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History and information about Aphrodisias, Turkey
Aphrodisias is one ancient site in Turkey that is well worth a visit. Aphrodisias is located in the Dandalaz Valley near the village of Geyre in the Karacasu (Aydin) district in the south Aegean part of Turkey. The history of the city can be traced back to the early Bronze Age and there is even clear evidence of a Chalcolithic culture prior to the 3rd millennium B.C. Aphrodisias was one of the foremost cities of the age, surrounded by fertile fields producing every type of food. It also possessed prosperous wool and cotton industry, highly developed commercial, political, religious and cultural institutions and a fine tradition of arts and crafts and the world-famous schools of philosophy and sculpture.
The name comes from the Goddess of love, nature, beauty and plenty, who is known as Aphrodite, but the city according to the historian Stephanus was first known as Lelegonopolis at the time it was founded by the Lelegians, later changed to Megalopolis, then Ninoe after Ninos the King of Assyria. After the destruction of their city by the Medes and Babylonians the Assyrians brought the cult of Ishtar to this site.
The use of the name Aphrodisias began after the 3rd century B.C., in the Hellenistic period. The spread of Christianity under the Byzantine Empire and the gradual adoption of Christianity as the state religion resulted in a marked change in the status of the city. The cult centre of Aphrodite declined in importance, to such an extent that the names Aphrodite and Aphrodisias were finally erased from all the inscriptions. Efforts were made to change the name of the city to Stavrapolis, the City of the Cross, but the local inhabitants preferred to use Caria, the name of the province. Geyre, the name of the modern village occupying the same site, is probably a corruption of the ancient Caria, which occurred after the Turkish occupation of the area. It seems very likely that in Turkish, Caria was first pronounced Kayra.
We have an account from the historian Apollonius who wrote a book on Caria region. In the year 2 B.C. Aphrodisias had established an alliance with its neighboring city of Plarasa to mint money. In 82 BC, Roman general Sulla presents a golden crown and a holy double-bladed axe to the temple of Aphrodite. Later the decline of the city was influenced by Arab raids in the 7th century during the reign of the Emperor Heraclius In addition, religious disputes, political and economic pressures and a number of epidemics caused a great loss of life, but the final stroke was dealt by a devastating earthquake. The damage caused to the buildings by this earthquake is still plainly visible. The coming of the Seljuk Turks from Anatolia between the 11 Th. and 13th century caused the final end of the settlements that had survived the great earthquakes. After the 13th century the whole province became subject to the Aydin and Mentese Emirates. In the 15th and 16th centuries the fertile soil of the area attracted new settlement.
The Temple of Aphrodite
Located in the north, the Temple of Aphrodite formed the center of the city. Today all that remains of the ancient temple are fourteen of the more than forty Ionic columns that once surrounded it and the foundations of the cella. Although the cult center dates back to earlier times the temple whose remains we see today was not built until the 1st century B.C. The temple precinct was completed in the 2nd century during the reign of Hadrian. The building would appear to have been what is known as an octastyle temple with thirteen columns on each side and eight columns at front and rear. The discovery of several mosaic fragments belonging to the Hellenistic period indicate the existence of an older temple on the same site, but with the conversion of the temple to a church in the 5th century all traces of the older building were lost. At the same time, the walls of the cella containing the cult statues were removed and the building enlarged by moving the side columns outwards. Walls were added at the front and rear of the building to form an apse and nave. An apse and an atrium were added on the east and west. No cult statue was found in the cella but in 1962 a statue was found immediately outside it bearing all the characteristics of a cult statue. This statue, which is now exhibited in the museum, displays a stiff stance closely resembling the Artemis of Ephesus. The goddess is wearing a long garment. One of the arms is stretched forward. The reliefs carved on the bands of the garment are very interesting. The sun god and moon goddess, the Three Graces with Aphrodite in the middle, Aphrodite and three Cupids seated on a goat with the tail of a fish are all symbols which frequently appear on various copies of the cult statue.
Aphrodisias Tetra pylon
The ornamental gate constructed in the middle of the 2nd century is one of the most interesting structures of the Tetra pylon, which is composed of four groups of four columns. The front row of Corinthian columns with spiral fluting look out on to a street with north-south alignment. The second and third columns of this fourfold structure are surmounted by a semicircular lintel with relief figures of Nike and Erotes amid acanthus leaves.
