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The city's ruins
include a harbor monument adorned with carvings of marine life on
one side and a half-man, half-fish triton on the other. Also
uncovered are the remarkably well-preserved Baths of Faustina,
erected by the wife of Marcus Aurelius, which include a headless
but otherwise exquisite reclining statue. Ancient Didyma was not a
city, but rather the home of the God Apollo. Only priests were
allowed entry here to consult the oracle in the great Temple of
Apollo. The site served as a divine sanctuary at least as early as
the 10th Century B.C Priestesses of Delphic origin fasted here for
three days, then inhaled sulfur fumes until they entered a
supposed state of divine inspiration. Their ramblings were then
translated by priests into prophecies. The site continued to
issue predictions via pries throughout several centuries. In 300
B.C construction began on the Temple of Apollo and continued for
the next 500 years. Of the temple's original 120 columns 103 have
been set up again. Some remain unadorned, evidence that the temple
was never completed. Didyma and other oracles eventually fell
victim to Christianity's scorn for pagan prophecies. The final
assault at Didyma was the erection of a Christian chapel in the
holiest part of the Temple of Apollo. |
