Temple of Apollo on Lake Avernus

About this activity

Are you a history buff? You will probably find the image of an ancient temple of Apollo emerging from the clear waters of a lake set in lush nature. We are located on the outskirts of Naples, and the body of water we are talking about is the Lake Avernus, whose shores hosted unforgettable episodes for fans of Roman mythology. No wonder, then, that many important archaeological sites have been found in the surrounding area, which scholars soon linked back to the places beautifully described in theAeneid virgilian. We have already told you about the Cave of the Cumana Sibyl, a priestess of the god Apollo capable of predicting the future and divulging it through cryptic oracles. Further confirming the importance held by the cult of Apollo in the Phlegraean Fields area is the presence, not far from the Cave of the Sibyl, of the remains of an ancient Temple of Apollo. This extraordinary place can be ideal for an outing that combines nature walks and archaeological beauty, to spend a Sunday outdoors retracing the steps of our Latin ancestors.

History of the Temple of Apollo of Avernus

The Temple of Apollo which stands on the shores of Lake Avernus is an archaeological site that is part of the Archaeological Park of Cumae. The ancient city of Cumae was founded as a Greek colony around 740 B.C. and was later conquered by the Romans, maintaining great prestige partly because of its optimal strategic location. Testifying to the splendor of ancient Cumae is the great Virgil, through the eyes of the very protagonist of his masterpiece: in fact, the poet shows us the valiant Aeneas who, as soon as he arrives in the city, ascends to the magnificent Temple of Apollo with its golden doors. Virgil tells us that this temple is said to have been built by Daedalus, the father of Icarus: having escaped the labyrinth of Minos thanks to his famous wings made of feathers and wax, Daedalus is said to have reached the Cumaean acropolis and erected a splendid temple in which he would lay down his wings, consecrating them to Apollo, god of the sun. Aeneas was stunned to admire the richness of the building and the sculptures that populated it, depicting the story of the Minotaur, Theseus and Ariadne and their escape from the labyrinth.

Why visit the Temple of Apollo

The Temple of Apollo on Lake Avernus was probably one of the most majestic buildings of antiquity: suffice it to say that the diameter of its domed vault measured about 38 meters, and was thus slightly smaller than that of the Pantheon in Rome. The building is thought to have been constructed around the 6th century B.C. and was probably restored in the Augustan age, when at the emperor's behest the buildings mentioned in theAeneid were restored to their former glory. The archaeological site was discovered in 1912, at a time of great interest by scholars in searching for the sites mentioned by Virgil. Later other scholars advanced the hypothesis that the building was actually a huge thermal complex built to take advantage of the springs that flowed near the lake.

Unfortunately, the Temple of Apollo has not stood the test of time well, partly because of a violent explosion of the crater of Monte Nuovo and partly because of bradyseism phenomena that caused part of the structure to sink into Lake Avernus. Although it can only be admired externally, the building nevertheless remains rich in charm and history: suffice it to say that for centuries it was chosen by European artists and intellectuals as the destination of their educational trips, the so-called Grand Tours.

Curiosities about the Temple of Apollo on Lake Avernus

The Lake Avernus has a central importance in theAeneid: religious beliefs of the Roman era in fact identified Lake Avernus as the gateway to the Underworld. The Virgilian Aeneid has forever immortalized this tradition thanks to the evocative descriptions contained in the sixth book, one of the most famous and most fascinating in the work : here Aeneas, accompanied by the Cumaean Sibyl, will cross the threshold of the underworld to finally know his destiny.