Dr. Catherine Lomas

That one right behind us.

What we can see is one of the early examples of the Doric, so more sort of experimental.

But with the Temple of Neptune, which was finished around the mid fifth century BC, we have probably the most mature expression of Doric architecture that is preserved here.

Yeah, even though, you know, it's not always as easy as that.

Of course, absolutely.

With this temple in particular, the project must have changed along the way.

So when they started building it, probably towards the end of the sixth century, they had an idea of what the temple would have looked like.

And then the project changed, and that's why they probably finished it a bit later.

And we see this change precisely between, you know, by looking at the base of the temple, the podium of the temple, and then the upper part of it, which are different.

I mean, the city was indeed very wealthy, just like its mother city in Calabria, Sybaris.

But it also had, you know, very skilled architects and, you know, engineers.

So in 510 BC, when the mother city of Poseidonia, Sybaris, was destroyed,

destroyed, then what we see here in Pastum is almost like a process of monumentalization of this city, which would have to some extent also replaced its mother city in terms of its power and control over Western Greece.

Well, I mean, in some ways, yes.

And then you can imagine that probably, but again, you know, this is also speculation, but probably you would have had some, you know, groups of people from Sybaris also coming here to Poseidonia after the destruction of the city.

Well, if you think about its urban sanctuaries, so here the so-called Temple of Neptune, the so-called Basilica, then the Temple of Athena.

If you think about its five kilometers of city walls, if you think about its huge agora,

where an ecclesiasterion, where the ecclesiasterion is still preserved.

If you think about the Heron, the tomb dedicated to the hero founder of the city, then you realize that this was a powerful city in Southern Italy, Magna Graecia.

Yeah, this is a very unique example of ancient war painting.