Aphrodisias (; grc, Ἀφροδισιάς, Aphrodisiás) was a small ancient Greek

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

city in the historic Caria cultural region of western Anatolia, Turkey. It is located near the modern village of Geyre, about east/inland from the coast of the Aegean Sea, and southeast of İzmir. Aphrodisias was named after Aphrodite, the Greek

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

of love, who had here her unique

cult image In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents. In several traditions, including the ancient religions of Egypt, Greece and Rome ...

, the ''Aphrodite of Aphrodisias''. According to the

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souidas ...

, a Byzantine encyclopedic compilation, before the city became known as Aphrodisias (c.3rd century BCE) it had three previous names: ''Lelégōn Pólis'' (Λελέγων πόλις, "City of the Leleges"), ''Megálē Pólis'' (Μεγάλη Πόλις, "Great City"), and ''Ninó''ē (Νινόη). Sometime before 640, in the Late Antique period when it was within the Byzantine Empire, the city was renamed ''Stauropolis'' (Σταυρούπολις, "City of the Cross").Siméon Vailhé, "Stauropolis" ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', 191
full text
citing Heinrich Gelzer, ''Ungedruckte ... Texte der Notitiæ episcopatuum'', 534. The name ''Tauropolis'', said to have been borne by the town prior to that of Stauropolis, is an error of several scholars, ''e.g.'' ''Revue des études grecques'' 19:228-30; the error 'Tauropolis' derives from inscriptio
IAph 42
see discussion by Roueché a

/ref> In 2017, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list.

History

Aphrodisias was the metropolis (provincial capital) of the region and Roman province of Caria. White and blue grey Carian marble was extensively quarried from adjacent slopes in the

and Roman periods, for building facades and sculptures.

Marble sculpture Marble has been the preferred material for stone monumental sculpture since ancient times, with several advantages over its more common geological "parent" limestone, in particular the ability to absorb light a small distance into the surface be ...

s and sculptors from Aphrodisias became famous in the Roman world. Many examples of statuary have been unearthed in Aphrodisias, and some representations of the Aphrodite of Aphrodisias also survive from other parts of the Roman world, as far afield as Pax Julia in Lusitania. The city had notable schools for sculpture, as well as philosophy, remaining a centre of

paganism Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christianity, early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions ot ...

until the end of the 5th century. It was destroyed by earthquake in the early 7th century, and never recovered its former prosperity, being reduced to a small fortified settlement on the site of the ancient theatre. Around the same time, it was also renamed to ''Stauropolis'' ( gr, Σταυροῡπολις, "city of the Cross") to remove pagan connotations, but already by the 8th century it was known as ''Caria'' after the region, which later gave rise to its modern Turkish name, Geyre. In Byzantine times, the city was the seat of a fiscal administrative unit (''dioikesis''). Aphrodisias was sacked again by the rebel

Theodore Mankaphas Theodore Mangaphas or Mankaphas ( gr, Θεόδωρος Μαγκαφᾶς, fl. c. 1188–1205) was a Greek nobleman from Philadelphia, who assumed the title of Byzantine emperor twice, first during the reign of Isaac II Angelos (r. 1185–1195 an ...

in 1188, and then by the Seljuk Turks in 1197. It finally fell under Turkish control towards the end of the 13th century.

Geological history

The site is in an

earthquake zone In seismology, a seismic zone or seismic belt is an area of seismicity potentially sharing a common cause. It may also be a region on a map for which a common areal rate of seismicity is assumed for the purpose of calculating probabilistic ground ...

and has suffered a great deal of damage at various times, especially in severe tremors of the 4th and 7th centuries. An added complication was that one of the 4th century earthquakes altered the water table, making parts of the town prone to flooding. Evidence can be seen of emergency plumbing installed to combat this problem. Aphrodisias never fully recovered from the 7th century earthquake, and fell into disrepair. Part of the town was covered by the modern village of Geyre; some of the cottages were removed in the 20th century to reveal the older city. A new Geyre has been built a short distance away.

Ecclesiastical history

Le Quien (''Oriens christianus'', I, 899–904) mentions twenty bishops of this see. In the 7th century Stauropolis had twenty-eight

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

bishops and twenty-six at the beginning of the 10th century. Stauropolis is also a Roman Catholic

titular metropolitan see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

, under the name Stauropoli (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Stauropolitana'').

Buildings and structures

Monumental gateway

A monumental gateway, or

tetrapylon A tetrapylon ( el, τετράπυλον, "four gates"), plural ''tetrapyla'', known in Latin as a ''quadrifrons'' (literally "four fronts") is a type of ancient Roman monument of cubic shape, with a gate on each of the four sides, generally built ...

, stands at the end of a road that leads from the main north-south street of the town into a large forecourt in front of the

Sanctuary of Aphrodite Aphrodisias The Sanctuary of Aphrodite of Aphrodisias was a sanctuary in ancient Aphrodisias dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite. History The site was a local cult centre based around a local fertility goddess since at least the 7th century BC. In the Hel ...

. The gateway was built ca. AD 200.

