Temple of Aphaia

Built around 500 BC to a local goddess, Aphaia, absorbed later into the cult of Athena, the temple stands on a pine-covered hill 160 metres above the eastern coast of Aegina, with the sea below and Attica across the water. Twenty-five of its original thirty-two columns still stand, several supporting their architrave, and the building is regarded as the finest surviving example of late archaic Doric architecture. Its pediments held celebrated marble battle groups that were carried off in 1811 and sold to Ludwig of Bavaria; they remain in Munich, and casts are shown in the site museum here. The temple forms the apex of what nineteenth-century scholars called the sacred triangle with the Parthenon and the temple at Sounion, all three visible from one another on clear days.

What you actually see

• The colonnade - twenty-five standing columns, some still carrying their entablature.
• The hilltop setting - pines, sea views and Attica on the horizon.
• The site museum - casts of the pediment sculptures and finds from the sanctuary.
• The altar terrace - the ramp and altar east of the temple.

When to go

Late afternoon, when the light warms the stone and the day-trippers have gone back to the port. Spring adds wildflowers; midsummer midday is hot and shadeless on the terrace.

Honest expectations

The visit is short, under an hour for most, and the museum is small. Buses from the port are infrequent, so check return times or take a taxi. The famous sculptures are in Germany, not here.

Nearby

Agia Marina's beach lies below the hill; Aegina Town and the pistachio groves are west.