Claros
Encyclopedia
Claros is a prophecy center of Colophon, one of the twelve Ionic
cities. Claros is built between two cities; it is 13 kilometers south of Colophon and two kilometers north of Notion. The Temple of Apollo
here was a very important center of prophecy as in Delphi
and Didyma
. The oldest information about this sacred site goes back to the sixth and seventh centuries BC. through the Homeric Hymns. A sacred cave near the Claros Temple of Apollo, which was an important place both in the Hellenistic and Roman eras, points to the existence of a Cybele
cult in earlier periods here.
The oldest piece of information about the function of the Temple of Apollo in Claros dates back to the time of Alexander the Great. According to the Greek historian Pausanias, in his dream Alexander was told that he would set up a large new city at the base of Mt. Pagos (Kadifekale). After this dream the, king consulted the Apollo oracle at Claros and asked him to interpret the dream for him. He set up the new Smyrna after the oracle gave him the go-ahead to proceed.
Many monuments were erected in the Roman period (Pompey, Lucullus, Quintus Cicero); several took place above Hellenistic foundations
Very small changes occurred in the sanctuary between the 6th and the end of the 4th century. A new planning of the sacred area was conceived then, with monuments on a larger scale; most probably, the execution started only after the terrible events of the beginning of the 3rd century BC. Later in the 3rd century the new altar and the new temple of Apollo were in construction; the adyton
is well preserved and allows some understanding of the importance of the spring for inspiring the oracle.
After the first times of the Roman Province of Asia (end of 2nd century BC), prominent citizens of Colophon helped in increasing the authority of the sanctuary, the importance of the religious competitions and the fame of the oracle. For celebrating the big sacrifices in front of a Greek and non-Greek crowd, four rows of iron rings fixed on heavy blocks allowed to kill hundred victims at the same time. Claros is the only sanctuary in the Greek world which offers a clear lecture of the way the priests could perform the hecatomb
.
Ionia
Ionia is an ancient region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey, the region nearest İzmir, which was historically Smyrna. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements...
cities. Claros is built between two cities; it is 13 kilometers south of Colophon and two kilometers north of Notion. The Temple of Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
here was a very important center of prophecy as in Delphi
Delphi
Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
and Didyma
Didyma
Didyma was an ancient Ionian sanctuary, the modern Didim, Turkey, containing a temple and oracle of Apollo, the Didymaion. In Greek didyma means "twin", but the Greeks who sought a "twin" at Didyma ignored the Carian origin of the name...
. The oldest information about this sacred site goes back to the sixth and seventh centuries BC. through the Homeric Hymns. A sacred cave near the Claros Temple of Apollo, which was an important place both in the Hellenistic and Roman eras, points to the existence of a Cybele
Cybele
Cybele , was a Phrygian form of the Earth Mother or Great Mother. As with Greek Gaia , her Minoan equivalent Rhea and some aspects of Demeter, Cybele embodies the fertile Earth...
cult in earlier periods here.
The oldest piece of information about the function of the Temple of Apollo in Claros dates back to the time of Alexander the Great. According to the Greek historian Pausanias, in his dream Alexander was told that he would set up a large new city at the base of Mt. Pagos (Kadifekale). After this dream the, king consulted the Apollo oracle at Claros and asked him to interpret the dream for him. He set up the new Smyrna after the oracle gave him the go-ahead to proceed.
Many monuments were erected in the Roman period (Pompey, Lucullus, Quintus Cicero); several took place above Hellenistic foundations
Recent excavations
The excavations made since 1988 at Claros, the sanctuary of Apollo depending on Colophon, have demonstrated that there has been there a religious area around a spring of good water since the 9th century BC. The first known construction is a round altar of the second half of the 7th century. It has been covered around the middle of the 6th century by a large rectangular altar (14,85 x 6,05 m); in the same time a temple of marble was built for Apollo around the spring while Apollo’s sister, Artemis, had her own precinct and a smaller altar (3,50 x150 m): next to it were found the bases of two korai, one of which is preserved (the head is lacking). There were at least four statues of kouroi dedicated to Apollo; three of them, incomplete, have been found.Very small changes occurred in the sanctuary between the 6th and the end of the 4th century. A new planning of the sacred area was conceived then, with monuments on a larger scale; most probably, the execution started only after the terrible events of the beginning of the 3rd century BC. Later in the 3rd century the new altar and the new temple of Apollo were in construction; the adyton
Adyton
The adyton or adytum was a restricted area within the cella of a Greek or Roman temple. Its name meant "inaccessible" or "do not enter". The adyton was frequently a small area at the farthest end of the cella from the entrance: at Delphi it measured just nine by twelve feet. The adyton would...
is well preserved and allows some understanding of the importance of the spring for inspiring the oracle.
After the first times of the Roman Province of Asia (end of 2nd century BC), prominent citizens of Colophon helped in increasing the authority of the sanctuary, the importance of the religious competitions and the fame of the oracle. For celebrating the big sacrifices in front of a Greek and non-Greek crowd, four rows of iron rings fixed on heavy blocks allowed to kill hundred victims at the same time. Claros is the only sanctuary in the Greek world which offers a clear lecture of the way the priests could perform the hecatomb
Hecatomb
In Ancient Greece, a Hecatomb was a sacrifice to the gods of 100 cattle . Hecatombs were offered to Greek gods Apollo, Athena, and Hera, during special religious ceremonies....
.