Antike Tempel in der Türkei
 
Laodikeia

 

  

     
 

 

   
Temple for: Apollo, Artemis and Aphrodite and later the Emperor's cult.
erected: 1st century A.D.
Dimensions: Stylobat: 23 x 10 m (unconfirmed)
  Peristasis: ./.
   
Ground plan
   
Roman province: Phrygia
Location: Karşıyaka, Denizli county, Province Denizli
 
   

The so-called Temple A was built in the first century A.D. and extended during the reign of Diocletian (284-305).
It was originally dedicated to the deities Apollon, Artemis and Aphrodite and later to the Emperor. The initial assumption that the temple was dedicated to Zeus proved untenable, although there are analogies to the temple of Zeus in Aizanoi. Both temples, also temple A, have a vault below the Naos.
The actual temple consists of the naos and the underground space. In order to provide a view of the interior, the vaulted chamber in Laodikeia was roofed with a steel and glass structure in 2006. The resulting area thus forms a panorama terrace with a view of the Lykos plain and the limestone sinter terraces of Pamukkale.
The Naos rises on a high platform built with travertine blocks and covered with marble. At the southeast corner, a spiral staircase leads down to the vault. This chamber was used to store the offerings to the temple. In Byzantine times it housed the archives of the large basilica built next to it.

Temple A was integrated into an inner courtyard surrounded by stalls. The terrible earthquake of 494 also caused the temple to collapse. After the catastrophe, large parts of the city served as a quarry. However, the farm remained in use until the great earthquake in the early seventh century. Only the front could be reconstructed on the basis of the remaining building remains.

 
   
Apollo, Artemis und Aphrodite  

Apollo is in Greek and Roman mythology the god of light, healing, spring, moral purity and temperance, as well as prophecy and the arts, especially music, poetry and singing; he was also the god of healing and the god of archery. Born in Didyma, the son of Zeus, the father of the gods, and Leto, the goddess (Latin: Latona), like his first-born twin sister Artemis (Latin: Diana), he belonged to the Olympic gods, the twelve main gods of the Greek pantheon.

Aphrodite According to Greek mythology, Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty and sensual desire and one of the twelve canonical Olympic deities. In particular, she was revered as the patron saint of sexuality and reproduction, which ensured both the continuity of nature and the continuity of human communities. Its counterpart in Roman mythology is Venus.

 
   
The history of Laodikeia:

 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
The glass platform above the underground vault  
     
     
Photos: @chim    
Translation aid: www.DeepL.com/Translator    
Source: Wikipedia and others