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 Sarcophag with
inscriptions
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Exploring Aphrodisias
on a donkey
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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. 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.
Unlike Ephesus, Aphrodisias is not so easy to access, lying as
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it does on a lofty plateau below the slopes of the Babadag which rises in the sparsely populated
area to south of and between the towns of Nazilli and Denizli in the Maeander Valley area. An interesting correlation
that closes the gap of ages relating to sites like Aphrodisius is that the Maeander is a large and important river,
known now by its Turkish name of Menderes, a river whose course is unpredictable and constantly changing and that
gave rise to the word »Meander«, meaning "to wander off course".
Perhaps you should wander a little off your own course and pay a visit to this archaeologically discovered but
as yet touristi-cally undiscovered city dedicated to the perceived bringer of life, Aphrodite.
Tetrapylon
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One of the most attractive features of Aphrodisias is the ornamental gate constructed in the
middle of the 2nd century. The name Tetrapylon refers to its being 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. The process of repairing and re-erecting the Tetrapylon columns was completed
in 1990.
Odeon and Bishop's Palace
The odeon, a building which differed from the theatre in being used mainly as a concert hall and lecture room,
is in a fairly good state of preservation.Located immediately to the south of the temple, 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 an statues now preserved in the museum and the auditorium was covered with a wooden roof. A fairly
large architectural complex is to be found to the west of the odeon. Constructed in the Late Roman period, 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.
Agora
The agora, located between the temple and the acropolis was planned in the 1 St. century B.C. for use as a market
and popular meeting place. It is composed of two Ionic porticoes over 200 m long and running from east to west.
The southern portico, which is 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.
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.
This is thought to have been constructed in the 5th century and to have suffered severe damage in the 7th century
earthquake.
Baths of Hadrian
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, sýýdatorium, 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.
In the excavations conducted here in 1904 the French archaeologist Paul Gaudin unearthed a large number of artistic
works now preserved in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.
The Theatre
Begun in 1966, the excavations in the theatre 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 theatre
building and a large number of statues and reliefs of the highest quality.
The theatre building rests against 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 theatre 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.
Following the collapse of the upper sections of the cavea in the 7th century earthquake and the partial filling
up of the auditorium the Byzantine inhabitants covered the orchestra and stage buildings with earth and built houses
over it, at the same time surrounding the acropolis with a wall.The most interesting and remarkable of the finds
discovered in the excavations was the Zoilos relief. Zoilos was a manumitted slave of Octavian who played an influential
role in fostering good relations between Aphrodisias and Rome and who succeeded in having the city exempted from
tax. The proscenion and logeion sections of the theatre were presented by Zoilos as a gift to Aphrodite and the
citizens of Aphrodisias
The Sebastion
The Sebastion is a remarkable discovery. 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.
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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. There are also reliefs of some members
of the imperial family and mythological figures. Those identified include Augustus, Germanicus, Lucius, Gaius Caesar,
Claudius and Agrippa, together with Prometheus and Aeneas fleeing from Troy. There is also a particularly interesting
group of reliefs symbolizing Claudius's conquest of Britain and Nero's conquest of Armenia.
There are also a number of fragments depicting the peoples of the various countries with which Augustus had waged
war or formed other types of relationships but these have suffered severe earthquake damage.
It would appear from the epigraphic evidence that the Sebastion porticoes were built during the reigns of Claudius
and Nero and were the gifts of two separate families.
The Aphrodisias stadium is the best preserved of all the ancient stadiums in the Mediterranean region. Located
in the northern section of the city it is 262 m in length and 59 m wide
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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 theatre 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.
These games were held with the permission of Rome and the granting of such permission was regarded as a signal
honour. The games held in Aphrodisias were Pythian, not Olympic. These were complemented by the Gordineia festivals
held in honour of the Emperor and with his special permission.
The Museum of Aphrodisias
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The Museum of Aphrodisias 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.
Observing these finds and imagining them in their former places suffice to grasp the splendor of these antique
monuments which once used to be. Especially the works of the sculpture school of antique Aphrodisias show the level
of development of this art.
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Bodrum is the ideal starting point for the famous
 Blue Cruise
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Free Downloads
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