(Greek, Poseidonia), an ancient city in southwestern Italy, a colony of Sybaris founded circa 600 B.C. on the western shore of Lucania, near the mouth of the Silarus (modern Sele) River.
In the fourth century B.C., Paestum was conquered by the Lucanians, who gave the city its name. In 273 B.C., Paestum became a Roman colony. It was destroyed by Saracens in the ninth century.
In the southern part of Paestum’s central and sacred area is the sanctuary of Hera with two Doric peripteroi—the temple of Hera I (the so-called Basilica; mid-sixth century B.C.) and the temple of Hera II (the Temple of Neptune; second quarter of the fifth century B.C.)—distinguished by the severity and grandeur of deliberately ponderous forms. The sanctuary of Athena is in the northern part of the sacred area. It contains the so-called Temple of Ceres (second half of the sixth century B.C.), in which the Doric order is combined with Ionic elements (for example, the columns of the pronaos). Unique examples of ancient frescoes, mainly of the fourth century B.C., were discovered in Paestum’s necropolis. There is an archaeological museum at the site.