2500-Yr-Old Temple of ‘Greek Goddess of Love’ Discovered in Turkey With the Inscription ‘This Is the Sacred Area'

Idol worship has been prevalent for a long time, popular with humans trying to connect with the greater self. People have been worshipping deities since antiquity. One particular deity in Greek culture transcended time with a discovery in Turkey in 2016, stated Smithsonian Magazine.

Researchers found some ancient ruins while conducting a survey of the Urla-Çeşme peninsula in western Turkey. The structure was identified to be a sixth-century B.C. temple made to worship the goddess Aphrodite. "During our screening of the surface, we detected the Aphrodite temple from the sixth century B.C.," team leader Elif Koparal, an archaeologist at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, said. "It is a fascinating and impressive discovery."

Aphrodite is considered to be the goddess of love and fertility, stated Live Science. Prostitutes used to consider her to be their patron. In Greek culture, along with love and fertility, she was linked to the sea as well as war.

The discovery was unexpected, as such ruins are not typically unearthed during surface surveys, stated Hurriyet Daily News. "It is a rural temple. Aphrodite was a very common cult at that time. The finds that we have indicate that there is the Temple of Aphrodite in this region. It is not common to find a temple during a surface survey. The area was not within reach by car. It can be reached with a one-and-a-half-hour walk from the alley," Koparal said. Researchers also managed to determine the plan of the original temple through soil scanning. The team noted that the ruins had undergone some damage due to natural processes.

Experts were not shocked to uncover an Aphrodite temple dating back to that period, as the deity was quite popular during that time. The discovery indicated to researchers that this region was possibly inhabited by a group of people who worshipped Aphrodite in the sixth century B.C. "From the findings, we understood that there must have been a cult area in the region,” said Koparal. In the temple, experts unearthed a statue fragment depicting a woman and a terracotta model of a female head. The structure also featured an inscription, which translated to "This is the sacred area."

The temple has been spotted near the city of İzmir, which is one of the oldest cities in the Mediterranean region. Pottery remains indicate that Greek civilization settled here sometime during 1000 B.C. The temple was created after this, which implies that the civilization continued to have a presence in the area for four centuries.  The area was investigated for a long time by researchers due to its centuries-long legacy. Starting from 2006, archaeologists have uncovered 35 prehistoric settlements on the 17,220-square-foot site, where the temple was spotted. Sixteen of these settlements date back to the late Neolithic period, according to examinations. 

Archaeologists have spotted burial mounds and caves in the site, which they believe were used as a sacred place by civilians. These findings have shed light on an ancient social and economic network, stated archaeologists.