Day 6 in Cyprus - Sanctuary of Apollo Ylatis

Day 6 found us on the way to Paphos for a mini 3 day holiday given to us by Alison’s parents, Jack and Maureen, as an engagement present. It was so nice of them to do this and it is a memory we will have all our lives. We set out Monday morning and did a little sightseeing along the way as we had to wait to check in to the hotel anyway. I have always loved antiquities and ruins, so I couldn’t pass up a chance to visit the Sanctuary of Apollo located very near to Curium (Kourion) It was just amazing to me to finally see some of the things I had only ever seen in books or on the web. it’s impossible to describe the feeling of standing there among those ruins on the same stones that centuries ago ancient Greeks and Romans stood and those who used the temple for all sorts of things. I think this was the day my beautiful bride realised her husband to be is going to be dragging her aroud rocks and dust in the heat a lot in our future! :) Bless her heart though she never complained and seemed to enjoy seeing these things too, well likely it was her seeing me enjoy it ;) she is the most loving woman in the world and i am so blessed to be loved by her.  This history of the Sanctuary is what was written on the plaque near the entrance.

THE SANCTUARY OF APOLLO YLATIS

HISTORY OF THE SANCTUARY

The Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates is recorded in the historical sources about Cyprus as one of the most important Sanctuaries on the island. Strabo wrote about a cap (cape?) past the Kourion from where those who touched the Sacred Altar of Apollo were flung into the sea. Many inscribed testimonies, which have been found on the spot and in the city, confirm the historical sources.

The finds from the archaeological inquiry lead mainly to a Roman sanctuary and testify that there were in the area more ancient constructions incorporated in Roman edifices or demolished in the same period when the Sanctuary was intensively undergoing a restoration, southern the boundaries of the Roman temple.

The Romans revived a flourishing cult in the area since the Archaic times indeed. This cult is likely to have been practised even earlier in the Bronze Age, as it is shown by several shells belonging to the red burnished ceramic of the Early Bronze Age, which have been found adjacent to the circular altar but also according to the relevant legends about its heroes and inspirers.

A cult, which is testified on an architectural level only in the 7th or 8th century and which does not in any case constitute properly part of a settlement of any period.

This autonomy of the Sanctuary in relation to the settlement cannot but be linked with the same Sanctuary of Apollo Maleata at Epidaurus, the most ancient and important Sanctuary of Apollon in Argolis. The finds of the known “Temple boys” on the side of Ayia Anna show typically this cultic coherence. The most ancient inscription, which the name of god Apollo (5th / 4th century B.C.) is recorded on, is retrieved at the foot of one of them.

The name Hylates given to Apollo is recorded from the Hellenistic times and it certainly describes the prevailing nature of the cult of Apollo, which was performed until then, combining the primary characteristics of its eastern origin but also its subsequent western development in the Theology of the Hellenic twelve gods mainly as a healing god.

I have to admit i was awestruck in a way from just being here in Cyprus and and standing amid ruins that date back to the time of Christ and before and didnt think to buy some sort of pamphlet describing the site in more detail. I just assumed I would be able to find all I needed to know online somewhere, but that really has proved difficult.  I did manage to take the photos of the information plaques which were also few and far between.

Before I transcribe them let me give you an overhead view of the area from google earth.The temple is situated at the top in this image, at the end of that whitish looking path which runs in a north/south direction. The palaestra is in the bottom right hand corner and the South Portico is along the bottom. the covered area there near the bottom right, above the palaestra are the baths, the structure built over it to protect the mosaic tiles which lined the floors of the baths. This seems to be the most extensive area being excavated and restored or maintained, the majority of the site is ruins of course, but attempts have been made to restore parts of the temple.

The Palaestra
A monumental building with a Propylon (monumental colonnaded entrance), a peristyle atrium (courtyard) and a series of rooms facing the three sides of the peristyle courtyard.
It is dated to the 1st century A.D.

The south Portico

This building comprises a T-shaped complx of T-shape porticoes and guest rooms which were already under construction when Emperor Trajan funded its completion at the beginning of the 2nd century A.D.

Ruins of earlier structures from the Hellenistic and Roman periods (2nd century B.C. - 1st century A.D.) were excavated below Trajan’s building.

This from the Cyprus Dept. of Antiquities web site: The sanctuary is located about 2,5 kilometres west of the ancient town of Kourion along the road which leads to Pafos. It was one of the main religious centres of ancient Cyprus, where Apollo was worshipped as god of the woodlands. It seems that the worship of Apollo on this site began as early as the 8th century B.C. and continued until the 4th century A.D. The site has undergone many extensions and alterations in different periods. The majority of the monuments as they can be seen today belong to the site’s 1st century AD restorations. A wall from which one could enter the site via the Kourion Gate and the Pafos Gate surrounds the sanctuary. Originally the site consisted of: a temple, traces of which survive in the foundations of the present temple; a circular monument, which was probably destined for processions or dances around a grove of sacred trees; and a formalized Archaic Altar and Precinct. During the Roman period the site was extended with the addition of the South and North Buildings, which may have been used for the display of votives or the accommodation of visitors. Terracotta figurines and pottery that were accumulated in the Temple from the 5th century B.C. to the Roman period were buried in the Votive Pit. A long street running from south to north leads to the Temple of Apollo Hylates, which was built in the Late Classical or Early Hellenistic period on the ruins of the Archaic temple. In the 1st century A.D. the temple was rebuilt with a different architectural style. A small building south of the Precinct may have been a priest’s house. Along the external east side of the walls are the Palaestra where athletes once exercised and played games, and the Baths.

I truly enjoyed my time in Cyprus, not to mention being with the Love of my life, but just being in this ancient land so full of history. Another post soon to come of arriving in Paphos.. you aint seen no rocks yet! ;)  lol

The following pictures are also located in my picasa web gallery where you can download higher resolution images.

Tags: Alison, Chester, cult, Cyprus, CyprusTrip, god apollo, Holiday, kourion, Photos, Roman, sacred altar, sanctuary of apollo hylates