DIDYMA:
The great temple at
Didyma (the Didymaion), an oracular shrine dedicated to
Apollo, was linked to the city of Miletus by a sacred road. Beginning at the Miletus Delphinion (dedicated to
Apollo Delphinius), it runs in a southerly direction towards the coast at Panarmos Harbour, then south-east towards
Didyma. Some stretches of its c 16.5 km have been excavated, but the point at which it approaches the temple from the
north has not yet been revealed. The road appears to have been well-paved, about 5-7 m wide, flanked along its length by
statues of crouching lions, sphinxes and priests and priestesses (branchids). Some of the latter are now in the British Museum, having been excavated in 1858.
There appears to have been a shrine at
Didyma from the 8th century BC, but the first monumental
stone temple was constructed about 560 B.C. Every four years the Megala Didymeia festival was held here, with races, musical shows and processions. This temple was destroyed by the Persians after the Battle of Lade in 494 B.C., and the bronze cult statue of
Apollo and other treasures were carried off to
Iran.
Historical records suggest that the ceremonies and processions continued after the first temple was destroyed, but it was nearly 200 years before rebuilding took place - donations made by
Alexander the Great and
King Seleucis I of
Syria made this possible in 313 B.C. The cult statue was brought back from Ecbatana and replaced in the temple in 300 BC. The new temple was larger and more ambitious than the original – the architects who worked on the plans, Paionius of
Ephesus and Daphnis of Miletus, also worked on the Artemesion at
Ephesus and the Heraion at Samos. It was
still unfinished when the advent of Christianity brought an end to oracular activities here, probably at the end of the 4th century A.D. The columns, now fallen, on the
west facade have un-fluted drums – a clear sign that the
work was never finished. Inscriptions have been found during excavation calculating the construction costs — one
column cost 40,000 drachmae, as compared with the daily workman's wage of only 2 drachmae. In 1979 it was noticed that working plans of the layout of the temple and its architectural elements
had been incised into the marble walls of the adyton — a
rare feature, but very difficult to see unless the light is just right, as the incisions are only 0.5mm deep.
At the beginning of the 5th century AD the Emperor
Theodosius had a
church built in the sacred courtyard (adyton); this was destroyed by an earthquake and another was built during the 9th century. The oracle hall, used for storage, was destroyed by fire in the 10th century (traces of burning can
still be seen) and the site was abandoned soon after. An
Italian traveller reported that the temple was
still standing in 1446, but a severe earthquake at the end of the 15th century
reduced it to rubble. The first excavations took place during the 19th century, by both English and
French archaeologists, then in 1937 and 1962 by
German archaeologists.
I think the pictures below of this massive structure speak for themselves.
