Search the new site:


Didyma 117 pictures 4 minutes HQ video Didyma was a cult center for the city of Miletos. Situated in the Hisar district of Yenihisar township. 15 km south of Miletus. Didyma means 'twins', and is related to the god Apollo and his sister, Artemis. Temple The earliest sanctuary was built in the 8^th century B.C. The cult of artemis prevailed at Didyma as well as that of Apollo. All the fame of Didyma comes from the temple of Apollo. Built for the god of light, oracle and music, this temple was also famous as a place of oracles and fortune-telling. It also became one of the most famous oracle centers in Antiquity. Important information about the Apollo cult has been obtained from the inscriptions located at the place known as the Open Air Sanctuary of Apollo (Delphinion) in Miletus. Between Miletus and Didyma there is a sacred road.The road was decorated with Branchidae and lion statues on both sides. Medusa's Head In the Roman Period, Medusa's head became a very popular motif in Antiquity. The people of that time used this figure at the temples, garments, sarcophagi, vases and almost everywhere as a protector. It is also one of the most used ornamental elements in the temple of Apollo. Temple The very first temenos was built in the end of the 8^th century B.C. and the imposing columns were erected hundred years later, in the apogee which the Ionian world reached in the first half of the 6^th century B.C. The Didymaion is estimated to have been built in the 560-550 B.C. Although the archaic Didymaion remained under the Hellenistic temple, a reconstruction of that building could be drawn. The statues and other offerings made for the god were placed on a platform. This platform was reached by five steps, each having a width of 2.5 meters. After Alexander the Great had the Ionian towns regain their independence, the Didymaion started to be rebuilt. The stylobate of the temple measured 109 meters by 51 meters, it was the third biggest temple of the Hellenistic world. Back to Turkey Index