Kolona Hill (Temple of Apollo)

Kolona, the column that gives the whole site its name

If you arrive on Aegina by ferry, the first thing you see as the outline of the harbour appears is not the church bell tower or the clock tower: it is a solitary column, standing on top of a headland just north of the town. That is Kolona, literally “the column”. It was the Temple of Apollo, and of its original 32 columns exactly one remains, planted like a raised finger some 12 metres tall.

That 6th century BC column survived by chance: it stood at a corner of the temple and held firm when the rest came down. But the site is far older and far more interesting than that image suggests.

Five thousand years under your feet

Kolona hill has been inhabited since 3000 BC as the acropolis of pre-Hellenic Aegina. The excavations, run by the Austrian team from the Archaeological Institute of Vienna since 1972, have uncovered eleven superimposed layers of settlement: prehistoric town, Mycenaean palace, archaic sanctuary, classical Doric temple, early Christian basilica, Byzantine chapel. It is one of the most complete stratigraphic sites in Greece, even if at first glance it looks like nothing more than a pile of foundations.

On top of these remains, around 520 BC, the Temple of Apollo that gave the place its name was built. It was the religious heart of ancient Aegina, the naval power that struck Europe’s first silver coin (the famous “Aegina turtle”). When the Athenians took the island in 431 BC the temple survived, but Aegina’s political importance collapsed along with it. The Romans reused it as a quarry. The column still standing is essentially an accidental survivor.

The archaeological museum is worth your time

Right beside the site is the Archaeological Museum of Aegina, the first national museum of modern Greece (opened in 1829, when Aegina was the country’s capital). It is small, just two rooms, but the quality of the pieces makes up for it: Neolithic ceramics, a complete archaic sphinx, pediments from the temple, silver coins with the turtle, Mycenaean jewellery and a scale reconstruction of the sanctuary of Apollo.

Entry to the museum is included in the site ticket, so make use of it: plenty of visitors skip the museum thinking it is separate, and miss the part that explains everything else.

How to visit (and how long to give it)

Kolona is literally a 5 minute walk from the harbour in Aegina town. Coming off the quay, turn left and follow the northern seafront: you can see the site in the distance. Entry costs 4€ (museum included) and it opens from 8:30 to 15:30, closed on Tuesdays in low season. In summer it stays open until 19:00.

Allow 1 hour to an hour and a half to see the site and the museum at a comfortable pace. The best time is early morning (there is hardly anyone about and the low light picks out the relief of the walls beautifully) or the last part of the afternoon, when the sunset lights up the column against the sea behind it.

The bonus: Avra beach next door

One of the nice things about the site is that it has its own beach: Avra (Kolona) is a small cove of sand and pebbles right beside the excavations, the only beach on Aegina you can walk to from the port. It is not the island’s best, but the “temple plus a quick swim plus lunch in town” plan works very well.

If you are on a day trip from Athens and only have 3 or 4 hours on the island, Kolona is the visit that pays off most: it is next to the harbour, it gives you the historical context, it shows you Aegina’s iconic piece and it delivers you to the beach or a taverna in under two hours. For the island’s other great archaeological visit, the Temple of Aphaia, you have to cross to the far side.