ANCIENT SITE OF DIDYMES

The impressive head of Medusa with its hair of snakes welcomes you. Originally, it decorated the frieze of the temple; its twin sister is in the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul. The sacred well lies just below. Pilgrims wishing to question the Pythia paid a sum varying according to the nature of the problem, and sacrificed an animal to Apollo. Before the sacrifice, the priests would sprinkle the animal with cold water from the well and, depending on its reaction, decide whether the god wished to answer the question posed. Pilgrims then entered the sanctuary through a forest of 108 gigantic Ionic columns. Although only three of them have retained their original size, one can imagine the effect produced by this temple, which was one of the three largest in the Hellenistic world - the other two being that of Artemis in Ephesus and that of Hera in Samos. Note the rich decoration of the column bases. After climbing a few steps, you come down to the pronaos, the sanctuary vestibule where visitors formulated their questions to the priest. The walls have been preserved, but the vestibule was originally covered by an elaborate ceiling. After passing through a room and a corridor, the priest reached theadyton, an inner courtyard with a small room housing the statue of Apollo, and relayed the message to the pythia. After tasting water from the sacred spring, she would chew laurel leaves and, entering a trance, deliriate in an often confused language.