Mysteria
Verified36.6840° N · 27.3760° E · 32 m

Knidos Apollo Temple — Datça Peninsula Karne Island Sanctuary

Knidos Apollo · Temple of Apollo Karneios

Archaic Dorian to Hellenistic (600 BCE – 100 BCE)·Dorian Knidians with Triopian league·🇹🇷 Muğla Province, Datça district, Tekir village, Knidos peninsula Apollo terrace above double harbours, Turkey

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About

About Knidos Apollo Temple — Datça Peninsula Karne Island Sanctuary

Apollo Karneios sanctuary terrace at Knidos double-harbour city on the Dodecanese cape (36.68 N) 35 km west of Datça, with Temple of Apollo Karneios peripteros 6×11 doric 22×34 m (150 BCE) built on Archaic 600 BCE foundations where Carnean Dorian rite originated before expansion to Cyrene. Harbour mole 300 m encloses southern naval harbour. Aphrodite of Knidos sanctuary counterpart 500 m west.

Why it mattersKnidos Apollo terrace as Dorian Carnean source links Sporades to Cyrene colonization via ritual continuity

Open questions

Mysteries & theories

Mysteries

  1. 01Apollo Karneios vs Pythian identity at Knidos
  2. 02Double harbour naval vs commerce partition

Theories

  1. 01Dorian hexapolis origin myth
  2. 02Cnidian Aphrodite–Apollo complementary pair

Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.

History

How it came to be

Built
Archaic 600 BCE carnean altar; Hellenistic temple 150 BCE
Period
Archaic Dorian to Hellenistic (600 BCE – 100 BCE)
Culture
Dorian Knidians with Triopian league
Purpose
Apollo Karneios as Dorian Carnean rite origin center
Abandoned
c.400 CE Christian
Excavation
Partially excavated

  1. 600 BCE

    Carnean altar origins

  2. 150 BCE

    Hellenistic temple

  3. 1857

    Newton finds Demeter statue

On the ground

Structures & features

36.6840° N · 27.3760° E · 32 m · 3 mapped features

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