Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
OLBA, cilt.34, ss.413-438, 2026 (AHCI)
This article examines the lesser-known Apollon cult in Phaselis in light of new archaeological and epigraphic findings obtained during excavations around the Central Harbour in 2024. Although the study takes its starting point from an altar and related artefacts located next to the military harbour containing offerings from the Archaic Period that were rearranged in the Hellenistic Period, this article evaluates them within the framework of general spatial-ritual approaches, since the excavations around the altar are ongoing, and the publication of its architecture and artefacts is in preparation. The altar is surrounded by a temenos wall and forms part of a multi-layered urban and ritual space comprising different building phases. In terms of its spatial location, it is comparable to coastal altars dedicated to Apollon in the eastern Mediterranean. The altar reflects the same ideological and ritual logic as similar sanctuaries, particularly with regard to marking the threshold spaces between the city and the sea, and forming a symbolic border in the transition from sea to land. The article analyses inscriptions associated with Apollon in the city, presenting new insights into the cult of Apollon at Phaselis. The first inscription shows that Apollon was referred to with the epithet epidamos, meaning ‘present among the people/living among us’. The same inscription states that the Apollon priest who performed the dedication also served Dionysos and Aphrodite. This epigraphically documents the presence of these gods at Phaselis for the first time. The second inscription labels Apollon as medeon, meaning ‘protector’, while the third inscription, an example that has been published before but is considered in a new context in this study, presents him as iatros (‘healer’). The combination of these three designations, and their absence in Rhodes or neighbouring regions, suggests that Apollon acquired a locally shaped, partly Ionian-influenced, urban, multifunctional divine persona at Phaselis. The fact that Phaselis was originally a colonial settlement and the structural characteristics of harbour cities are considered to be among the main factors guiding this process. In conclusion, this study aims to demonstrate how Apollon was indigenised at Phaselis, while also being integrated into the wider tradition of coastal altars in the Mediterranean, through an analysis of spatial layout, epigraphic terminology and divine functions.