Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae of Phigaleia — Attraction in Municipality of Oichalia

Visited in March of 2024

This was an off the beaten path Temple in the mountains of Peloponnese Greece. It was surprisingly cold at this elevation in mid March but enjoyable. There is a couple that is at the base of the site that sells the government tickets to get in. They are very nice with a "security" cat that follows you looking for love from the tourists...very friendly! The site is all under an enormous tarp tent that is cabled to the ground in concrete as it is in an active state of restoration that is a site to behold. They are lifting and replacing section of HUGE collumns and flooring. The engineer work is really a joy to behold as most people have never seen this sort of engineer work done before. We thought this was one of the most interesting and educational sites that we went to in Greece. Very well maintained! Not to be missed.

The temple was dedicated to Apollo Epikourios ("Apollo the helper"). It sits at an elevation of 1,131 metres above sea level on the slopes of Kotylion Mountain. Its construction is placed between 450 BC and 400 BC; the plague its dedication related to was probably the plague of Athens of 430 BC. It was supposedly designed by Iktinos. architect at Athens of the Parthenon. Modern scholars such as A. W. Lawrence are doubtful about this, as though the Doric order used is "extremely similar" to that of the Parthenon, where they differ Bassae is "old-fashioned", yet it was probably built later. The ancient writer Pausanias praises the temple as eclipsing all others in the Peloponnesos except the Temple of Athena Alea at Tegea by the beauty of its stone and the harmony of its...

Temple Of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae World Heritage UNESCO Site !!! This place is simply extraordinary and a MUST SEE if your in Greece. It was the VERY FIRST Greek UNESCO site, and that alone tells you how special it is and speaks volumes beyond words given the amazing archeological sites in Greece.

I actually discovered this phenomenal place by accident when I took a wrong turn after I left Ancient Olympia, I saw it listed on a road sign and decided to give it a go and was sooooooo glad I did. What ensued was an absolutely magical drive thru gorgeous rural Greek countryside, culminating upon the majestic mystical mountain where the site is located.

The atmosphere is electric with arcane energy up there and the very earth itself takes on enchanted properties previously unbelieved, and it suddenly becomes crystal clear why the ancient people chose that very special site for this fantastic wonder.

The views up there are absolutely awesome and after witnessing the outstanding magnitude of the site its hard to know what's more impressive.... the fact the ancient people got all that super heavy building material way, Way, WAY up there, or the fact they were able to build it way, Way, WAY up there !!! Either way it's truly an exceptionally tremendous and incredibly monumental feat !! Birthplace of Western Civilization indeed :) It's remote, yet you'll be be well rewarded for your efforts with the experience of a...

This is one of my favorite sites visited in July 1995 during a road trip all over mainland Greece, the Peloponnese. I believe I enjoyed it so much because A) it was so remote and difficult to get to at the time (I'm not sure how the road has been improved since but it was pretty rough then). And B) how it was described in the Blue Guide: "The temple is attributed to Pausanias to Iktinos. Its style makes it almost certainly an earlier work than the Parthenon, and so designed c. 450-447 BC, though the execution may not have been finished before 425 BC. It is variously referred to as Temple of Bassae and Temple of Apollo Epikourious at Bassae, Vasses, Vasse and simply Bassae. I loved walking around the site, which was not crowded then and looked especially arid back then but seems to have greened up in recent years looking at more recent photos. It is also interesting to note the lack of algae or moss on the marble in '95 compared to some of the more recent photos where it looks like there have been some leaks in the 'tent'. It must really have been something for some of the Europeans of the 18th century to arrive here and see so much of the temple still standing (though it disgusts me to read about some of those nations hauling away some of the statuary and probably Corinthian embellishments---of which it was one of the...