La statue cultuelle d'Apollon à Délos

The Apollo cult statue from Delos, which is known only through some literary and archaeological evidences, raises three delicate questions : first, its height is traditionally considered as colossal but can in fact not be precisely assessed below six meters ; then, the type of material from which it was made is not known and can only be guessed thanks to sparce epigraphical testimonies alluding to a golden statue, probably made according to the sphyrelaton technique ; lastly, the statue is far from dating from the same period as the Porinos News, the Apollo temple constructed in Delos in the last third of the Vlth century. It was probably made earlier during the VIth century or even in the VIIth century B.C. : the only elements available which make it possible to establish a chronology are the polos and the belt worn by the god. These considerations will probably have an incidence on the frequently debated issue of the existence of another Apollo temple previous to the construction of the Porinos Naos.