Listed 5 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for destination: "POSSIDONIA Ancient city CAMPANIA".
On the E coast 96 km S of Naples, the site stands in the center of
the Sele plain between the sea and the W ridges of the Monte Alburno. Discoveries
of handmade tools indicate that the site was inhabited in Palaeolithic and Neolithic
times. Fragments of Protocorinthian pottery make it possible to date the founding
of the Greek city to the middle of the 7th c. B.C. According to Strabo (5.4.13)
the city was established by colonists from Sybaris, who built a fortified town
by the sea, forcing the settlers already inhabiting the area to move inland; the
Sybarite city was called Poseidonia. The fertility of the plain surrounding it,
as well as its advantageous position for trade enabled it to become extremely
prosperous. Around 400 B.C. this prosperity was shattered when the Lucanians,
who had lived in the hills behind, captured the city, renaming it Paiston or Paistos.
It enjoyed a brief period of freedom from 332 to 326 B.C. when Alexander the Molossian
united the Greek peoples of S Italy against the Lucanians. In 273 B.C., the Romans
established a colony on the site, renaming it Paestum. During the Roman period
the city prospered, but in the 1st c. A.D. the silting up of the river Sele (Salso)
caused the area to become infested with malaria. At the beginning of the Middle
Ages the site consisted simply of a small community centered around the northernmost
of the temples, which had been turned into a church. In the 9th c. A.D. the site
was finally abandoned and subsequently hidden by forest and swamp, not to be rediscovered
again until the middle of the 18th c. when a road was built through the area.
The entire Greek city was surrounded by a fortification wall, some
4750 m in length with an average thickness of 5 m. The present walls date to the
Lucanian and Roman periods; the W section is the best preserved. The entire circuit
was surrounded by a moat crossed by bridges at the points of the four major gates:
the Porta della Sirena to the E, the Porta Aurea to the N, the Porta della Giustizia
to the S, and to the W the Porta Marina, which consists of round and square towers
forming a vestibule with guard rooms.
The major part of the modern excavations have been conducted in the
central part of the city. Two major precincts flank a central agora. To the N
is the area sacred to Athena, and to the S that dedicated to Hera. The S sanctuary
includes two major temples, the southernmost of which is the older dating to the
middle of the 6th c. B.C. Because of its resemblance to a civic building, it has
been called the Basilica, but it is actually a Temple to Hera. It is of the Doric
order, facing E (enneastyle x 18; 24.5 x 54.3 m on its stylobate). The columns
have a pronounced entasis, tapering at the top. The capitals have very flat echini,
the bases of which are decorated with carved leaf designs (anthemion). Nothing
remains above the architrave except part of the antithema of the frieze course.
The temple probably did not contain sculptural decoration. The pronaos is tristyle
in antis; the cella is divided into two aisles by a single row of eight columns
down the center, three of which are still standing, their capitals carved with
anthemion designs, and there probably was an adyton at the back. The interior
columns are of the same height as those of the pronaos, but the level of the floor
of the cella was higher than that of the pteron and was paved with limestone slabs,
some still visible on the S side. In front of the temple stands a rectangular
limestone altar with a bothros near its S side. To the S of the temple are the
foundations of what was probably a small treasury distyle in antis (15.25 x 7.15
m). To the N of the altar are the remains of another treasury, of the Doric order,
distyle in antis, and dating to ca. 450 B.C. Two smaller archaic altars in this
area have also been found.
To the N of the Basilica stands the second temple of the S sanctuary,
formerly called a temple of Poseidon (Neptune); but because of the votive offerings
found, it is now considered a temple dedicated to Hera. This excellently preserved
Doric temple faces E (hexastyle x 14; 24.3 x 59.9 m on its stylobate). It is variously
dated to 460 B.C. and to 440 B.C. The columns of the peristyle have a slight entasis
and are unusual in that they contain 24 flutes. The entablature is well-preserved,
but nothing remains of the timber roof. This temple exhibits a number of refinements:
all horizontal lines have a curvature of 0.02 m, the corner columns are elliptical
in shape instead of round, and the columns of the E and W sides are wider in diameter
than those of the flanks. The principle of double contraction has also been used.
The pronaos is distyle in antis. The door of the cella is flanked by two smaller
doors. The one to the N leads to a stone stairway which originally went to the
wooden roof for repairs and for storage; the one to the S simply leads to a small
closet. The cella itself is divided into three aisles by two rows of columns (7
on each side), which support a second tier of smaller columns, containing only
16 flutes each. These interior columns simply supported the wooden roof since
there is no evidence for a gallery. At its W end, the temple contains an opisthodomos
also distyle in antis. Much of the limestone paving of the pteron and cella still
exists, and remains of stucco are visible on the walls. Neither the inetopes nor
the pediments contained sculptural decoration. Two altars belonged to this temple.
