Sounio - Riviera

At the southern tip of Attica, at the highest point, stands the Temple of Poseidon that meets the Aegean Sea, imposing and imperious. The Temple of Poseidon, which Poseidon was worshiped as the god of the sea, attracts thousands of visitors, due to its geographical position and the myth that accompanies it.

According to mythology, Aegeus, the king of Athens, was daily waiting at that place for his son, Theseus, who had traveled to the palace of King Minos in Crete, with the sole purpose to kill the Minotaur, the mythical monster that every year was offered, as a sacrifice, seven young male and female people from Athens.

Theseus managed to kill the Minotaur and returned victorious to Athens. Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos, who helped him defeat the Minotaur, travelled with him. During their return journey to Athens, the god of wine Dionysus, fell in love with her and kidnapped her. Theseus got really sad because of that and he forgot to change the ship sails from black to white. As the ship was visible from Sounion, Aegeus noticed that the sails were black and thought that his son was dead. The Aegeus, unable to endure the loss of his child, fell into the sea and drowned. The sea was named Aegean Sea.

In fact, this myth reflects the Athenian vassalage in Minoan omnipotence that period. Athens paid great taxes to Minos. After that period, came Crete’s civilization decline and the Athenian omnipotence.