The Temple of Poseidon perched atop the cliffs of Cape Sounion, an iconic landmark since the days of antiquity, now has an additional reason to shine: a new and improved lighting system installed to highlight both the temple itself and its surroundings.
The new lighting system was inaugurated on September 16, in the presence of the prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Culture Minister Lina Mendoni and a series of distinguished guests, including the president of the Onassis Foundation and the president of METLEN Energy & Metals, Evangelos Mytilineos, who carried out the project’s planning and execution.
In addition to the lights that flooded the monument, the site was also flooded with the unique music of Stavros Xarhakos, who paid homage to Greece’s cultural heritage with the aid of vocalists Dimitris Basis, Iro Saia and Zacharias Karounis and the ERT contemporary music orchestra.
The design of the new lighting was assigned to the internationally renowned lighting designer Eleftheria Deko.
As the prime minister noted, it was an improvement that was essential, since the new lighting improved the monument and protected its integrity, while highlighting its unique geometry as well as its setting. In addition, works were carried out at the entrances and exits to the site which allowed safer access for all.
Mendoni, on her part, referred to the next phases of the new lighting installation and stressed that the system showcased the site without harmful interventions or changes to its physiognomy. “The temple of Sounion was always the most important point in an ages-old maritime route. It was exactly the point where ancient ships turned their rudder upward to sail toward the Archipelago. Tonight we are delivering to the Greek and international audience the completed phase of the programme that concerns the main section of the sanctuary and Poseidon’s temple. The lighting of the wall that protects the cape on the north and east side will follow, as well as of the settlement that this surrounds. The lighting of the monument and its immediate surroundings…effectively and uniformly showcases its size, plasticity and geometry. It was a complex exercise, requiring specialist planning,” she said.
The minister said that Eleftheria Deko and her team, specialists in lighting projects with lengthy previous experience from a number of culture ministry projects – including the new lighting for the Athens Acropolis – had worked with the Eastern Attica Antiquities Ephorate to ensure that the new lighting fixtures and cables were placed in such a way so as not to disrupt the site’s operation or its visual and aesthetic appearance for visitors during the day.
According to Mendoni, the design sought to emphasise the third dimension of depth and the textures of the monument and building materials used, from all possible viewpoints, through a differentiation in the intensity and shade of white light between the exterior and interior parts of the temple. She noted that the number of lighting fixtures was triple that of the old system but modulated so as not to create light pollution, while the use of LED lights ensured a greater palate of colours and significant energy savings.
The previous lighting system had been installed by the culture ministry in 2004, for the Athens Olympic Games, at that time offering a new visual experience. The 20-year-old system had since suffered the ravages of time, however, and needed to be replaced. In the installation of the new system, particular care was taken to ensure that it did not prevent visitors from walking freely around the site and was not visually intrusive.
The Temple of Poseidon was built at about 444-440 BC out of local Agrileza marble, on the ruins of an archaic temple built of limestone. The entrance to the fort of Cape Sounion was through a gate near the port in the northwestern section of the wall. The Temple of Poseidon occupied highest point in the fort and had a courtyard built around it.
