An Athenian Diary

18

Sounion -- A Day Trip

Sounion lies at the far end of Attika, looking out over the sea to the east and south. On the very tip of the peninsula stands a classical temple of Poseidon, god of the sea. Cliffs give way to a rapturous drop to the waves below. Good destination for a day trip!

We had use of a car belonging to the School, and headed out just before noon October 28, Ohi Day -- one of the two big Greek national holidays. Ohi Day commemorates the refusal by the Greek dictator Metaxas to accede to Mussolini's demand that Greece accept Italian occupation. His refusal consisted of the single word "ohi," "no." So began Greece's involvement in World War II, which led, after their defeat of the Italians in the Albanian campaign, to the invasion and occupation by the Germans, the annihilation of the ancient Jewish community of Thessalonike, horrible starvation, resistance fighting in the mountains, and German retributions; and which laid groundwork for the civil war that followed. But like many national holidays the world over, Ohi Day has become more an occasion for holiday than national reflection; Athens was empty (for Athens) and we sped happily through city and suburbs to the windy route along the sea that leads to the temple.

By the time we arrived in the vicinity of Sounion, everyone was hungry -- so we postponed our visit to the god in favor of some food. There were several tavernas along the bay below the temple, all featuring fish. Ours was right on the water; cats ambled through the table legs, waiting for inattentive diners to drop a morsel -- or for the kids to feed them. When the waiter came we had to go back to the kitchen to inspect the fish and choose ours. They came grilled to perfection, expensive but delectable -- the first fresh fish (except the swordfish we get traditionally at the market on Friday and cook ourselves) we've had since we arrived. Afterwards the kids played by the sea, teasing the waves and balancing on a concrete dock that cut a few meters out into the water.

The day had turned into real late fall weather. Cold, overcast, with an unbelievably powerful wind whipping across the rocks, so strong that sometimes it threatened to knock you over. Across the grey, rough sea, the island of Kea rose up, a high and tempting profile. We haven't made it yet to any of the islands except Aigina, a close trip. It's getting now late in the season, the weather will be unpredictable, sometimes harsh. In antiquity merchantmen typically stopped sailing the Aegean around the end of October or the start of November; too dangerous. Nowadays there are big ferries and airplanes, to outwit Poseidon. But the god has still his powers, even if they have been muted and cramped by modern technology, not least the technology of unbelief. Why should his temple here have survived in such good shape, when Athena's, just across the gully, has been reduced to a few miserable blocks scattered across half-hidden foundations? Why have so many visitors, not least Byron himself, felt compelled to carve their names on the standing columns of Poseidon's home? Why is the sea rough, why does Kea look so close, but the drop to the waves from the temple so far? Poseidon still has his secrets, I think.

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