9 October '05, Sunday.
As you know, we are not one's to get going too early in the morning, and this morning wasn't any different. Out of bed a little after 9, shower, dress, breakfast of sausage and eggs, and check out...all by 11:30...who's in a hurry in this world anyway? The Greek Temples were about a mile away, so we headed out to see them, and with hopes of beating the crowd. The sun was out and felt real good. The crowds have definitely started to diminish, so we didn't have to worry about having to get there early. I find it interesting that what we are seeing here in Paestum are "Greek" antiquities, I would have thought Roman seeing as how close we are to Rome and being in Italy, but apparently the area was founded by the Greeks in the 6th century BC. The Romans didn't come into this area and conquer the land until the 3rd century BC. Two of the ruins reminded us of those we saw in Athens, but in far better shape. The largest one was the temple that they say is misnamed. The Temple of Neptune, which was constructed in 450 BC and dedicatede to Hera. This is the one that is very similar to the Parthenon in Athens, but believe me, it is in much better condition. It is amazing that they could construct a structure such as this in 450 BC, and we can't construct a structure that will last 50 years today. We also saw the Temples of Hera and Ceres, as well as the ruins of a complete harbor city that covers over 60 acres. The waters of the Med have drawn back about a mile since the time of this city, but that has been pretty common. The sun stayed with us through the morning, and now it looks like it will last the day, so we are off to find a campground in Rome and wait for "Auntie" Ann, who arrives on Thursday
As you know, we are not one's to get going too early in the morning, and this morning wasn't any different. Out of bed a little after 9, shower, dress, breakfast of sausage and eggs, and check out...all by 11:30...who's in a hurry in this world anyway? The Greek Temples were about a mile away, so we headed out to see them, and with hopes of beating the crowd. The sun was out and felt real good. The crowds have definitely started to diminish, so we didn't have to worry about having to get there early. I find it interesting that what we are seeing here in Paestum are "Greek" antiquities, I would have thought Roman seeing as how close we are to Rome and being in Italy, but apparently the area was founded by the Greeks in the 6th century BC. The Romans didn't come into this area and conquer the land until the 3rd century BC. Two of the ruins reminded us of those we saw in Athens, but in far better shape. The largest one was the temple that they say is misnamed. The Temple of Neptune, which was constructed in 450 BC and dedicatede to Hera. This is the one that is very similar to the Parthenon in Athens, but believe me, it is in much better condition. It is amazing that they could construct a structure such as this in 450 BC, and we can't construct a structure that will last 50 years today. We also saw the Temples of Hera and Ceres, as well as the ruins of a complete harbor city that covers over 60 acres. The waters of the Med have drawn back about a mile since the time of this city, but that has been pretty common. The sun stayed with us through the morning, and now it looks like it will last the day, so we are off to find a campground in Rome and wait for "Auntie" Ann, who arrives on Thursday