manuel cohen

Gorgon head, Temple of Apollo, Didyma, Aydin, Turkey

Giant Gorgon head, 2nd century AD, from the Temple of Apollo, 4th century BC, Didyma, Aydin, Turkey. The Gorgons were 3 sisters (Medusa, Stheno and Euryale) with snakes for hair, who could turn people to stone. They are patrons of secrecy, protecting the mystery of the oracle, and their faces were here used as a charm against illness. Didyma was an ancient Greek sanctuary on the coast of Ionia near Miletus, consisting of a temple complex and the oracle of Apollo, or Didymaion, who was visited by pilgrims from across the Greek world. The earliest temple ruins found here date to the 8th century BC but Didyma's heyday lasted throughout the Hellenistic age. It was approached along a 17km Sacred Way from Miletus and is the largest sanctuary in Western Turkey. Picture by Manuel Cohen

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Filename: LC13_Turkey_MC232.jpg
Image Size: 5616x3744 / 8.4MB; www.manuelcohen.com; afternoon color color image colour colour image day exterior heritage horizontal image outdoors outside photograph photography Turkey Turkish Middle East Middle Eastern archaeology archeology archaeological archeological ruins history Greek ancient classical tourism tourist attraction travel Didim Didyma Aydin sanctuary Ionia Miletus Priene Aegean coast Branchidae oracle prophetess Didymaion temple sacred site religion belief faith pagan god goddess Apollo oracular shrine gorgon sister snake serpent hair secrecy secret charm mythology mythological Medusa Temple of Apollo 4th century BC 2nd century AD Roman sculpture carved carving head face stone Hellenistic
Contained in galleries: Turkey

Giant Gorgon head, 2nd century AD, from the Temple of Apollo, 4th century BC, Didyma, Aydin, Turkey. The Gorgons were 3 sisters (Medusa, Stheno and Euryale) with snakes for hair, who could turn people to stone. They are patrons of secrecy, protecting the mystery of the oracle, and their faces were here used as a charm against illness. Didyma was an ancient Greek sanctuary on the coast of Ionia near Miletus, consisting of a temple complex and the oracle of Apollo, or Didymaion, who was visited by pilgrims from across the Greek world. The earliest temple ruins found here date to the 8th century BC but Didyma's heyday lasted throughout the Hellenistic age. It was approached along a 17km Sacred Way from Miletus and is the largest sanctuary in Western Turkey. Picture by Manuel Cohen