Check out a temple so great that even Roman Emperors made pilgrimages here.
Google Maps The location of the Temple of Apollo at Didyma, near the Aegean coast of Turkey.
The Aegean coast of Turkey is covered with the ruins of the Greek, Hellenistic, and Roman cultures that used to thrive there. In ancient times, this coast was known as Ionia, colonized by Ancient Greeks. The Ionian people are also known for their revolt which caused the First Persian War (i.e., the movie 300), the mainland Greek city-states coming to their rescue.
The Didymaion, as the Temple of Apollo was known in ancient times, was one of the twin sanctuaries in the area (didyma means ‘twin’). The other sanctuary, the Temple to Artemis, also known as the Artemision, is located not far away. However, very little of this temple remains, unlike its twin.
The Sacred Way to the Temple of Apollo from Miletus.
Didyma (the temple was given this name to distinguish it from the more famous Temple of Apollo at Delphi) was the largest and most significant sanctuary on the territory of the great classical city of Miletus. To approach the temple, visitors would follow the Sacred Way to Didyma from the city, about 10.5 mi (17 km) away. Some date the original sanctuary to before the Greeks arrived. However, the earliest remains date the earliest temple to approximately the 8th century BCE. The original temple was destroyed by Darius I of Persia in 494 BCE, who looted the temple, removing much of its treasure and statues.
After Alexander the Great conquered Miletus, the oracle of Apollo at Didyma was re-sanctified and the temple gained importance again. In 313 BCE, the Milesians began to build a new Hellenistic temple on the site, intending it to be the largest in the Greek world. The ruins of this impressive temple are what we see today.
The Temple of Apollo.
Construction continued for centuries, still continuing during the Roman period. The temple was never completely finished. Even incomplete, the temple is enormous, and it is the third largest in the ancient world after those of Ephesus (also in Turkey) and Samos (Greek island in the Aegean).
An imagined somewhat reconstruction done by a German visitor in 1912. The roof was long gone by this point, and I was unable to find information on what that would have looked like. There were a lot of columns and a lot of stairs. There was a decorative frieze that went around the top above the columns.
The inner plan of the temple.
The front of the temple, with its 14 steps leading to the inside.
The Temple of Apollo originally has 122 enormous Ionic columns surrounding the temple. Only three remain intact. Dating from the 2nd century BCE, the columns are 60 ft tall (the height of a six-story building) and have a diameter of 6 ft at the base. Even the bases of the lost columns are impressive themselves, with intricate carvings around the base of each one.
Ridiculously huge column base.
Directly inside of the temple was the cella, which was supported by two large Ionic columns supporting the roof. At the end of the cella, three doors led down a great staircase leading the adyton, to which only the priests and oracles had access. The adyton was never roofed and contained a small chapel at the end, where the oracle did her prophesying.
The grand staircase leading down into the adyton.
The Oracle of Apollo here at Didyma rivaled the one located at Delphi, in Greece. The temple was so popular even two Roman emperors, Augustus and Trajan, had visited. The ritual involved a priestess, who would go down the grand staircase and enter the inner chapel of the temple. She would sit on an axle suspended over a sacred spring and when a question was asked, she would dip her foot or dress into the water and then give an answer. The oracular responses would be analyzed by other priests or priestesses of the temple.
The adyton taken from the top of the stairs. The shrine is the small rectangle towards the back.
The oracle failed to predict, however, that one of their own responses would lead to the temple’s undoing. In 303 CE, an oracle advised that Emperor Diocletian should persecute the Christian church, which later caused Constantine the Great, who supposedly converted to Christianity, to close the oracle and execute the priests. The area near the temple still held some importance. In the 5th century, Emperor Theodosius built a Christian basilica nearby. The church and much of the temple stood until the 15th century, when a large earthquake reduced the temple to rubble.
The temple today is still beyond impressive. I have been in many Roman temples, which fail in comparison of size. The temple is absolutely amazing and fun to explore, definitely worth a visit. Many people forget that Greek and Roman ruins exist outside of their mother countries. Turkey is an amazing place to visit for not only Greek or Hellenistic ruins, but also Roman and of course, Troy.
A dude with horns? This was part of the decorative frieze at the top of the temple.
Check out another fantastic ancient site in Turkey, Ephesus!
or
Check out all my posts featuring the Ancient World!
I spent the night inside the temple grounds hoping for an oracular dream but no luck. A huge enclave with amazing carvings.
amazing! thanks for sharing