#NouPouLandmarks: Agios Ioannis Prodromos, the abandoned chapel in the “haunted” neighborhood in Sounio.
- 27/06/2024
On the way to the Temple of Poseidon in Sounio, just a few dozen meters before reaching it, your attention will be drawn from afar to a unique, abandoned chapel on your left hand. This is the temple of Agios Ioannis Prodromos.
The church was built back in 1919, and around it there are several other abandoned buildings, which together create a charming, mysterious – and according to legends, “haunted” – neighborhood.
The reason the temple was abandoned, however, has nothing supernatural or eerie about it: The archaeological service prohibited its operation because materials from the Temple of Athena, located northeast of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, were used in its construction, as well as in the surrounding buildings. The ancient building material seems to have been mainly incorporated into the corner stones, while it is said that there was an ancient column in the sanctuary that was used as a Holy Table but was later removed.
Another legend that enhances the reputation of its “magical” presence is as follows: The temple is located on a hill (which is why it is visible from the road), and from there one can see the imposing Temple of Poseidon, almost hanging on the cliff above the sea where Aegeus was killed. However, the myth has it that the ancient temple sometimes appears and sometimes disappears from the visitor’s line of sight, like a magical image.
Sources : lavriaki.gr, elzoni.gr