The territory of the Chora of Paestum is characterized by a network of sanctuaries placed in relation to each other. The sanctuaries fulfilled different roles within society, and for this reason they were built intra moenia or extra moenia. Among the latter there were the peri-urban sanctuaries, the rural ones, the coastal ones, and the border ones, that communicated the cultural message of Greek civilization to the Etruscan and Lucanian peoples. In fact, to the north of the Chora, the Etruscans occupied the remaining part of the territory of the Sele Plain, while, to the east, inland, the Lucanians occupied the mountain, probably pushed to retreat to those places at the end of the 7th century B.C. with the arrival of the Greek colonists. According to tradition, in fact, the latter first colonized the promontory of Agropoli, where they built the sanctuary dedicated to Poseidon, to whom the name of the ancient city was then dedicated, then they decided to go down to vale, building Paestum on the travertine and close to Capodifiume. Among the border sanctuaries, the sanctuary of Hera Argiva was the most majestic, since it was placed in a strategic place: the famous sanctuary, linked to the myth of Jason and the Argonauts, it was located at the mouth of the Sele River and at the same time it was attributed the role of communicating the cult of the goddess and the strength of her people across the river and to whom arrived from the sea. Among the peri-urban sanctuaries, the Sanctuary of Santa Venera was located near the necropolis of the same name, linking the cult of the dead to the cult of wine. The latter in funeral libations replaced blood and, in particular, the vinum-venenum was considered an expression of the blood of the earth.

Keywords: Territory, Sanctuaries, Values.