Sanctuary of Apollo

[April Kincaid]

Sanctuary of Apollo



The ancient city of Amyklai was situated some 5 kilometers south of Sparta. It was inhabited from the Bronze Age and remained the capital of a dynasty that ruled from Archaic times until the First Messinia War (743 - 724 B.C), when if was conquered by the spartans. On the hill of Agia Kiriaki one can see the remains of the Archaic sanctuary of Apollo, which at one time boasted an enormous statue of the god seated on the altar - tomb of Hyakinthos, a pre -  Hellenic divinity, in whose honor were held the Hyakinthia, on of the most important Spartan religious festivals.

[April Kincaid]

Amykles is one of the oldest towns of antiquity, one of the most important archaeological sites marking the distant past. It is located near the village which today bears the same name, 5 klm. from Sparta, in an area that had been inhabited since prehistoric times. It evolved into the Sanctuary of lakinthos and Apollo Amykleos, the most important religious centre of the Spartans, which has also been known as the "Throne" of Apollo.

The first inhabitants arrived in 2000 BC. Their settlement prospered during the last stage of the Mycenaean era. It seems that the worship of lakinthos (Hyacinth), the personification of vegetation, had been established from those times. lakinthos was the handsome youth so loved by Apollo, the legendary son of Diomede and king Amyklas of Lacedaemonia.

Even after the settlement of the Dorians in Sparta, Amykles, an Achaean centre, retained its independence for a long time. During the course of their expanding domination in Laconia the Spartans reached an understanding with the city,whereby Amykles became the fifth town of Sparta and retainedits importance down to historic times. This was due to the replacement of the worship of lakinthos at the sanctuary built on the hill of the acropolis by the much more dynamic worship of Apollo Karnean.

http://www.laconia.org/sparti_Apollo_sact.htm

[April Kincaid]

The Spartans transformed the old devotional image of lakinthos to a devotional statue for Apollo and asked the famous lonian artist Vathiclis, from Magensia in Asia Minor to create the pedestal on which it would be erected. Towards the close of the 6th century BC (530-500), Vathicles constructed the "Throne", a singular roofless edifice with arcades and sculptured decoration which encircled the very tall statue (13 m.) of the god Apollo. His creation constituted a unique combination of lonian and Dorian architectural styles.

The sanctuary of lakinthos and Apollo evolved into the most important place of worship of the Lacedaemonians. The lakinthia, a three-day festival during which a sacred cease-fire applied, was held around the sanctuary. On the first day, dedicated to mourning the death of vegetation, the faithful sacrificed in honor of lakinthos. On the second day they held festivities in honor of Apollo, with the participation of all the inhabitants, including the slaves. On the third and last day games and sacrifices were conducted, and a tunic, woven by the women of Sparta, was offered to the god.

[April Kincaid]

Today the visitor can see part of the walls forming the Amykles is one of the oldest towns of antiquity one of the, enclosure and a few of the architectural structures, most walled-in by the temple of Agia Kyriaki which was demolished because of the excavations at the close of the 9th and the first years of the 20th century.

Amykles was for centuries an important religious centre, retaining its significance through Roman times. This is evidenced not only by the ruins of the sanctuary of Apollo, but also by the findings belonging to another sanctuary dedicated to Alexandra-Cassandra and Zeus Agamemnon, near the old tower of Mahmout Bey. However, the site of this sanctuary has not been identified.