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Prehistoric settlement - Acropolis and sanctuary of Apollo - Byzantine settlement The name “Kolona” was given to the peninsula by Venetian sailors, who used the columns of the Doric peripteral temple of Apollo (6x11) to guide them (1). The foundations and one column from the opisthodomus are preserved today. The temple and the buildings connected with the operation of the sanctuary (2, 6, 15) dominate the ancient acropolis atop the hill. The temple was built in the late 6th c. BC when Aegina, one of the most important trading centers, rose to become a rival of Athens. However, in 457/56 BC, Athens dealt Aegina its final blow, sending its inhabitants into exile in 431 BC. The island flourished one last time during the Hellenistic age (3rd-2nd c. BC) under the rule of the Pergamene kings, as evidenced by the preserved building remains (3, 8, 11, 12, 13). Excavations from the 19th c. onward revealed that the fragmentary architectural remains of the Archaic-Hellenistic acropolis rested on impressive Prehistoric buildings, with at least ten successive building phases.
