Resumen
Paestum (originally Poseidonia) lies on a flat coastal plain in the Cilento region of Campania, 85 km south of Naples, 1.5 km from the Tyrrhenian Sea. It was founded by Greek settlers from Sybaris around 600 BCE and retained its Greek character until its conquest by the Lucanians c. 400 BCE and later incorporation into the Roman world c. 273 BCE. Three temples survive in extraordinary condition: the Temple of Hera I (commonly called the "Basilica"), c. 550 BCE, the oldest and largest, with its original 50 squat Doric columns still standing; the Temple of Hera II (commonly misidentified as the Temple of Neptune), c. 460 BCE, the best-preserved Doric temple in the world, with entablature complete to the cornice; and the Temple of Athena (misidentified as "Ceres"), c. 500 BCE, preserving its original painted terracotta roof decorations. The reason for the survival is the region's depopulation: Paestum declined sharply in the late Roman period following the silting of its harbor and the spread of malaria, and the site was gradually covered by vegetation and forgotten. Medieval travelers avoided the area; the temples stood undisturbed. The site was rediscovered by engineers surveying for the Salerno-Reggio Calabria road in 1746.
