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Cape Sounion (Modern Greek: Aκρωτήριο Σούνιο - Akrotírio Soúnio; Latin: Sunium promonturium; Ancient Greek: Άκρον Σούνιον - Άkron Soúnion; Venetian: Capo Colonne) is a promontory located 69 km (43 mi, by road) SSE of Athens, at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula in Greece.

Cape Sounion is noted as the site of ruins of the ancient Greek temple of Poseidon, the god of the sea in classical mythology. The remains are perched on the headland, surrounded on three sides by the sea. The ruins bear the deeply engraved name of English Romantic poet Lord Byron (1788 - 1824).

The site is a popular day excursion for tourists from Athens, with sunset over the Aegean Sea viewed from the ruins a sought-after spectacle.

According to legend, Cape Sounion is the spot where Aegeus, king of Athens, leapt to his death off the cliff, thus giving his name to the Aegean Sea. The story goes that Aegeus, anxiously looking out from Sounion, despaired when he saw a black sail on his son Theseus 's ship, returning from Crete. This led him to believe that his son had been killed in his contest with the dreaded Minotaur, a monster that was half man and half bull. The Minotaur was confined by its owner, King Minos of Crete, in a specially designed labyrinth. Every year, the Athenians were forced to send 7 boys and 7 girls to Minos as tribute. These youths were placed in the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur. Theseus had volunteered to go with the third tribute and attempt to slay the beast. He had agreed with his father that if he survived the contest, he would hoist a white sail. In fact, Theseus had overcome and slain the Minotaur, but tragically had simply forgotten about the white sail.

The earliest literary reference to Sounion is in Homer 's poem the Odyssey, probably composed in the 8th century B.C. This recounts the mythical tribulations suffered by Greek hero Odysseus in a gruelling 10-year sea-voyage to return to his native island, Ithaca in the Ionian sea, from the sack of Troy. This ordeal was supposedly inflicted upon him by Poseidon, to whom the temple at Sounion was dedicated.

We are told that, as the various Greek commanders sailed back from Troy, the helmsman of King Menelaos of Sparta 's ship died at his post while rounding "holy Sounion, cape of Athens". Menelaos landed at Sounion to give his companion full funeral honors (i.e. cremation on a funeral pyre on the beach). The Greek ships were then caught by a storm off Cape Malea and scattered in all directions.

Odysseus' ship was blown far off course, to the land of the lotus-eaters, believed to be an island off the north African coast (probably Djerba, Tunisia). From there he sailed to the land of the Cyclops (one-eyed giants), where he and his surviving men were taken prisoner by Polyphemus, a cyclops who was the son of Poseidon by a nymph. Polyphemus was a cannibal, who proceeded to eat one of Odysseus' companions for dinner every day. But Odysseus himself succeeded in avoiding the same fate by putting out Polyphemus' single eye with a spear and escaping from Polyphemus' cave. This action incurred the fury of Polyphemus' father Poseidon. The sea-god wanted to kill Odysseus, but was forbidden to do so by Zeus, the supreme god, in response to pleas from his daughter the goddess Athena, who regarded Odysseus as her protégé and favorite. Instead, Poseidon resolved to prevent Odysseus from ever returning home.

P.S_1. I want to tell you all how grateful I am for your comments. TE Policy does not permit "excessive thank you replies", so I have to thank you all once and in the description. I wish I could thank you everyone in person.

P.S_2. One of my colleagues proposed that I should always post the original photo, so that it is easy to see the starting point and the destination. So you will find the original photo here.
Nikos