Apollon Symintheion Ruins

The Smintheion, near Gulpinar in Canakkale Province, is a sanctuary dedicated to Apollo Smintheus ("Lord of Mice"), referenced in Book 1 of Homer's Iliad where priest Chryses invokes the god to plague the Greeks at Troy. The pseudodipteral Ionic temple, built in the mid-2nd century BC, measures 22.4 by 40.3 m with 44 marble columns bearing rare relief scenes from the Iliad. It housed a colossal 5 m statue of Apollo attributed to sculptor Scopas. Systematic excavations since 1980 have uncovered baths, cisterns, and a 30 km Sacred Road to Alexandria Troas.