Temple of Aphrodite

The Temple of Aphrodite was a focal point of the town. The Aphrodisian sculptors became renowned and benefited from a plentiful supply of marble close at hand. The school of sculpture was very productive; much of their work can be seen around the site and in the Aphrodisias Museum. Many full-length statues were discovered in the region of the

agora The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order of t ...

, and trial and unfinished pieces pointing to a true school are in evidence. Sarcophagi were recovered in various locations, most frequently decorated with designs consisting of festoons and columns. Pilasters have been found showing what are described as "peopled scrolls" with figures of people, birds and animals entwined in acanthus leaves. The character of the temple building was altered when it became a Christian basilica. The building is believed to have been dismantled in c. 481-484 by order of Emperor Zeno, because the temple had been the focus of Pagan Hellenic opposition against Zeno in Aphrodisias, in support of Illus, who had promised to restore Hellenic rites, which had been suppressed during the

Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire began during the reign of Constantine the Great (306–337) in the military colony of Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem), when he destroyed a pagan temple for the purpose of constructing a Christian church ...

, to the temples that were still standing.

Bouleuterion

The Bouleuterion (council house), or

Odeon Odeon may refer to: Ancient Greek and Roman buildings * Odeon (building), ancient Greek and Roman buildings built for singing exercises, musical shows and poetry competitions * Odeon of Agrippa, Athens * Odeon of Athens * Odeon of Domitian, Rome ...

, is centered on the north side of the North Agora. As it stands today, it consists of a semicircular auditorium fronted by a shallow stage structure about 46 m wide. The lower part of the auditorium survives intact, with nine rows of marble seats divided into five wedges by radial stairways. The seating of the upper part, amounting to an additional twelve rows, has collapsed together with its supporting vaults. The plan is an extremely open one, with numerous entrances at ground level and several stairways giving access to the upper rows of seats. A system of massive parallel buttresses shows that the building was originally vaulted. The auditorium would have been lighted by a series of tall, arched windows in the curved outer wall. Seating capacity can be estimated at about 1,750. The available evidence indicates a construction date in the Antonine or early Severan period (late 2nd or early 3rd century AD). The '' scaenae frons'' (stage front) was certainly put up at this time, as the style of both sculpture and architectural ornament suggest. Statue bases terminating the retaining walls of the auditorium bore the names of two brothers, senators in the early Severan period, and two inscribed bases placed symmetrically against the exterior facade held statues of Aphrodisian benefactors, Claudia Antonia Tatiana and her uncle Lucius Antonius Dometinus, who were active at the end of the 2nd century. Tatiana is known to have had close ties with

Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...

, and it is possible that the striking similarities between this building and the bouleuterion on the civic agora there, dated by inscription to the mid-2nd century, are due to some initiative on her part. We do not know what stood here before the 2nd century AD, but it is likely that the present building replaced a smaller one contemporary with the laying out of the agora in the late 1st century BC. The bouleuterion at Aphrodisias remained in this form until the early 5th century, when a municipal official had it adapted as a '' palaestra'', recording his achievement in an inscription on the upper molding of the ''pulpitum'' (stage). ''Palaestra'' usually refers to a wrestling ground, but in the 5th century it could be used to describe a hall for lectures, performances, and various kinds of competitive displays, as suggested by a number of factional inscriptions carved on the seats. Numerous additional cuttings in the surviving seats, probably for poles supporting awnings, suggest that by this time the building had lost its roof. The orchestra was lowered and provided with a marble pavement, reused, perhaps, from the earlier phase.

Sebasteion

The Sebasteion, or

Augusteum An Augusteum (plural ''Augustea'') was originally a site of imperial cult in ancient Roman religion, named after the imperial title of Augustus. It was known as a Sebasteion in the Greek East of the Roman Empire. Examples have been excavated in ...

, was jointly dedicated, according to a 1st-century inscription on its

propylon In ancient Greek architecture, a propylaea, propylea or propylaia (; Greek: προπύλαια) is a monumental gateway. They are seen as a partition, specifically for separating the secular and religious pieces of a city. The prototypical Gree ...

, "To Aphrodite, the Divine Augusti and the People". A relief found in the ruins of the south portico represented a personification of the '' polis'' making sacrifice to the

of Aphrodite of Aphrodisias, venerated as ''promētōr'' ("foremother" or "ancestral mother"). "Aphrodite represents the cosmic force that integrates imperial power with the power of local elites", a reader of Chariton romance has noted. This connection between the goddess and the imperial house was also a particularly politic one at the time, as the Gens Julia – the family of Julius Caesar, Octavian Augustus, and their immediate successors – claimed divine descent from Venus/Aphrodite. The stadium, Aphrodisias, Turkey (16911544529)

Stadium

The stadium was used for athletic events until the theatre was badly damaged by a 7th-century earthquake, requiring part of the stadium to be converted for events previously staged in the theatre. The stadium measures approximately by . With 30 rows of seats on each side, and around each end, it would have had a maximum capacity for around 30,000 spectators. The track measures approximately by . As the stadium is considerably larger and structurally more extensive than even the Stadium of Delphi; it is probably one of the best preserved structures of its kind in the Mediterranean.

