Delphi is located in the province of Fokida, in central central Greece. The site is located on EO48 between the cities of Amfissa and Arachova. It is about two and a half hours from Athens by car and there are also frequent bus services from Athens Long Distance Bus Terminal B on Aghia Dimitriou Aplon Street. The archaeological site is open almost every day from 8 am to 8 pm. Visit the website for complete information on opening hours and ticket prices.

02
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Aphrodite

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+30 21 0321 0185

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Aphrodite’s role as the goddess of love, beauty, and, let’s face it, sex, may be one of the reasons why evidence for her temples can be so difficult to find. In ancient times, they may have been centers of sacred prostitution. In fact, her name is the root of the word aphrodisiac and there is evidence that she was worshiped at an archaeological site, now in Turkey known as Aphrodisias.

This association with sex may also be the reason why many sites associated with it were destroyed by later, more puritanical cultures. There is a small site attributed to the goddess at Figaleia, a city in the western Peloponnese, about 50 miles northwest of Kalamata. The area, remote and difficult to access, is located on the top of a mountain about 1,200 meters above sea level. site of an important temple to Apollo and a small site dedicated to Artemis.

A better idea

A much more practical idea is to take a look at the remains of a sanctuary of Aphrodite in the northwest corner of the ancient agora of Athens. It is quite close to the Temple of Hephaestus, the husband of Aphrodite.

03
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Sagebrush

The main Temple of Artemis in Ephesus (now in Turkey) was rebuilt several times, eventually in its third incarnation, becoming one of the wonders of the ancient world. Sadly, if you are visiting Greece to search for it, in addition to the fact that the site is no longer in Greece, the temple is no longer standing.

Another site, at Brauron, also known as Vravrona, about 27 kilometers southeast of Athens, has the remains of the Brauronia Sanctuary of Artemis. This was one of the oldest and most important sites in Greece. It is here where the bodies of Agamemnon’s sons, Orestes and Iphigenia, were brought by order of the goddess. The site includes the temple, as well as a gallery of Doric columns and a “porous” bridge that allows access to the sanctuary through a sacred spring.

how to visit

The site is open daily from 8:30 am to 3 pm and has a small museum with helpful English speaking staff. Parts of this site date from the 8th century BC. C., so the museum contains artifacts from the archaic period of Greece. The site can be reached by a combination of the Athens Metro and local buses, but it is complicated and most people drive or book a tour. Viator offers a half-day tour of the Attica countryside south of Athens that includes a visit to Brauron for around $ 135 (in 2019). Or you can negotiate with a taxi driver to take you on the half-hour drive. It should cost about € 45 each way.

04
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Athena

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+30 21 0321 4172

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The gods of ancient Greece were a competitive group that constantly competed with each other for lovers, followers, worshipers, and territories. Sometimes they got into fights for no reason. In the long run, it seems that Athena had the last laugh. The goddess of wisdom, victory, and gray-eyed maidens, daughter of Zeus, she was not only the patroness of Athens, the most important city in ancient Greece. She still “presides over” one of the largest cities in the world from her position on the Acropolis. Put that in your pipe and smoke it Apollo.

In fact, all the temples on the Acropolis are dedicated, in one way or another, to Athena. There is the largest and most familiar, the Parthenon, considered architecturally perfect (in concept, if not in current conditions). It is dedicated to Athena Parthenos, the patron saint of virgins and was built in the middle of the 5th century BC. C. at the height of the Athenian power. Then there is the charming little Temple of Athena Nike, dedicated to her as the goddess of victory. Along with the Propylaia, the ceremonial entrance to the Acropolis, it is the first Ionic temple on the Acropolis and was built some twenty years later. The erechtheion is a temple dedicated to Poseidon and Athena Polias, Athena as the patrol of Athens, and is the youngest of the three. Possibly it replaced a pre-Athena Polias temple that was destroyed in a war with the Persians. You can recognize it as the temple with the Caryatids, a row of columns, sculpted like female figures, holding part of the structure on their heads.

how to visit

All three temples are included in the Acropolis admission ticket. Walk up to the entrance along Dionyssiou Areopagitou, a wide pedestrianized avenue that winds through the pine groves and archaeological sites on the southern slope of the Acropolis hill. The site opens at 8:30 am and there is a ticket kiosk, gift shop, and restrooms along the way. You can buy a multi-day ticket for all the Acropolis monuments, as well as the Ancient Agora and various other archaeological sites and museums at the box office here. They are € 30 but there is a huge variety of categories of free or discounted tickets. A single day ticket costs € 20 or € 10 for students, the elderly, the disabled and others entitled to preferential prices.

