2 horses and 2 griffon busts found among the 2,600-year-old ruins of the Temple of Athena in the Phokaia Ancient City in İzmir’s Foça district will meet with art lovers at the İzmir Archeology Museum right after the restoration work is completed.
The ongoing work on the Temple of Athena in the Ancient City of Phokaia, located in the ancient settlement of İzmir, Foça district, has come to an end. Experts from the Izmir Archaeological Museum started to work on conservation and restoration last year for the 1 meter 30 centimeters to 1 meter 40 centimeters tall horse and griffon busts found in 2000.
The sculptures made of tuff stone, called “protome” and used for wall decoration, are in Izmir Archeology Museum this year after the work is completed. will be exhibited.
İzmir Archeology Museum Director Cengiz Topal, emphasizing that the Temple of Athena was placed on a natural rock, said, “According to the data obtained from the excavations, it was a worship area related to the Cybele cult before the 6th century BC. We know that temples were built after the century and it was used as a temple of Athena in its last phase,” he said.
“TO BE EXHIBITED AFTER THE RESTORATION WORKS ARE COMPLETED”
Topal also pointed out that the construction phase of the first temple in Foça dates back to Ephesus and other temples in the regions. He continued as follows:
“The Temple of Athena is historically in the foreground, but there is not much data as to finds and ruins. Because as you can see, the modern Foça settlement is located completely above the ancient The ancient buildings were used in the past, and the architectural elements there are different. Unfortunately, we do not have a lot of data because it was used in buildings and that cult of belief has ended, but this does not lose anything from its historical value, it is just visually missing. We started the restorations of the works and started work to exhibit them in the Izmir Archaeological Museum. One of the griffons is almost completed. The restoration is almost complete. It will meet with its visitors after the works are completed.”
