Arethousa Hotel - chic retreats

Apollo Epicureus. The other Parthenon! The temple of Apollo Epicureus, located in the region of ancient Vasses, is 15 km south of Andritsaina, at an altitude of 1,130 m. The surrounding environment is amazing. Today, there are few parts of the buildings that girdled the temple.Around 420 BC, Ictinus, one of the two architects of the Parthenon, reconstructed the temple. It is believed, though, that there was also an older temple on the same spot. Apollo Epicureus helped the inhabitants of Vasses confront the terrible pestilence which had broken out in their land, just before the end of the first stage of the Peloponnesian War, during the Archidamian period. The temple was constructed in honour of this god. It is a Doric peripteral temple made of local calcareous rocks and not of marble like the Parthenon.

It has a north to south orientation, 15 columns in length and 6 columns in width. Inside, the sekos is divided into two chambers. Moreover, only one Corinthian column has been preserved and is the most ancient in Greece. The temple was actually pillaged by some Europeans. The Diletadi Company detached parts of the frieze and metopes of the temple depicting battles of the Amazons and Centaurs with the Lapithes. The surrounding environment of the temple and the site as a whole are impressive and awesome, like all places of worship of the ancient Greeks. It's really worth noting that there have been interventions in the site, so that the temple is not corroded by rainfall and the soil does not sink.

1 hour drive from from our premises to the Temple .