Temple of Aphaia

About this place

The Temple of Aphaia is an ancient Greek Doric temple on the island of Aegina in the Saronic Gulf, on a peak about 160 metres high on the east of the island, about 13 km by road from the main port and 23 km southwest of Piraeus in a straight line. It was dedicated to the goddess Aphaia, who was worshipped only at this sanctuary, and was once known as the Temple of Jupiter. The present temple was built around 500 BC over the remains of an older temple of about 570 BC that burned around 510 BC; pieces of the older temple were buried in the fill of the terrace, so many still show traces of paint. The temple was a favourite of Romantic painters, J. M. W. Turner among them. Golden limestone columns, most still in place, stand on a hilltop wrapped in pine forest, and part of the upper row of inner columns still survives. From the edge of the sanctuary the view stretches over the Saronic Gulf and the island of Salamis, and on clear days as far as Athens. Visitors take the ferry from Piraeus to Aegina, then a bus or car across the island. A small site museum shows models of the temple, and the seaside village of Agia Marina lies below the hill.