Continue to 5 of 7 below.
05
of 07

hephaestus

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Hephaestus, the god of the forge, crafts and fire, was the blacksmith of the gods and patron of Greek forges. He spent most of his time in a world of fire and was dark, lame, and possibly hunchbacked. It was said that he was the son of Zeus and Hera, but his mother found him so ugly that she threw him into the sea. Fortunately, a sea nymph, Thetis, found him and raised him. And even more fortunate, he made it big by marrying the trophy wife of all time, Aphrodite. She was unfaithful to him, but he was also unfaithful.

His temple is below the Acropolis, in the extreme northwest of the ancient agora of Athens. It is the best preserved Doric temple in the world and was built around the same time as the Parthenon. Since the Middle Ages it was used as a Greek Orthodox church that can explain its state of preservation.

how to visit

The ancient agora of Athens is reached by a path that runs down the Acropolis hill. The Temple of Hephaestus, also known as Theion, is probably its most prominent monument and is very easy to spot. It is included in the price of the Acropolis ticket. You cannot go inside, but it is possible to get much closer than the Parthenon so that you can look between the columns and get an idea of what it was like to worship there. It also offers a good view of most of the Agora and on sunny days, which is most days in Athens, it is very photogenic. Keep your smartphones ready.

06
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Poseidon

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+30 2292 039363

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When he is not rising from the sea on a mountain of foam, with his trident held high, Poseidon is generally associated with high cliffs, places where he can contemplate his endless aquatic domain. The high cliffs of Cape Sounion, an easy day trip from Athens, fit the bill perfectly. The ruin of the Temple of Poseidon, a range of tall Doric columns, is dramatic and the view of the Aegean Sea from the southernmost point of Attica is even more so. Even jaded Athenians of antiquity head to Sounion for sunset.

The site was particularly important to the Athenians because this observation post from Cape Sounion controlled access to the Athenian port of Piraeus, as well as the silver mines on the Lavrion peninsula that enriched Athens. The temple, as it stands now, was built during the 5th century BC, the so-called Hellenic Golden Age, in the reign of Pericles. The remains of an earlier temple, dating to the Mycenaean or Minoan eras, lie below.

how to visit

The most popular time to visit Cape Sounion is at sunset, and in good weather even many Athenians drive to this romantic spot. It is about 43 miles from Athens and takes about an hour and a half driving mostly by motorway. You can also easily book a day trip from one of Athens’ many travel agencies (look around Syntagma Square) that encompasses Cape Sounion and other attractions. A beach and resort hotel below and to the west of the monument is useful for visitors who also want to see the sun rise from this location. Entrance to the archaeological site costs € 8 or € 4 for students, seniors and other concessions. It is open from 9 am (9:30 in winter) until sunset.

07
of 07

Zeus

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Zeus was considered the king of the gods. He was also considered the father of the gods, which is not surprising, as he spawned quite a few of them. When he could be disturbed (and could withstand the spell of his jealous wife, Hera), he presided over this rebellious group from his throne on Mount Olympus, hurling lightning bolts from his high perch at anyone who would annoy him or whose wife he coveted. . The rest of the time, he was seducing and prowling maidens, nymphs, goddesses, and even swans.

As you can imagine, there are temples dedicated to Zeus all over the place. The easiest to visit is right in the middle of Athens. The Temple of Olympian Zeus is located in a park surrounded by trees around which the typical Athenian traffic circulates day and night. There was a time in the largest temple in Greece and possibly the world. So large, in fact, with hundreds of columns, that the Greeks themselves found it a bit embarrassing. Today 16 columns remain, 15 standing and one on the ground, to give an idea of its past glory.

how to visit

It is quite difficult to miss this temple, but the site is completely fenced off. The only way to enter is through the front door, about 200 meters from the tourist bus stop near Hadrian’s Gate in Leof. Andrea Siggrou, on the west side of the park. The site is open from 8 am to 8 pm, every day, except the usual holidays. Entry costs € 8 (concessions € 4). It’s pretty steep what to see on this site, but if you buy the five-day ticket package that includes the Acropolis and other Athens sites, it’s included.