The original one of the 5th c. B.C. stood in line with that of the Basilica. It
was cut through in Roman times by a road to the forum and replaced by a smaller
one to the W, nearer the temple, the podium of which still survives.
Several small sacred buildings have been located between the later
Temple of Hera and the Roman forum. Near the NE end of the temple are the remains
of a small temple distyle in antis with altar, both dating to the end of the 5th
c. or the beginning of the 4th c. B.C. Six other small temples have been found
in this area, one of which is an amphiprostyle temple dating to the 4th c. B.C.
and standing on a podium (30 x 8 m). The temple contained four columns at each
end and one at the sides. All these buildings were dedicated to Hera Argiva, the
goddess of fertility. In the very NE corner of the S sanctuary dedicated to Hera
are the remains of a four-sided portico, probably a palaestra.
To the N of the Sanctuary of Hera stands the Roman forum, a rectangular
structure (57 x 150 m) occupying the site of the Greek agora. It was surrounded
by a portico of reused Doric columns, probably carrying a second story.
The S side of the forum contains tabernae, a square building with
an apse in the center of its S side built on the foundations of a Greek temple,
and a rectangular building identified as the curia with walls decorated with engaged
columns having composite capitals. On the SW side are the baths, built by M. Tullius
Venneianus at his own expense. On the W side is a structure with three podia,
probably serving as the lararium. On the N side are more shops and in the center
stands a prominent temple, which, when it was found in 1830, was called the "temple
of Peace." It probably served as the Capitolium of the Latin colony. It was
begun in 273 B.C. (14.5 x 26.5 m on its stylobate, with a N-S orientation). It
stood on a high podium with a deep porch and three cellae. There were six columns
on the front (S) and eight on both sides, but none at the back (N). This plan
was never completed. In 80 B.C., building on the temple resumed and changes in
the original plan were made: only one cella was built, and the columns in the
front were reduced to four. The entablature of the temple is basically Doric but
with Ionic influences. The columns have four-sided capitals resembling the old
Aeolic type with female heads projecting from each face.
There is a sculptural triglyph-metope frieze, above which runs a row
of dentils. Adjacent to the E side of this temple are the remains of a circular
structure with tiers of seats, variously identified as the Greek bouleuterion
or the Roman comitium, but probably serving as a small amphitheater for the gladiatorial
games of the Lucanian period. To the E of this building is another row of tabernae
and to the NE stands the large Roman amphitheater, of which only the W half has
been excavated because the national highway intersects it.
The main N-S street of the Roman city, the cardo maximus, runs along
the same course as the Greek sacred way, passing by the W side of the forum. At
the forum it meets the main E-W street, the decumanus maximus, at a crossroads
(coinpitum) which is indicated by two columns. After it goes by the forum, the
cardo passes on its E side the remains of a large building, identified as the
gymnasium, having in its center a large swimming pool of Greek construction. Sometime
before A.D. 79 this pool was partially filled in and converted to a cistern to
help with the drainage of the area. After the gymnasium, the cardo turns sharply
E for a short while and then turns N again to the Porta Aurea.
To the E and W of the cardo are the remains of Roman houses of the
Samnite type with deep wells. Among these houses, to the E of the cardo, is a
square temenos within which stands a small rectangular underground shrine (hypogaeum)
to Hera (4.4 x 3.3 m). It was built of limestone blocks and had a gabled roof
with clay tiles. The top of the roof stood below the road level, so that the entire
shrine could be covered with earth. The interior walls were covered by white plaster
but otherwise remained undecorated. In the center of the interior was found a
stone bench on which were the remains of five iron rods wrapped in cloth. Similar
rods were found under the Altar of Hera at Samos. The shrine dates to the end
of the 6th c. B.C.
To the N of the Roman houses is the Sanctuary of Athena in which stands
the third large temple at Paestum. It was formerly called a temple to Ceres but
on the basis of the clay statuettes of Athena that have been found nearby, it
is now identified as belonging to Athena. It is of the Doric order (hexastyle
x 13; 32.8 x 14.5 m on its stylobate). The Doric columns recall those of the Basilica,
having a pronounced entasis with capitals decorated with anthemion designs. The
temple has a tetrastyle prostyle porch, but no opisthodomos. The columns of this
porch, however, were Ionic, with simple bases; two of the sandstone capitals also
remain. The cella contains no interior columns. Above the architrave runs another
Ionic feature, a sandstone egg-and-dart molding, replacing the conventional regulae
and guttae. The pediment is of unusual construction: on the flanks, the horizontal
cornice, instead of having the usual mutules and guttae, was decorated with a
series of coffered sinkings. On the facades, there is no horizontal cornice, thus
omitting the pediment floor which has been replaced by an egg-and-dart molding.
