Paestum Archaeological Site, Paestum Zona Archeologica

Opposite the entrance to the Zona Archeologica is the magnificent Temple of Hera (misnamed Temple of Neptune), a consummate example of the mature, strictly disciplined architecture of the fifth century B.C., reflecting the Greek ideal of harmony and proportion. The stone is a porous limestone to which the passage of time has given a beautiful yellow tone. At the east end of the temple the tip of an earlier oval structure emerges from the ground. 10m/11yd east are the remains of the sacrificial altar associated with the temple.

To the south of the Temple of Hera can be seen the misnamed Basilica, the oldest temple on the site, dated by the marked swelling of the columns and the form of the capitals to the second half of the sixth century B.C. As with the Temple of Hera, there are remains of an earlier oval temple at the east end and, 27m/29yd farther east, a sacrificial altar 21m/23yd wide.

Just beyond the west end of the basilica is a section of the ancient Via Sacra which ran across Paestum from north to south.

200m/220yd north of the Temple of Hera is the Forum (150m/165yd long, 57m/63yd across), which was surrounded by a colonnade of late Doric columns. North of the Forum are the massive substructures of the Tempio Italico (273 B.C.), with one re-erected column.

The so-called Temple of Ceres has traces of stucco and painting on the gable, which shows Ionic influences.