Didyma

Didyma, only 10 miles south of Miletus, which in the ancient times was connected by a sacred road lined with statues of lions, sculptures, sarcophagi and sphinx. Didyma was the former “cult center for Miletus” that was centered on a sacred grove and a holy spring. As Miletus in those days was “seaside”, the Pilgrims arrived by boat at Miletus and then would walk the Sacred Way to the Oracle of Apollo.

In all of Asia Minor this, was “the” most important oracle site having given pronouncements to King Croesus, Alexander the Great and other great leaders that literally “altered” the course of human history! There were 124 columns 20 meters high (one weighs 70 tons). The marbled walls were 20 meters high and reaching 25 meters high in the courtyard.

As you stand next to the next to the 2.4 meter wide columns you will feel dwarfed by the massive complex.

When you are walking around taking photos of the giant remains, please remember that this, the “Oracle of Apollo”, was the third largest religious structure in the ancient world. It was only surpassed in size by the Temple of Hera on the island of Samos and the Temple of Artemis, Artemision, in Ephesus, (which was one of the Seven Wonders of the World and 4 times the size of the Parthenon in Athens Greece). Interestingly, it was the same  architects that designed both the Temple of Artemis as well as the Oracle of Apollo.