Claros

Claros

Κλάρος (Ancient Greek) Clarus (Latin)
The Temple of Apollo at Claros
Shown within Turkey
Location	Ahmetbeyli, Izmir Province, Turkey
Region	Ionia
Coordinates	38°00′18″N 27°11′34″E / 38.00500°N 27.19278°E / 38.00500; 27.19278Coordinates: 38°00′18″N 27°11′34″E / 38.00500°N 27.19278°E / 38.00500; 27.19278
Type	Sanctuary
Satellite of	Colophon
Site notes
Condition	Ruined
Ownership	Public
Public access	Yes

Claros (Greek: Κλάρος, Klaros; Latin: Clarus) was an ancient Greek sanctuary on the coast of Ionia. It contained a temple and oracle of Apollo, honored here as Apollo Clarius. It was located on the territory of Colophon, one of the twelve Ionic cities, twelve kilometers to the north. The coastal city Notion lay two kilometers to the south. The ruins of the sanctuary are now found north of the modern town Ahmetbeyli in the Menderes district of Izmir Province, Turkey.

The Temple of Apollo at Claros was a very important center of prophecy as in Delphi and Didyma. The oldest information about this sacred site goes back to the sixth and seventh centuries BC. through the Homeric Hymns. A sacred cave near the Temple of Apollo, which was an important place both in the Hellenistic and Roman eras, points to the existence of a Cybele cult in earlier periods here. Games called the Claria were held at Claros every fifth year in honor of Apollo.

It is unknown when the sanctuary was founded exactly and its origins are shrouded in mythology. Archaeological excavations revealed structures dating back to the 10th century BC. The high point for the fame of the sanctuary seems to have been the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD and it had many visitors until the 4th century AD.

In the late Hellenistic period, a cargo ship carrying marble sank on its way to Claros off the southwest coast of modern-day Turkey. The ship was discovered in 1993, and has been under excavation since 2005. On this ship, an estimated fifty tons of marble columns were recovered that matched the description of the columns found at Claros, the temple of Apollo. Isotopic and meteorological data indicate Proconnesus as the source of the marble. The marble was being imported from Proconnesus Island to be used at the site, and was a special type of marble with distinctive blue and white bands known as Proconnesian Marble. The marble did not complete its 350 kilometer journey from Proconnesus Island to the Izmir Province of Turkey.