Poised at the edge of a rugged 195-foot cliff, the Temple of Poseidon hovers between sea and sky. Today the archaeological site at Sounion is one of the most photographed in Greece. The coast's raw, natural beauty has attracted affluent Athenians, whose splendid summer villas dot the shoreline around the temple. Arrange your visit so that you enjoy the panorama of sea and islands from this airy platform either early in the morning or at dusk, when the promontory has one of the most spectacular sunset vantage points in Attica.In antiquity, the temple when viewed from the sea was a sight that brought joy to sailors, knowing upon spotting the massive temple that they were close to home. Aegeus, the legendary king of Athens, threw himself off the cliff when he saw his son's ship approaching flying  black sails. The king's death was a Greek tragedy born of misunderstanding: Theseus had forgotten to change his ship's sails from black to white, the signal that his mission had succeeded. So the king thought his son had been killed by the Minotaur. To honor Aegeus, the Greeks named their sea, the Aegean, after him.