Glossary Religion and cult
Apollo Hylates
Also called: Hylates
'Apollo of the Woodland', the god of a major rural sanctuary west of Kourion, worshipped from the Iron Age into Roman times.
The epithet Hylates, from the Greek word for woodland, is local to Cyprus. The sanctuary near Kourion began as an open-air cult place and in the Roman period gained a temple, precinct walls and other buildings, later damaged by earthquakes. It is known for its huge deposits of votives. About 2,000 terracotta figures came from a single deposit, almost all of them horse riders and chariot groups.
Related terms
- Extra-urban sanctuary
A sanctuary set in the countryside away from the main town, often on a boundary or route within a kingdom's territory.
- Favissa
A pit dug in or near a sanctuary to bury old or broken votives, which remained the god's property and could not be thrown away.
- Syncretism
The merging or equating of gods from different cultures, so that one deity is worshipped under two names or with combined features.
Where it appears
- Horse and Rider Figurines
- Ring-Dance Groups
- Roman Cyprus
- Hellenistic Cyprus
- Snowman Figurines
- Achaemenid Persia
- Earthquakes in Ancient Cyprus
- Egypt
- Faience in Ancient Cyprus
- Food and Diet in Ancient Cyprus
- Music and Musical Instruments in Ancient Cyprus
- Temple Boys
and 1 more compendium page