Klaros

Klaros is an ancient Greek city and sacred site located on the Ionian coast of western Asia Minor (present-day Turkey). It is best known for the sanctuary of Apollo Klaros, one of the region’s notable oracular centers. The site lay near the Gulf of the Ionian Sea, opposite the island of Chios, and was part of the broader Ionian cultural network that included Colophon and Ephesus.

In antiquity, Klaros attracted pilgrims from across the Greek world who sought prophetic guidance at the sanctuary. The religious complex included a temple dedicated to Apollo Klaros and associated ritual precincts. The oracular practice reportedly involved oracular priests and ritual ceremonies, and the sanctuary appears in later inscriptions and literary references that indicate its continued importance from the Archaic through the Hellenistic periods, with some activity continuing into the Roman era.

Archaeological remains at Klaros include temple foundations, altars, inscriptions, and other ritual installations. The site preserves evidence of urban life around the sanctuary, with structures dating from the 6th to the 2nd centuries BCE. After late antiquity, the site declined as many Ionian cults did, and the settlement eventually faded from use.

Today Klaros is studied as part of the broader history of Ionian sanctuaries and the network of Greco-Oriental religious practices. It offers insight into ancient Greek religion, pilgrimage, and the political geography of western Anatolia.