Claros Archaeological Site

Claros stands in the low plain of the Ahmetbeyli (Ales) valley in İzmir province. From its founding at the end of the 13th century BC until it was abandoned in the 4th century AD it worked as an oracle centre, and people came to consult Apollo. The site is remembered as a place whose prophecies helped guide history.

The Temple of Apollo is the only Doric temple built in Ionia, with six columns across the front. Construction began early in the 3rd century BC. By the late 2nd century BC its base, porch, inner chamber and the giant cult statues of Leto, Apollo and Artemis were complete. About 27 metres east of the temple stands the Hellenistic altar of Apollo, where finds show that one of two sacrificial tables was for Apollo and the other for Dionysus.

Claros has several rarities. The hekatomb, a block for tethering a hundred sacrificial animals, is the first archaeological evidence of that ritual. The 8-metre cult statues were found in place, which is unusual for any sanctuary, and even the steps of the temple carry inscriptions. A nearby archaeopark displays exact copies of the statues and a scale model of the Hellenistic temple and altar.