Temple of Neptune (Temple of Hera II)
All 36 columns are still standing. That fact alone stops most people in their tracks when they first round the corner and see the Temple of Neptune — or, more accurately, the Temple of Hera II — rising from the flat plain of Paestum in its entirety: columns, architraves, frieze, pediments, the works.
Built around 460–450 BC in the Doric order, it measures nearly 60 metres long and just under 25 wide. The columns taper from close to seven feet in diameter at the base to around five at the top, and stand almost nine metres tall. A. W. Lawrence called it "the best preserved of all Greek temples," and walking its perimeter, you start to understand why that claim holds.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who come back tend to arrive early, before the site fills up, and circle the temple slowly rather than head straight inside the roped perimeter. The light on the local limestone shifts considerably through the morning. The interior double row of columns — slimmer than the outer ones — rewards a longer look than most visitors give it.
The story behind Temple of Neptune (Temple of Hera II)
Greek colonists from Sybaris founded the city of Poseidonia — "sacred to Poseidon" — around 600 BC on this coastal plain south of Salerno. The Temple of Hera I went up first, around 550–525 BC; the structure now called the Temple of Neptune followed roughly a century later, circa 460–450 BC, built by those same Greek settlers though no individual architect's name has survived.
The "Neptune" label is an 18th-century mistake. Scholars now believe the temple was dedicated to Hera, though Poseidon may have shared the dedication — an irony given the city's name. Poseidonia fell to the Lucanian people around 410 BC, became the Roman colony of Paestum in 273 BC, and eventually faded. The temples remained, too massive and too solid to quarry away entirely. UNESCO added the site to its World Heritage list in 1998.
Good to know
Paestum station sits directly east of the ancient walls; the entrance is about a kilometre through the Porta Sirena gate. The site opens at 8:30 a.m. daily (closed 25 Dec and 1 Jan), last admission 6:30 p.m. A single ticket (€15 March–November, €10 December–February) covers three days and also gets you into Velia. Free on the first Sunday of each month.
The site is open ground with almost no shade, so the midsummer heat — August averages 29°C — is genuinely punishing by midday. April through June offers the most comfortable conditions; September and October are a close second. Come in the morning regardless of season, and carry sun protection.
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What travellers say about Temple of Neptune (Temple of Hera II)
This is part of the archaeological park of Paestum and Velia, and, together with the Era and Athena temples, those are arguably the best preserved sites in the world for that era. They are magnificent, no matter how close or how distant you are to them! If you are in Campania going to Paestum is a must ! Enjoy !
I've been to Pompeii. It's wonderful and its own way. This is less developed. Also extensive- amazing Roman city built over Greek area. The three temples are just breathtaking. You get the feeling there's so much more to discover here for the archaeologists to find. And the museum is excellent.
Stunning! The history of this temple and the grandeur is amazing. The fact that you can go in and see the immensity of the columns is worth the price of admission. Building this today would be a big feat. Building it 2500 years ago is mind blowing. Walking through this is such a privilege. Take your time and soak in the experience. Pictures don't do it justice.
Highly suggest visiting the archaeological park! The temples are in such great condition! We came on a Saturday morning in February and there were only 6 other people in the park! We really got to enjoy it.
Stunningly beautiful temple. So much of it is still standing and it's so rare to find an ancient Greek temple with so much of the building still having almost all of its pillars. You're able to walk inside much of the temple. You won't find that almost anywhere else.
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