Hotel Mandetta

Foundation and History of Paestum

by sandysmith

Poseidonia was founded around 600 BC the northernmost Greek settlement in Italy, just 8 km from the River Sele.
The Greek period in Poseidonia lasted from the foundation around 400 BC. Then Poseidonia was conquered by one of the indigenous samnite peoples, the Lucanians, that hitherto had lived in the mountainous areas further inland. The city remained virtually unchanged until the Roman period when the name also changed to Paestum in 273 BC.

Temple of Ceres

by Jetgirly

Located apart from the other two temples, the Temple of Ceres is also incorrectly named, as scholars have found it was actually built in honor of Athena. It was built around 500 bc and is six columns by fourteen columns.

Commoner's Tomb

by sandysmith

Just inside the grounds of the museum is an xample of a tomb - one of many found in the area. This one is a simple one as used for a commoner, richer people had much more decorative ones as we shall see inside this great little museum.

Jewel of Magna Graecia

by NedHopkins

"Paestum"

I first visited Paestum in April 1964. There was no gate and no admissions charge. In December 2007 that had been corrected. Additionally, about four times as many structures (many little more than rubble) had been unearthed and a fine museum had been built.