ATHENS – Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Monday evening attended an official ceremony inaugurating the new lighting installations at the Temple of Poseidon on Cape Sounion, at the extreme southeastern tip of Attica. In his brief address, he highlighted the significance of the ancient monument, noting that it was one of the most iconic landmarks of Greece.

“At a building of unique beauty, which for approximately 2,500 years remains a timeless beacon of history and culture. Sounion was always, in any case, a passage from Asia to Europe and a gateway to the interior of Greece.

Noting that the site has featured in both Greece’s mythology and history through the ages, he said the event admired “not only the past of this precious treasure but also celebrated its bright future, sealed by a necessary renewal after 20 years. A modern lighting system which will literally allow it to shine even more.”

“The Temple will thus continue to be a statement of the age-old bonds of the Attic land with the sea but also to inspire every visitor,” he added.

He noted that the change was imperative and that the new lighting system would improve the monument and protect its integrity, highlighting its unique geometry and surroundings, while works at the entrance and exit will allow safer access.

“From now on, therefore, we will be able to admire the grandeur of the site from every angle, whether we see it from the sea or from the land,” he added.

Mitsotakis said that the project was the work of Eleftheria Deko and her team, who also did the lighting for the Acropolis, with grants from the Onassis Foundation, while thanking the culture ministry for its work. He concluded by saying that the wager for culture was not only to preserve the heritage of the past but its participation in shaping the present and future, noting that events such as that featuring composer Stavros Xarhakos “were the ideal continuation” to its history.