Odeon and Bishop's Palace
Located immediately to the south of the temple and in a good state of preservation, the Odeon was used mainly as a concert hall and lecture room. It was constructed in the 2nd century A.D. There were originally a larger number of tiers in the upper part of the buildings but these are thought to have been destroyed in an earthquake. The orchestra and stage building of the Odeon were adorned with mosaics and statues now preserved in the museum. The auditorium was covered with a wooden roof. A fairly large architectural complex, constructed in the late Roman period, is to be found to the west of the Odeon. Part of this building is thought to have later been used in the Byzantine period as the residence of a governor or bishop. It would thus appear that the temple and its environs preserved its status as a religious and administrative centre into Christian times.
Aphrodisias Agora
The agora, located between the temple and the acropolis was planned in the 1st century B.C. for use as a market and popular meeting place. It is composed of two Ionic porticoes over 200 m long running from east to west. The southern portico, known as the portico of Tiberius, was systematically examined in the course of the older excavations, while the 1937 excavations carried out by the Italian team yielded extremely valuable friezes together with inscriptions written in praise of the Emperor Tiberius. Recent excavations conducted in the northern section, in the western section near the baths of Hadrian and the gate of the agora in the south-east yielded a large number of very fine specimens of the skill of the Aphrodisian sculptors and stone-carvers. Most of the reliefs consist of sacred or individual portraits surrounded by wreaths or garlands, masks and mythological scenes. The monumental gate of the agora is located at the eastern end of the Portico of Tiberius. This ornamental entrance was erected in the middle of the 2nd century but in order to prevent the flooding that followed the 4th century earthquake it was converted into a nymphaeum and connected to a water supply system to be used in controlling the water flow.
Baths of Hadrian in Aphrodisias
The baths constructed in the 2nd century during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian lie to the west of the Portico of Tiberius. This complex consists of a large central hall, probably the caldarium or hot room, surrounded. by four large rooms, the tepidarium, sudatorium, apoditerium and frigidarium (warm room, sweating room, dressing room and cold room respectively). It is a most imposing building with all the requisite facilities, such as labyrinthine underground service corridors, water channels and furnaces.
Aphrodisias Theater
The theater building is located on the eastern slope of the acropolis. Construction was completed in 27 B.C. but in the 2nd century A.D. certain structural changes were made to make the theater suitable for gladiatorial combats. The stage building was enlarged and connected to the cavea, a room for the wild animals was opened in the rear and some corridors were added. The excavations in the theater area yielded a great deal of extremely valuable information regarding both the prehistoric and historic periods in Aphrodisias as well as very well preserved sections of the theater and a large number of statues and reliefs of the highest quality.
Sebastion
When the building was first unearthed in 1979 it appeared to have no relation to any other building, but as excavations were carried down to deeper levels, it became apparent that this consisted of a temple dedicated to the cult of the Emperor Augustus (Sebastos is the Greek equivalent of the Latin Augustus) and its surrounding complex. Of the temple only the foundations now remain, together with a few column bases, Corinthian style capitals and architrave blocks. In addition to the damage inflicted by the earthquakes in the 4th and 7th centuries, the remains of the temple also suffered from the use of the area for settlement in the Byzantine and Turkish periods. The temple, which was located at the eastern end of the Sebastion, consisted of two porticoes 80 m in length composed of half columns and a ceremonial way 14 m wide. At the western end there was a gate or propylon opening on to the street. Excavations both inside and outside the porticoes yielded a quite extraordinary quantity of reliefs and decorative panels. The most remarkable of these included depictions of the birth of Eros, the Three Graces, Apollo in Delphi, Meleager, Achilles and Penthesilea, Nyssa and the child Dionysus.
The Aphrodisias Stadium
The Aphrodisias stadium is the best preserved of all the ancient stadiums in the Mediterranean region and with little repair could still be used today. The stadium is located to the north of the site and is 262 m in length and 59 m wide with a seating capacity of 30,000. The ends of the stadium are slightly convex, giving the whole a form rather suggesting an ellipse. In this way, the spectators seated in this part of the stadium would not block each other's view and would be able to see the whole of the arena. The stadium was specially designed for athletic contests, but after the theater was damaged in the 7th century earthquake the eastern end of the arena began to be used for games, circuses and wild beast shows. During the Roman period the stadium was the scene of a large number of athletic competitions and festivals. These competitions in the province of Asia Minor were modeled on the Olympic and Pythian games in Greece, and had the same name and organization as the Greek equivalent.
Aphrodisias Museum
No visit is complete without seeing the Museum of Aphrodisias, which is one of the most outstanding museums of western Anatolia. The monuments of unsurpassed value which have been found at the excavations are displayed here. |
