What are the ancient ruins of Paestum?

Paestum is an ancient Greek city located in the Campania region of south-western Italy, featuring three exceptionally well-preserved Doric temples. Originally established as Poseidonia by Greek colonists around 600 BCE, it later fell under Lucanian and Roman control before being abandoned in the Early Middle Ages. Today, the archaeological site includes largely intact city walls, paved roads, an amphitheatre, and a modern national museum.

What we know

• The ruins of Paestum are famous for their three exceptionally well-preserved ancient Greek temples built in the Doric order between roughly 550 and 450 BCE. [4]
• The city was originally established around 600 BCE under the name Poseidonia by Greek settlers who came from Sybaris. [3, 4]
• The site was seized by the Lucanians in 400 BCE, taken over by Romans who established a Latin colony and renamed it Paestum in 273 BCE, and eventually abandoned in the Early Middle Ages due to flooding and shifting trade routes. [4]
• The ancient ruins lie within the modern Italian comune of Capaccio Paestum in the province of Salerno. [2, 4]

Still open

• While the Second Temple of Hera is traditionally and erroneously called the Temple of Neptune or Poseidon, it remains possible that Poseidon was also a secondary dedicatee alongside Hera.

Where to go next

• what caused itWho were the ancient colonists from Sybaris?
• how it workedHow did the Second Temple of Hera become misnamed as the Temple of Neptune?
• how we knowWhat artifacts are displayed in the National Archaeological Museum of Paestum?
• a case in pointWhat are other surviving examples of Magna Graecia architecture?
• the bigger pictureWhat is the history of Capaccio Paestum today?
• an unexpected connectionHow did a railway station end up directly beside ancient Greek temple walls?The Paestum railway station on the Naples-Salerno-Reggio Calabria line sits directly to the east of the ancient Greek city walls.

Sources

• [1]Capaccio Paestum (Wikidata Q80746) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Capaccio Paestum · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]First Temple of Hera (Paestum) · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Paestum · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Second Temple of Hera (Paestum) · CC BY-SA 4.0