The slanting cornice is also decorated with a series of coffered sinkings which
join those of the flanks. To the E of the temple stands its altar, and to the
S are the remains of a small temple dating back to the first half of the 6th c.
B.C. To the NE of the temple stands a Doric votive column on a three-stepped base,
also dating to the first half of the 6th c. B.C.
About 1.6 km N of the city at Contrada Gaudo a prehistoric necropolis
has been found, yielding spherical vases, beakers, and askoi dating to between
B.C. 2400 and 1900. Nearby, painted tombs of a 4th c. B.C. Lucanian necropolis
have recently been discovered. The pottery from these tombs dates them to between
340 and 310 B.C. To the S of the city is a third necropolis. The most important
of the tombs here is the Tomb of the Diver, discovered in 1968. The vertical sides
of the tomb have been painted with symposium scenes and the underside of the cover
slab has the representation of a boy diving from a tower into the sea. An attic
lekythos in the tomb dates it to between 480-470 B.C. The paintings, as well as
other finds from the area, are located in the museum at the site.
W.D.E. Coulson, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 146 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
called Posidonia (Poseidonia) by the Greeks. A city in Lucania, situated four or five miles south of the Silarus, and near the bay, which derived its name from the town (Paestanus Sinus: Gulf of Salerno). It was colonized by the Sybarites about B.C. 524, and soon became a powerful and flourishing city. It was captured by the Lucanians about B.C. 430 and gradually lost its Greek characteristics. Under the Romans it gradually sank in importance, and in the time of Augustus it is mentioned only on account of the beautiful roses grown in its neighbourhood. The ruins of two Doric temples at Paestum are among the most remarkable remains of antiquity.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Paiston, Ptol.; Paistos, Strab.: Eth. Paistanos, Paestanus: Ruins
at Pesto), a city of Lucania, on the Tyrrhenian sea, about 5 miles S. of the mouth
of the Silarus. It was originally a Greek colony, named Posidonia (Poseidonia:
Eth. Poseidoniates), and was founded by a colony from Sybaris, on the opposite
coast of Lucania. (Strab. v. p. 251; Scymn. Ch. 245; Scyl. p. 3. § 12.) The date
of its foundation is uncertain, but it may probably be referred to the period
of the chief prosperity of Sybaris, when that city ruled over the whole of Lucania,
from one sea to the other, or from 650 to 510 B.C. It may be observed, also, that
Solinus calls Posidonia a Dorio colony; and though his authority is worth little
in itself, it is confirmed by the occurrence of Doric forms on coins of the city:
hence it seems probable that the Doric settlers from Troezen, who formed part
of the original colony of Sybaris, but were subsequently expelled by the Achaeans
(Arist. Pol. v. 3), may have mainly contributed to the establishment of the new
colony. According to Strabo it was originally founded close to the sea, but was
subsequently removed further inland (Strab. l.c.); the change, however, was not
considerable, as the still existing ruins of the ancient city are little more
than half a mile from the coast.
We know scarcely anything of the early history of Posidonia. It is
incidentally mentioned by Herodotus (i. 167) in a manner that proves it to have
been already in existence, and apparently as a considerable town, at the period
of the foundation of the neighbouring Velia, about B.C. 540. But this is the only
notice of Posidonia until after the fall of its parent city of Sybaris, B.C. 510.
It has been supposed by some modern writers that it received a great accession
to its population at that period; but Herodotus, who notices the Sybarites as
settling on that occasion at Laiis and Scidrus, does not allude to Posidonia.
(Herod. vi. 21.) There are, indeed, few among the cities of Magna Graecia of which
we hear less in history; and the only evidence of the flourishing condition and
prosperity of Posidonia, is to be found in the numbers of its coins and in the
splendid architectural remains, so well known as the temples of Paestum. From
its northerly position, it must have been one of the first cities that suffered
from the advancing power of the Lucanians, as it was certainly one of the first
Greek colonies that fell into the hands of that people. (Strab. v. p. 251.) The
date of this event is very uncertain; buit it is probable that it must have taken
place before B.C. 390, when the city of Laus was besieged by the Lucanians, and
had apparently become the bulwark of Magna Graecia on that side. We learn from
a curious passage of Aristoxenus (ap. Athen. xiv. p. 632) that the Greek inhabitants
were not expelled, but compelled to submit to the authority of the Lucanians,
and receive a barbarian colony within their walls. They still retained many of
their customs, and for ages afterwards continued to assemble at a certain festival
every year with the express purpose of bewailing their captivity, and reviving
the traditions of their prosperity. It would appear [p. 513] from Livy (viii.
