Didyma. Turkey. View of ruins and the three remaining marble columns of the colossal 3rd century BC Hellenistic Temple of Apollo at Didyma on the west coast of Turkey. Erected on the site of an older temple destroyed by Darius I of Persia in 494 BC, the temple is nearly 120 metres long and 60 metres wide and is the 3rd largest Greek temple ever built after those of Ephesus and Samos. Only 3 columns remain today from the magnificent original 122 enormous Ionic columns that reached a height of... more »
Didyma. Turkey. View of ruins and the three remaining marble columns of the colossal 3rd century BC Hellenistic Temple of Apollo at Didyma on the west coast of Turkey. Erected on the site of an older temple destroyed by Darius I of Persia in 494 BC, the temple is nearly 120 metres long and 60 metres wide and is the 3rd largest Greek temple ever built after those of Ephesus and Samos. Only 3 columns remain today from the magnificent original 122 enormous Ionic columns that reached a height of 60 feet and with a diameter of 6 feet around the base. The stumps of the columns are also impressively large and display beautiful decorative carvings at their base. The temple is part of the Sanctuary of Apollo at Didyma which was one of the most evocative and sacred of classical sites. Its oracle was famous with pilgrims throughout ancient world and was second in importance only to Delphi. « less
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