The temple, following the Roman period, became a Christian church. The Temple of Ceres consists of 6 front x 14 long side Doric ColumnsĪt the front of the temple are the remains of a sacrificial altar, and a votive column. There is an inscription dedicated to Minerva, the Roman goddess who mirrors Athena. The temple comprises off six Doric columns on the short side and fourteen on the long side. The Temples of Ceres, a dedication to Athena Beneath the temple is evidence of an even older temple from the Archaic Period (c.580BC). Temple of Ceres The Temple of Ceres – built 500BCīuilt around 500BC, the Temple of Ceres is in the classical style and dedicated to Athena. I arrived mid-afternoon and spent 2-3 hours visiting the site and museum. The crowds visiting are not as large as say Pompeii or Herculaneum. View of the Basilica and Temple of Neptune Secondly, they are home to both Greek and Roman ruins. Firstly, the three ancient Greek temples that date from 600 to 450 BC are among the best preserved of all of Magna Graecia. The archaeological ruins of Paestum are significant for two reasons. Paestum was a major city on the Magna Graecia coast. The city of Paestum (Roman name), or as it was known to the Greek settlers, Poseidonia is in Campania. From Campania right down to Sicily, they date from the eighth century BC. Magna Graecia, or “Great Greece” is the named the Romans termed for the coastal areas of Southern Italy where there were Greek settlements (including Paestum). There is evidence of continuous human occupation dating from 250,000 years ago. Paestum is part of the Cilento Peninsula in Campania and noted by UNESCO as a cultural landscape of outstanding value. Just over one hour by rail from Naples, they are well worth a visit. The temples are in an excellent state of preservation.
Awarded World Heritage Site significance by UNESCO in 1998, Paestum has three Greek temples dating as far back as 600 BC. Recently, the Natural Regional Park “Land of the Ravines” has been established (it includes 13 municipalities of the province of Taranto), and it includes organized paths that enable visitors to discover the natural, historical-archeological and architectural beauty of the ravines.Paestum in Campania is an archaeological park and site that highlights the success of the early Greek colonists. These underground frescoed churches are similar to the churches of the Cappadocia villages (Turkish region) and it is thought that this from of art, which is so original and suggestive, originated from the escape to the West of the Byzantine religious people following the iconoclastic struggle of the X century, which prohibited the cult of depicting religious images.
There are numerous rock churches and even if they are different from an architectural point of view, many of them contain altars, stone seats caved along the walls and high quality iconographic Byzantine style frescoes. This is how the “anthropization” of the landscape began, molded to man’s needs: in particular, in the ravines, authentic villages made up of house caves carved from rocky walls can be found.Īs centuries went by, the rocky villages expanded, organizing the area into urban structures which were richer and more functional: they were made up of characteristic house caves with vegetable and ornamental gardens, areas for the animals, production areas (like oil mills and washing areas), areas dedicated to the collection of food and water, terraces useful for cultivation, tombs and finally cult areas. The need for defense, together with roads and rivers, had a key role in the choice of the locations where settlements were created: the ravines perfectly satisfied this objective because the rich vegetation hid the entrances to the caves and offered the necessary sustenance for man. During the centuries in which man lived in the caves, fairytale landscapes were created, similar to those of nativity scenes, still visible today and situated at the feet of and near the modern city and towns of the Ionian inland area.
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