Cape Sounion
placeThe dramatic headland at the southern tip of Attica crowned by the Temple of Poseidon, where Aegeus watched for Theseus's returning ship.
The Myth
Cape Sounion was sacred to both Poseidon and Athena, whose temples commanded the headland where Attica meets the Aegean. King Aegeus waited on this cliff for the return of his son Theseus from Crete, where the hero had gone to slay the Minotaur in the Labyrinth built by Daedalus. Theseus had promised to change his ship's black sails to white if he survived, but in the joy of victory — or through Dionysus's interference, as the god desired Ariadne whom Theseus had abandoned on Naxos — he forgot. Aegeus saw the black sails, believed his son dead, and threw himself from the cliff into the sea, which ever after bore his name: the Aegean. The marble temple of Poseidon visible today was built around 440 BC, its columns still standing against the sky. Sailors offering prayers to Poseidon for safe passage made their final landfall here before crossing the open sea.
Symbols
Fun Fact
Lord Byron carved his name into a column of the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion in 1810 — graffiti that is now itself a protected monument. The view from Sounion at sunset, where the temple columns frame the Aegean, has been called the most beautiful in Greece. The sea below still carries Aegeus's name, making every Mediterranean cruise ship sailing the Aegean an unwitting memorial to a father's grief.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
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Labyrinth
placeAn impossibly complex maze built beneath the palace of Knossos on Crete by the master craftsman...
Labyrinth of Knossos
placeThe legendary maze built by Daedalus to contain the Minotaur, possibly inspired by the elaborate...
Sacred Way (Delphi)
placeThe processional road ascending to Apollo's temple at Delphi, lined with treasuries and monuments...
Aegeus
heroKing of Athens and father of Theseus who threw himself into the sea when he saw black sails,...
Crete
placeCrete was the largest Greek island and the seat of the Minoan civilisation, home to King Minos, the...
Naxos
placeNaxos was the island where Theseus abandoned Ariadne — and where Dionysus found and married her,...
Theseus (Athenian)
heroTheseus was the great hero of Athens who slew the Minotaur, united Attica, and established Athenian...
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Ariadne
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Athena
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