Hylates

Hylates was the city god of Kourion in the southwest of Cyprus. He was worshiped exclusively in Cyprus as a local god and is equated by the functions forth with Apollo. Hylates is thereby set as epithet next to Apollo. The name is perhaps of ὑλακτέω [ ʰ ylaktéō ] " bark " or derived ὕλη [ ʰ YLE ] " forest ", hence calls him Lebek "Forest Apollo ". The worship of Hylates is proved by the 3rd century BC to the 3rd century AD. In Kourion, the earliest mention of the name " Hylates " was found on a presentation from the middle of the 3rd century BC.

Kourion

Excavation history

An important Hylatesheiligtum was located four kilometers to the west of Cyprus Kourion. The function of the sanctuary was never entirely disappeared from memory, as Ludwig Ross visited the place in 1845, the residents knew the Temple of Apollo. First excavations led Louis Palma de Cesnola 1876 and found an inscription that mentioned Apollo hylOs. In the 30s of the 20th century, George McFadden undertook excavations from 1978 explored Diana Buitron -Oliver and David Soren the temple grounds.

Architecture

Recent excavations showed several temples: Besides a large altar from the late 6th or early 7th century BC, an archaic temple was soon built. Other buildings followed, so that an entire sanctuary was built. The archaic temple was probably BC under Ptolemy I extended the 4th century Hellenistic tags. In Roman times, a stone temple was built under Nero and Trajan next to a stoa, baths and a palaestra, which was destroyed on 21 July 365 by an earthquake. The Trajanic temple was probably a tetrastyle Nabataean capitals and technicians and 18 stages. The site can be visited.

Finds

In addition to pottery egg products in 1980 large, produced on pottery wheels bull figures were made ​​of terracotta or the archaic altar each found a piece of gold and silver during excavations at Kourion. Perhaps there was therefore a bull cult for the God Hylates that in the next room - could have occurred - a round monument with 18 m diameter. As bone discoveries prove the God of animals were sacrificed in the Archaic period.

Altar

Strabo calls a " untouchable " altar of Apollo, Lebek want to assign to the Hylates. On this altar might also relates a prize poem on Antinous, which was found in the temple area of Kourion. Lebek suspected that altar in the excavated eastern area of the sanctuary, between the event later temple itself and the Curium Gate.

Other sanctuaries

In New Paphos a partly underground Ptolemaion was dedicated to the Hylates in Dhrymou and Chytroi sanctuaries in Dhrymou and Chrytoi is striking that only the epithet Hylates and not Apollo is mentioned; also remains have been found of bull figures in Chytroi.

Inscriptions

From Nikoklia, 2 km north of Palaipaphos ( Kouklia ), comes a marble slab with an oath of allegiance to the Roman emperor Tiberius, who mentions a number of Cypriot gods:

• Aphrodite Akraia
• Our Kore,
• Our Hylates Apollon
• Our Apollo Kerynia
• Our saving Dioscuri
• Hestia Boulaia ( the Meeting ) of the whole of Cyprus
• All the gods and goddesses of our fathers

Apollo Hylates is here so among the male gods of the most important. He is also mentioned in several other inscriptions of Kourion.