Kourion Complex (Apollo) post 1945 (1 of 2)

(3)

bench was added on either side. Probably important dedications stood on these and on the pedestal. Two marble heads were recovered from the debris and those may belong to statues that once stood in this room. One is the idealized head of a young goddess or woman; the other, possibly also a goddess, or idealized portrait of a lady of the middle Roman Empire.

Room 1 has a [handwritten: ⊓ with 'is' inserted] shaped bench running around the walls. This, as we shall see, is a very popular plan at Apollo. The bench probably served here, too, as a place to set up dedications. Rooms 1, 2 and 3 stood before the construction of rooms 4, the stairway to the portico of the South Building north of room 5, and the four porticoes of the Southeast Building. Originally, room 3 was the same size as room 1 and occupied as well the space now taken up by the stairway. This explains the irregular spacing of the columns on the west stylobate. The architect wished to avoid having any column stand in front of the entrance to room 2 and had to space his columns accordingly.

The east and south porticoes give access to rooms in a poorer state of preservation. The smaller ones were possibly shops or store rooms. The eastern limits of the building are only partially excavated. The main entrance was through a porch on the north side. Columns stood on the n.w. and n.e. corners.

The walls and columns of the Southeast Building, as of other buildings in the sanctuary, were covered with lime plaster. The poor weathering quality of the local stone made this essential. Much of the plaster was painted, the most popular design being that of panels with borders in red, blue and green. The building had a roof in terracotta tiles. Samples of these can be seen where they have been piled in stacks in the court. The stone basin in the northwest corner of the court was for water. A cutting in the … continues