From ancient times there was a sanctuary of Apollo on this site. Later the Ionic temple of Apollo was built. It was a grandiose construction, in its time not inferior in luxury to the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, and as famous as the sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi. Only the priests of this temple lived in Didyma. Once every four years they held festivals in honour of this god with athletic competitions and musical performances.
In the 5th century BC the temple was destroyed by the Persians, but under Alexander the Great it was decided to rebuild and expand it. However, the temple was never completed, and later the Byzantines melted away almost all the marble. Only three large columns and a mass of small stones remained.
The expressive relief on the stone depicting the head of Medusa-Gorgon is world-famous.