17), though the passage is not quite distinct, that it was recovered by Alexander,
king of Epirus, as late as B.C. 330; but if so, it certainly soon fell again into
the hands of the barbarians.
Posidonia passed with the rest of Lucania into the hands of the Romans.
We find no mention of it on this occasion; but in B.C. 273, immediately after
the departure of Pyrrhus from Italy, the Romans established a colony there for
the security of their newly acquired territory on this side. (Liv. Epit. xiv.;
Veil. Pat. i. 14; Strab. v. p. 251.) It was probably at, this period that the
name was changed, or corrupted, into Paestum though the change may have already
taken place at the time when the city fell into the hands of the Lucanians. But,
from the time that it became a Roman colony, the name of Paestum seems to have
exclusively prevailed; and even its coins, which are inscribed with Greek characters,
have the legend Pais and Paistano. (Eckhel, vol. i. p. 158.) We hear but little
of Paestum as a Roman colony: it was one of the Coloniae Latinae, and distinguished
itself by its unshaken fidelity throughout the Second Punic War. Thus the Paestani
are mentioned as sending golden paterae as a present to the Roman senate just
before the battle of Cannae (Liv. xxii. 36). Again in B.C. 210 they furnished
ships to the squadron with which D. Quintius repaired to the siege of Tarentum;
and the following year they were among the eighteen colonies which still professed
their readiness to furnish supplies and recruits to the Roman armies, notwithstanding
the long-continued pressure of the war (Liv. xxvi. 39, xxvii. 10.) Paestum was
therefore at this period still a flourishing and considerable town, but we hear
little more of it during the Roman Republic. It is incidentally mentioned by Cicero
in one of his letters (Ep. ad Att. xi. 17); and is noticed by all the geographers
as a still subsisting municipal town. Strabo, however, observes that it was rendered
unhealthy by the stagnation of a small river which flowed beneath its walls (v.
p. 251); and it was probably, therefore, already a declining place. But it was
still one of the eight Praefecturae of Lucania at a considerably later period
; and inscriptions attest its continued existence throughout the Roman Empire.
(Strab. l. c.; Plin. iii, 5. s. 10; Ptol. iii. 1. § 8; Lib. Colon. p. 209; Orell.
Inscr. 135, 2492, 3078: Bull. d. Inst. Arch. 1836, p. 152.) In some of these it
bears the title of a Colonia; but it is uncertain at what period it attained that
rank: it certainly cannot refer to the original Latin colony, as that must have
become merged in the municipal condition by the effect of the Lex Julia. We learn
from ecclesiastical authorities that it became a bishopric at least as early as
the fifth century; and it is probable that its final decay and desolation was
owing to the ravages of the Saracens in the tenth century. At that time the episcopal
see was removed to the neighbouring town of Capaccio, in an elevated situation
a few miles inland.
Paestum was chiefly celebrated in ancient times for its roses, which
possessed the peculiarity of flowering twice a year, and were considered as surpassing
all others in fragrance. (Virg. Georg. iv. 118; Ovid, Met. xv. 708; Propert. iv.
5. 59; Martial, iv. 41. 10, vi. 80. 6; Auson. Idyll. 14. 11.) The roses that still
grow wild among the ruins are said to retain their ancient property, and flower
regularly both in May and November.
The site of Paestum appears to have continued wholly uninhabited from
the time when the episcopal see was removed till within a very recent period.
It was not till the middle of the last century that attention was drawn to the
ruins which are now so celebrated. Though they can hardly be said to have been
then first discovered, as they must always have been a conspicuous object from
the Bay of Salerno, and could not but have been known in their immediate neighbourhood,
they were certainly unknown to the rest of Europe. Even the diligent Cluverius,
writing in 1624, notices the fact that there were ruins which bore the name of
Pesto, without any allusion to their character and importance. (Cluver. Ital.
p. 1255.) They seem to have been first visited by a certain Count Gazola, in the
service of Charles VII., King of Naples, before the middle of the last century,
and were described by Antonini, in his work on the topography of Lucania (Naples,
1745), and noticed by Mazzocchi, who has inserted a dissertation on the history
of Paestum in his work on the Heraclean Tables (pp. 499-515) published in 1754.
