Poseidonia, today Paestum, was established by the Greeks of Sibari who came from the sea and arrived at the edge of the Piana del Sele, in the north of the Cilento area, in approximately 600 B.C.E. Paestum is one of Italy’s most stunning archaeological jewels, world famous for its spectacular Doric temples.
Three of the temples in the sacred area are perfectly preserved: the Temple of Hera, the most ancient of the sacred buildings, the Temple of Athena, which dominated the city from above, and the Temple of Neptune which was the largest in the town. The notable Tomb of the Diver preserves a unique way of presenting the passage from life to death, as a young man’s dive into the ocean.
The fall of the Roman Empire determined the start of the city’s decline. The temples were raided for building materials to use in churches and palaces, their ruins abandoned and forgotten until the 18th century.
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