The Greek god Apollo was the god of light, order, arts and muses, reason, prophecy. He was the son of Zeus and Leto and the twin brother of Artemis. He is represented as a young and handsome man, sometimes in a chariot, given to him by his father, Zeus.
This marble statue of Apollo playing the kithara was discovered in January 1861 in the Doric temple of Apollo at Cyrene, in the present day Libya. The sculpture was found broken into many pieces on the temple floor, close to the large base on which it had originally stood.
The cult of Apollo was extremely important to the inhabitants of Cyrene, from the Archaic period onwards, and the oracle of Apollo at Delphi had been consulted by Greek colonists as to whether the plans to settle the area would be successful.
The devastation of an earlier sanctuary of Apollo during the Jewish Revolt in AD 115 gave rise to a programme of architectural re-development encouraged by the emperor Hadrian, who was strongly committed to Greek culture. The temple was finally dedicated during the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, AD 161-192. The cult statue of Apollo was probably completed and dedicated at much the same time.
The Temple of Apollo is not visually stunning unless you climb up the hill behind it. The temple was built as early as 7th century BCE, but rebuilt after the 365 BCE earthquake. A second rebuilding came about after the Jewish rebellion in 115 CE.
About 50 metres from the temple, the Fountain of Apollo is situated, of which the water was considered curing. Inside it one can still see the seats for patients coming here for treatment.
A statue from the temple, depicting Apollo playing the lyre, is exhibited in British Museum, London, UK.
Easy to locate, take a stop at the sacred fountain, or nymphaeum, in front of the temple, which is protected by two white lion statues.
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