Before the end of the century they became the subject of the special works of
Magnoni and Paoli, and were visited by travellers from all parts of Europe. Among
these, Swinburne in 1779, has left a very accurate description of the ruins; and
their architectural details are given by Wilkins in his Magna Graecia (fol. Cambr.
1807).
The principal ruins consist of the walls, and three temples standing
within the space enclosed by them. The whole circuit of the walls can be clearly
made out, and they are in many places standing to a considerable height; several
of the towers also remain at the angles, and vestiges of the ancient gates, which
were four in number; one of these, on the E. side of the town, is nearly perfect,
and surmounted by a regularly constructed arch. The whole circuit of the walls
forms an irregular polygon, about 3 miles in circumference. The two principal
temples stand not far from the southern gate of the city. The finest and most
ancient of these is commonly known as the temple of Neptune; but there is no authority
for the name, beyond the fact that Neptune, or Poseidon, was unquestionably the
tutelary deity of the city which derived from him its ancient name of Posidonia.
The temple was hypaethral, or had its cella open to the sky, and is 195 feet long
by 79 wide: it is remarkably perfect; not a single column is wanting, and the
entablature and pediments are almost entire. The style of architecture is Doric,
but its proportions are heavier, and the style altogether more massive and solid
than any other extant edifice of the kind. On this account some of the earlier
antiquarians disputed the fact of its Greek origin, and ascribed it to the Phoenicians
or Etruscans: but there is not a shadow of foundation for this; we have no trace
of any settlement on the spot before the Greek colony; and the architecture is
of pure Greek style, though probably one of the most ancient specimens of the
Doric order now remaining. About 100 yards from the temple of Neptune, and nearer
to the south gate, is the second edifice, which on account of some peculiarities
in its plan has been called a Basilica, but is unquestionably also a temple. It
is of the kind called pseudo-dipteral; but differs from every other ancient building
known in having nine columns at each end, while the interior is divided into two
parts by a single range of columns running along the centre of the building. It
was probably a temple consecrated to two different divinities, or rather, in fact,
two temples united in one. It has 18 columns in each side, and is 180 feet long
by 80 in width. The third temple, which is at some distance from the other two,
nearer to the N. gate of the town, and is commonly known as the Temple of Ceres
or Vesta (though there is no reason for either name), is much smaller than the
other two, being only 108 feet in length by 48 in breadth: it presents no remarkable
architectural peculiarities, but is, as well as the so-called Basilica, of much
later date than the great temple. Mr. Wilkins, indeed, would assign them both
to the Roman period: but it is difficult to reconcile this with the history of
the city, which never appears to have been a place of much importance under the
Roman rule. (Swinburne's Travels, vol. ii. pp. 131-138; Wilkins's Magna Graecia,
pp. 55-67.)
The other remains are of little importance. The vestiges of an amphitheatre
exist near the centre; of the city; and not far from them are the fallen ruins
of a fourth temple, of small size and clearly of Roman date. Excavations have
also laid bare the foundations of many houses and other buildings, and the traces
of a portico, which appear to indicate the site of the ancient forum. The remains
,of an aqueduct are. also visible outside the walls; and numerous tombs (some
of which are said to be. of much interest) have been recently brought to light.
The small river which (as already noticed by Strabo), by stagnating
under the walls of Paestum, rendered its situation so unhealthy, is now called
the Salso: its ancient name is not mentioned. It forms extensive deposits of a
calcareous stone, resembling the Roman travertin, which forms an excellent building
material, with which both the walls and edifices of the city have been constructed.
The malaria, which caused the site to be wholly abandoned during the middle ages,
has already sensibly diminished, since the resort of travellers has again attracted
a small population to the spot, and given rise to some cultivation. About five
miles from Paestum, at the mouth of the Silarus or Sele, stood, in ancient times,
a celebrated temple of Juno, which, according to the tradition adopted both by
Strabo and Pliny, was founded by the Argonauts under Jason (Strab, vi, p. 252.;
Plin. iii. 5. s. 10). It is probable that the worship of the Argive Hera, or Juno,
was brought hither by the Troezenian colonists of Posidonia. Pliny places the
temple on the N. bank of the. Silarus.; Strabo, probably more correctly, on the
S. The extensive gulf which extends from the promontory of Minerva (the Punta
della Campanella) to the headland called Posidium (the Punta di Licosa), and is
now known as the Gulf of Salerno. derived its ancient name from the city of Paestum,
being called by the Romans Paestanus Sinus and by the Greeks the gulf of Posidonia
(Poseidoniates kolpos). (Strab. v. p, 251; Sinus Paestanus, Plin. iii. 5. s. 10;
Mel. ii. 4. § 9; Cic. ad Att. xvi. 6)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
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