'The district of Amyclae is one of the most richly timbered and fertile in Laconia, lies about twenty stades from Sparta, and contains a temple of Apollo which is about the most famous of all the Laconian holy places.’
- Polybius 5.19
The Sanctuary of Apollo Amyklaios lies on the hill of Agia Kyriaki in Amyclae, Sparta. Amyclae was founded by Amyclas of Sparta, son of the mythical king Lacedaemon.Amyclae is also said to have been the home of Castor and Pullox, who were so given the name 'Amyclaei Fratres'.
The site was first excavated in 1980. The archaeological evidence includes the retaining walls, circuit walls, evidence of foundations dating to various periods, and a circular altar.
The retaining walls around the Sanctuary were made of local conglomerate stone, and are architecturally designed to work with the steep slopes of the hill. The precinct indicates that there have been extensions and repairs made to it, as well as general measures of maintenance carried out during the Roman and Byzantine periods.
There is also archaeological evidence of the Throne of Apollo Amyklaios by Archaic artist Bathykles from Asia Minor. A stoa-like building enclosed a colossal statue of Apollo on three sides and was decorated with reliefs. The tomb of Hyacinthus is used as a statue base, combining the two local deities together. The statue is thought to have been erected around the 7th or early 6th century BCE, with the throne/temple complex being created around it in the later 6th century.
The only remaining part of the throne is the foundation, four metres long and one metre high.
According to Pausanias (the only real description of the throne complex that we have) the colossal statue was approximately 14 metres high and made of wood lined with bronze plates. A votive bas-relief from the Classical period found in Amyclae and a few coin depictions give us a general image of the statue.Pausanias has given us a detailed description of what the Throne of Apollo looked like, and indeed it was a work of art:
'In front of it and behind it rise two Graces and two Seasons; on the left stand Echidna and Typhoeus, while on the right there are Tritons. It would weary my readers if I went through all the workmanship in detail; but, to summarize (since most of it is familiar anyway), Poseidon and Zeus are carrying Taygete, the daughter of Atlas, and her sister Alkyone. Atlas is also carved on it, and the fight of Heracles and Cyknos, and the battle of the Centaurs in the Cave of Pholos. I do not understand why Bathykles carved the Minotaur, bound and taken alive by Theseus. There is a Phaeacean dance on the Throne, and Demodokos is singing. There is Perseus, triumphing over Medusa. There is the carrying off the daughters of Leukippos, the fight between Heracles and the giant Thourios, and the fight between Tyndareus and the giant Eurytos. Hermes is carrying the infant Dionysos to Olympus, and Athena is bringing Heracles to live with the Gods forever. Peleus is handing over Achilles to be brought up by Cheiron, since Achilles is said to have been one of his pupils. Kephalos is being carried off by Eos because of his beauty. The Gods are bringing gifts to the wedding of Harmonia. There are images of the combat of Achilles with Memnon, and Heracles punishing Diomedes the Thracian, and Nessos in the River Euenos. Hermes is taking the Goddesses to be judged by Paris. Adrastos and Tydeus break up the fight between Amphiaraos and Lykourgos, son of Pronax. Hera is looking at Io, daughter of Inachos, who has been turned into a heifer. Athena is escaping from Hephaestus, who is pursuing Her. Then there is the series of the great deeds of Heracles: Heracles and the Hydra, and Heracles bringing back the Hound of Hades. Anaxias and Mnasinous are each on horseback, but Megapenthes, the son of Menelaus and Nikostratos share a horse. Bellerophon is destroying the Lycian monster; Herakles is driving off the cattle of Geryon.
At the upper limits of the Throne are the sons of Tyndareus on horseback, one on either side; here are sphinxes under the horses and wild beasts with their heads raised, a lioness under Polydeukes and a leopard on the other side. On the very top of the throne is the dance of the Magnesians, who worked on the Throne with Bathykles. Underneath the throne, behind the Tritons, there is the Calydonian Boar Hunt, Heracles killing the sons of Aktor, Kalais and Zetes driving off the Harpies from Phineus, Perithoos and Theseus carrying off Helen, Heracles with the lion by the throat, and Apollo and Artemis shooting Tityos. There are carvings of Heracles fighting the Centaur Oreios and Theseus fighting the Minotaur, the wrestling match of Heracles and Acheloos, the story of Hera bound by Hephaestus, the games given by Akastos for his father, the story of Menelaus and Proteus the Egyptian . Finally, Admetus is harnessing his chariot with a boar and a lion, and the Trojans are bringing jars to offer them to Hektor.'
Pausanias, Periegesis Hellados, III. 6.
The circular altar is dated to the second monumental phase of the sanctuary. During a restoration project in 2009 part of the altar was reconstructed, indicating its size to be about 8 metres wide and 4 metres high.
Within the Sanctuary of Apollo Amyklaios, the tomb of Hyacinthus, the youngest son of Amyclas and local God of vegetation, stands as a pedestal for the colossal statue of Apollo.
Ritual Activity
As Apollo and Hyacinthus were honoured together, they represented respectively Doric Sparta and the population of Amyclae and the political reconciliation between them.
The Hyacinthia was celebrated for three days every year - the first day was a designated day of bereavement and sacrifice to Hyacinthus. On the second day, a procession was lead from Sparta to Amyclae, where the people partaking in the festival would stay temporarily at the Sanctuary in tents. This procession seems to represent the common aspect of festivals; initiation, in which the interests of Apollo focused upon the younger generation and their prosperous passage into adult life and society.'at the Hyacinthia, before the sacrifice to Apollo, they devote offerings to Hyacinthus as to a hero into this altar through a bronze door, which is on the left of the altar'
- Pausanias, 3.19.3
The retaining walls of the sanctuary marked out a large area around the throne and statue that meant it could facilitate the cult celebrations.
Other Activities
Pausanias notes that there is a statue of a victor of the Pentathlon, Aenetus, as well as a number of bronze tripods, of which the older ones are said to be a tithe of Messenian War. Under some of the tripods stand images of Goddesses such as Aphrodite and Artemis.According to Pausanias, on the completion of the throne Bathykles dedicated Graces and an image of Artemis Leucophryene.
Foundations of buildings from the 4th and 5th centuries CE have also been found at the Sanctuary. It is also speculated that later on during the Byzantine period chamber tombs and pit graves were included in parts of the hill.
Historical Significance
Shortly before the first Messenian War in the 8th century BCE, the town was conquered by the Spartans. In Maurius Servius Honoratus' Commentary on Virgil from around the 4th and 5th centuries, a story is told that the people of Amyclae had become so paranoid by frequent false reports of invasions, that it was forbidden for anyone to mention it again. This meant that when the Spartan's did eventually invade, no one dared to announce the attack and so 'Amyclae perished through silence'. The Spartans destroyed the fortifications and moved the majority of the inhabitants to settle instead in the plains below, turning Amyclae into a small village as opposed to moving the conquered inhabitants elsewhere. It was following this that the city placed religion as a particularly important part of their identity, and the Sanctuary of Apollo and the Hyacinthia Festival became its most distinguishing features.
SOURCES : CSUN , Warwick University
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