The little known oracle of Claros

It is not common knowledge that Claros ranges among the three most important oracles in antiquity, together with Delphi and Didyma.

The first cult of Claros occurred some time during the 7^th century using a round altar, which a century later, was replaced by a larger rectangular one of circa 15x6 meters. At the same time, the foundations were laid for the marble Temple of Apollo at the nearby spring, and another yet smaller temple was erected in honor of his sister, Artemis. This makes the oracle of Claros the oldest prophecy center in the ancient world.

The sanctuary remained untouched till the 4^th century BC when plans were made to enlarge it. These plans were, however, only realized in the 3rd century BC with the construction of a new Temple of Apollo and a new altar. The temple seems to be inspired by the one in Delphi having a similar crypt-like adyton where the oracle delivered her prophecies. The vaulted corridors are still visible today, although the passage is more often than not flooded by the sacred spring.

It seems the renovation works were never completed. It is astonishing to learn that only a few years ago (2006) divers found eight drums of a ten-meter-high column and its capital in Doric style in the nearby shipwreck of Kızılburun, about 60 kilometers from Claros (see: Sunken column finally delivered to the Apollo Temple in Claros). It clearly never reached its destination.

Unlike most oracles in antiquity, the diviners in Claros were men. After fasting for 24 or 48 hours, the question was whispered in the diviner's ear. He then drank some holy water, reappeared from the cave room, washed his hands and face, and formulated the question to the god Apollo. Through either inspiration or revelation, he later received the answer which he delivered to the priest in the shape of a poem. These rituals were held at night and the messages were written on tables that were erected in front of the temple for all to see. Yet, their content traveled as far as Dalmatia, Rome, Sardinia, Algeria, and even Britain and Russia! With the spread of Christianity, the oracle was gradually abandoned.

In this sanctuary, one still can read many of the ancient inscriptions on walls and steps, even on a curved marble bench. It is the largest group of such inscriptions that survived from Greek antiquity. It is also the only place providing us with a clear picture of how the priests could perform the hecatomb, i.e., a sacrifice to the gods in which as many as 100 cattle could be killed simultaneously. This ritual may have been performed at the end of the Claria Games which were held at Claros every five years in honor of Apollo (a similar ritual existed in Olympia at the closure of the Olympic Games).

Today’s visitors can still admire the remains of the Temple of Apollo with its vaulted adyton when it is not flooded. This happens generally in spring since Claros is located in the river valley and the temple itself is below the local water table. Yet, this adds to the charm of the place.

In front of the temple, archaeologists have painstakingly reassembled the fragments of three colossal sculptures, a seated Apollo holding his lyre, flanked by Leto and Artemis, standing seven meters tall. 

It seems that even Alexander the Great consulted this oracle before building the fortress on the nearby hill of Pagos where the residents from Smyrna were resettled.

Sunken column finally delivered to the Temple of Apollo in Claros

As I mentioned in a previous article “The shipwreck of Kızılburun” a late Hellenistic ship sank near the promontory of Kızılburun before reaching its destination with its cargo of freshly quarried marble intended for the Temple of Apollo in Claros (about 60 kilometers from Kızılburun). 

Among the many remains and artifacts, divers found eight drums for an entire ten-meter-high column and its capital in Doric style, although at that time (late 2nd or 1st century BC) builders generally preferred Ionic or Corinthian columns.

[Picture from Hurriyet Daily News]

It was a colossal task to raise the massive marble column drums, each weighing between 6.5 and 7.5 tons. A system was developed whereby nylon straps were put around the drum and then attached to heavy-duty balloons.

The column elements indicated that they were destined for a monumental construction and after serious investigations, archaeologists could link them with the nearby Temple of Apollo at Claros. When I was in Claros a few years ago, I was utterly amazed by the size of one of the drums lying in the grass and I took a picture of it, leaving my camera cover on top to show the sheer size!

By now a team of archaeologists has carried out work to determine the place of the column in the correct layout of the temple and they found that it was the sixth column. The initial idea was to move this column to the nearby museum but it was much more appropriate to put it in its rightful place. And so it happened: delivery was finally made, only 2,200 years later. 

Isn’t that exciting?

The shipwreck of Kızılburun, Turkey

It was only recently that I heard the name Kızılburun for the first time. I already know the shipwreck from Uluburun on Turkey’s southwestern shores where a huge amount of treasures was recuperated which are now exhibited at the Archaeological Museum of Bodrum, but the cargo ships from Kızılburun?

It didn’t take too long before I found out that the promontory of Kızılburun, meaning as much as Crimson Cape, is located a few miles southwest of Izmir. It seems to be a rather dangerous point for maritime traffic since, beside the so-called Column Wreck I’m interested in, at least five more wrecks have been located in the same area, including an amphora carrier from the 4th century BC, two Byzantine wrecks and a medieval millstone wreck. Sailing in antiquity, although frequent, was certainly not without risks!

Remains of a late Hellenistic ship were first discovered here in 1993. The ship was sailing from Proconnesos Island (near old Constantinople) with freshly quarried marble intended for the Temple of Apollo in Claros (about 40 miles from Kızılburun), but it sank before reaching its destination. On board were eight drums for an entire column and its capital in Doric style - an estimated total load of at least fifty tons! Until now, there has been little or no information about the quarrying process, the long-distance hauling by sea, and the lively marble constructions that occurred during Hellenistic times in Asia Minor, now Western Turkey, but this finding is changing all of this. Luckily, this wreck could be dated thanks to the amphoras found with the cargo to the late 2nd or 1st century BC, which is quite interesting as in those days, architects generally preferred Ionic or Corinthian columns. Divers identified a wide range of smaller artifacts also, including black glass bowls, oil lamps, and several types of amphoras.

During the 2006 diving season, underwater archaeologists located more than a dozen large marble blocks, several steles, a marble pedestal, and a 230-pound lead anchor stock, beside smaller items like plates, pans, cups, jugs, etc. They also lifted a cluster of intact amphoras of the typical Lamboglia type, the largest group on board this vessel, beside another set of amphoras made in ancient Colchis near the Black Sea.

The most difficult task then was to raise the massive marble column drums, each weighing between 6.5 and 7.5 tons! A system was developed whereby nylon straps put around the drum were attached to heavy-duty balloons. That year, the divers were able to salvage four of the eight columns. The remaining four as well as the Doric capital were lifted a year later, in 2007.

Interestingly next to the drum pile, portions of the ship’s secondary cargo have been discovered, i.e. large blocks probably to be used as building material; marble items like two large basins with pedestals, a roughly worked out but fine hand basin, and an unfinished stele; also some pottery and amphoras originating from Eastern Greece, the Adriatic, and even Egypt!

The tie with Claros occurred in due course. The column elements pointed towards a monumental construction and after serious investigations, archaeologists were able to make the connection with the nearby Temple of Apollo at Claros. This is where I’m getting all excited for when I was in Claros a few years ago, I was utterly amazed by the size of one of the drums lying in the grass. I even took a picture of it, leaving my camera cover on top of it to show the sheer size! Wow! At that time, there were approximately a dozen archaeologists at work, digging and removing dirt from a building next to the very temple. It may be worth another trip one of these days, just to see what the latest excavations have been revealing. By then, there might be more news about the ship’s construction itself, but I suppose this will take quite some time.

Progress of the excavations around Kızılburun can be followed via the link of the University of Texas, updated in 2008, and the one of National Geographic, updated in Feb 2009. 

[picture of the divers is from National Geographic]