Thermos (Aetolia)

Thermos, also known as Thermon or Thermum, was a Greek sanctuary, which served as a meeting place of the Aetolian League (Polybius, 28, 4). Center of the sanctuary was the temple of Apollo, created its first buildings in the 7th century BC.

But already in late Helladic period are building evidence in Thermos, which was settled through the entire Mycenaean period. In the 10th century BC was built on the site of the so-called Megaron B, an elongated megaronähnlicher building, which no longer existed, however, in the 8th century BC and only at the end of the 7th century BC by Temple C was replaced. Among the remains of this temple were found with the earliest detectable metopes of a Doric frieze. The fired clay metopes were painted with mythological scenes.

Thermos was not a city in the proper sense and to the 3rd century BC, the Aetolian League was more of a loose association of tribes as an important group of city-states. Whether the sanctuary had a regular mount before the Hellenistic period, is unknown. From the Hellenistic period, it was protected by iron walls tower in political disputes in which the league played a role. At the same time the sanctuary with three long porticoes, Stoen was appointed, and the source to the south of the temple was caught consuming.

During this period, numerous bronze statues were donated as votive offerings in the sanctuary, of which only fragments longer - fingers, toes, hooves - and marble statue bases are obtained, which testify to the former importance of the sanctuary.