DESCRIPTION:

The Sacred Street was the road that led pilgrims to the temple. It was constructed to serve the first temple dating to the Hellenistic period and received its final form during the reign of Emperor Trajan. The first temple was rectangular in shape with two spaces, a cella and a prodomos. Visitors walked the Sacred Street from south to north. The foundations of the temple's base (crepidoma) and the top step (stylobates) still visible today, belong to the first temple. The first phase of the temple dates to the Late Classical/Early Hellenistic period and consisted of a single rectangular building with an entrance aligned with the main axis of the sanctuary’s road. The foundation of the temple’s crepidoma (base) and the lower wall courses belong to this first phase.

During the Roman period, at the years of the reign of the emperor Nero (64-65 AD), the temple is reconstructed on the foundations of the Hellenistic temple, on a higher level, and receives an entrance with a grand staircase consisting of 17 steps. Its architectural form is differentiated with the creation of a front porch (prostyle) with four columns bearing Cypro-Corinthian capital, a simplified version of the Corinthian capital.

During the reign of the emperor Trajan, when the god Apollo was worshiped not only as “Hylates” but also as “Caesar Apollo”, large-scale renovation works began at the site. The temple is rebuilt and receives a wider stairway.