DESCRIPTION:

The worship of Apollo appears in Cyprus during the Cypro-Classical period. The oldest known Cypriot votive inscription referring to Apollo dates to the 5th century BC and comes from this very site. The text was found engraved on the base of a clay statuette depicting a squatting child (a temple-boy). His cult, however, was not the earliest worship practiced at this sanctuary; rather, it was assimilated with the cult of a pre-existing male deity, who is simply referred to as “god” in certain Cypro-syllabic inscriptions from the immediately preceding periods. In the 3rd century BC, Apollo is mentioned for the first time in votive inscriptions from the area with the epithet “Hylates”, meaning “protector of the woodland”.

The first phase of the temple dates to the Late Classical/Early Hellenistic period and consisted of a single rectangular structure with an entrance aligned with the main axis of the sanctuary road. During the reign of Emperor Augustus (63 BC – 14 AD), the temple was rebuilt. Its final destruction occurred in the last quarter of the 4th century AD, caused by an earthquake.

The restoration works lasted for several years and aimed primarily at restoring the form and proportions of the ancient temple so that visitors could gain a more accurate impression of the monument.