Figurines of mice greet the visitors on the steps of the temple of Apollo in Turkey.
The temple was built during the 2nd century B.C., in the Troas region. It is dedicated to Apollo Smintheus (Lord of mice). The friezes of the temple depicted the war, which Homer recounted in his epic Iliad. In the epic itself, Apollo invoked as Smintheus is a terrific plague bringer.
Miniature statues of mice are now being placed to the stairs of 2,000 years old temple. "They are real-size figurines of mice. We have 73 figurines in the first stage, but 100 more will be made", says Professor Coşkun Özgünel, the head of the excavations in the field. "Visitors of the temple are very surprised by the mice. They show great interest in the figurines. They take photos and share them on social media. This interest made us very pleased.”
