Listed 3 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for destination: "SIKINOS Island KYKLADES".
One of the smallest of the southern islands. Referred to by Solon
as the epitome of unimportance, it nevertheless appears in 5th c. tribute lists
and joined the Athenian Alliance in 378 B.C.
The only existing monument stands isolated on a mountain ridge high
above the sea, an hour's walk SW from the modern town. The ancient town, which
has not been excavated, lay above it, just below the peak of the ridge. Formerly
known as the Temple of Apollo Pythios, the building is actually a tomb of the
3d c. A.D. It and a number of smaller tombs, of which only the cuttings remain,
line the road leading up to the town. The plan is that of a temple distyle in
antis. The order is Ionic but the capitals are Doric. A crypt underlies the cella
and the steep slope of the hillside was used to provide two exposed entrances
on the S side. Paved terraces surrounded the tomb on all sides. The two chambers
of the crypt are barrel-vaulted, as was the cella. The ceiling of the pronaos
was made of marble beams, laid flat. A sepulchral inscription was carved on the
inner face of the doorway. A half statue found nearby may have come from the pediment.
The original walls, solidly built of local grayish-blue marble set in mortar,
are preserved up to the cornice. The vaulted roof, destroyed by earthquake, was
replaced in the 17th c. by a dome supported on pointed arches when the building
was in use as a church.
A. Frantz, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Receive our daily Newsletter with all the latest updates on the Greek Travel industry.
Subscribe now!
