ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

After the Paestum site, a visit to the museum is a must. Located opposite the archaeological area, on the other side of the Via Magna Grecia, the museum was founded in 1952. It is brimming with treasures from the Paestum archaeological site, the temple of Hera on the banks of the River Sele (the Greeks of Poseidonia certainly had a penchant for the goddess!) and excavations carried out in nearby Greek and Lucanian necropolises. The museum's collections include funerary objects, numerous vases, weapons and frescoes. Plans and models reconstruct the town's urban development under Roman rule. Among the highlights, two sections in particular stand out:

Sculptures from the Temple of Hera at the mouth of the Sele. All that remains of this sanctuary, some 9 km from Paestum, are the foundations. It has, however, provided us with the most important collection of archaic sculptures in all of Magna Graecia. The oldest cycle consists of 40 metopes (bas-reliefs adorning the temple frieze) dated to the second half of the ^6th century BC and depicting the 12 labors of Heracles, scenes from the Trojan War and mythological tales. The depictions have the naive charm characteristic of the archaic Greek style. The relief is flat and may have been enhanced with color. The second, more recent cycle of metopes depicts dancers: the relief is more deeply carved.

Painted tombs. These took the form of stone coffins with painted inner walls. The best-known is the Tombadel Tuffatore (Diver's Tomb), dating from the^5th century BC. Its historical and artistic value is inestimable: it is the only surviving example of Greek painting from Magna Graecia. The side walls depict a funeral banquet, while the upper slab depicts a man plunging into the water, symbolizing the passage from life to death. Painted slabs from more recent tombs, from the ^4th century BC, i.e. from the Lucanian period, are also on display. The line is less fine, more rapid, but the scenes are highly descriptive and not lacking in charm. They feature warriors on horseback, chariot races, hunting and combat scenes for the male tombs, and decorative elements for the female tombs. The funeral ceremony, with the body of the deceased displayed surrounded by relatives and mourners, is regularly depicted.