Other finds

Archaeology

The first formal excavations were undertaken in 1904–5, by a French railroad engineer,

Paul Augustin Gaudin Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

. Some of the architectural finds (mostly friezes, pilasters and capitals) he discovered at the site are now in the British Museum. The most recent, ongoing excavations were begun by

Kenan Erim Kenan Tevfik Erim (13 February 1929 in İstanbul – 3 November 1990 in Ankara) was a Turkish archaeologist who excavated from 1961 until his death at the site of Aphrodisias in Turkey. Life His father, Tevfik Erim, was a diplomat who was a member ...

under the aegis of New York University in 1962 and are currently led by Professor

R. R. R. Smith Roland Ralph Redfern "Bert" Smith, (born 30 January 1954) is a British classicist, archaeologist, and academic, specialising in the art and visual cultures of the ancient Mediterranean. Since 1995, he has been Lincoln Professor of Classical Arch ...

(at Oxford University) and Professor Katharine Welch of the NYU Institute of Fine Arts. The findings reveal that the lavish building programme in the city's civic center was initiated and largely funded by one Gaius Julius Zoilos, a local who was a slave of Gaius Julius Caesar, set free by Octavian. When Zoilos returned as a

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, enslaved people were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their captor-owners), emancipation (granted freedom a ...

to his native city, endowed with prestige and rich rewards for his service, he shrewdly directed it to align with Octavian in his power struggle against Mark Antony. This ensured Octavian's lasting favor in the form of financial privileges that allowed the city to prosper. In September 2014, drones weighing about 0.5 kg were used to 3D map the above-ground ruins of Aphrodisias. The data is being analysed by the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Vienna. In March 2018, an ancient tomb has been unearthed in an area where illegal excavations were carried out. The tomb was taken to the Aphrodisias Museum. In 2020, two sarcophagi have been found in an olive grove. There were Medusa relief on the sarcophagi. File:The_Roman_theatre,_built_in_the_second_half_of_the_1st_century_BC_on_the_eastern_slope_of_the_acropolis,_Aphrodisias,_Caria,_Turkey_(18524445015).jpg, The Roman Theater (north) File:Aphrodisias,_stone_heads.jpg, Aphrodisias Stone heads File:Aphrodisias - Baths of Hadrian 01.jpg, Baths of Hadrianus File:Aphrodisias,_sarcophagi.jpg, Sarcophagi on site File:Aphrodisias Tetrastoon Theatre fringe 4430.jpg, Aphrodisias Tetrastoon File:Aphrodisias South agora and pool 056.jpg, South agora and pool

Inscriptions

The quality of the marble in Aphrodisias has resulted in an unusually large number of inscribed items surviving in the city. As many pieces of monumental quarried stone were reused in the Late Antique city walls, many inscriptions could and can be easily read without any excavation; the city has therefore been visited and its inscriptions recorded repeatedly in modern times, starting from the early 18th century. Upwards of 2000 inscriptions have been recorded by excavators under the aegis of New York University. Many of these inscriptions had been re-used in the city walls. Most inscriptions are from the Imperial period, with funerary and honorary texts being particularly well represented, but there are a handful of texts from all periods from the Hellenistic to Byzantine. A set of documents, aimed at portraying the grandeur and history of the city, was included in so-called "Archival Wall". Excavations in Aphrodisias have also uncovered an important Jewish inscription whose context is unclear. The inscription, in Greek, lists donations made by numerous individuals, of whom several are classed as 'theosebeis', or Godfearers. It seems clear through comparative evidence from the inscriptions in the Sardis synagogue and from the New Testament that such Godfearers were probably interested

gentiles Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...

who attached themselves to the Jewish community, supporting and perhaps frequenting the synagogue. The geographical spread of the evidence suggests this was a widespread phenomenon in Asia Minor during the Roman period.

Frieze

A frieze discovered in 1980 showing a bare breasted and helmeted female warrior labelled BRITANNIA writhing in agony under the knee of a Roman soldier with to the left and below the inscription TIBERIUS CLAUDIUS CAESAR is assumed to depict Britain subjugated by Rome.

Aphrodite of Aphrodisias

The

that is particular to Aphrodisias, the ''Aphrodite of Aphrodisias'', doubtless was once housed in the Temple of Aphrodite. She was a distinctive local goddess who became, by '' interpretatio graeca'', identified with the Greek Aphrodite. Her canonical image, typical of Anatolian cult images, shows that she is related to the ''Lady of Ephesus'', widely venerated in the Greco-Roman world as

Artemis of Ephesus The Temple of Artemis or Artemision ( gr, Ἀρτεμίσιον; tr, Artemis Tapınağı), also known as the Temple of Diana, was a Greek temple dedicated to an ancient, local form of the goddess Artemis (identified with Diana, a Roman god ...

. The surviving images, from contexts where they must have been more civic than ritual, are without exception from the late phase of the cult, in Hellenistic and Roman times. They are rendered in the naturalistic style common to their culture, which gave the local goddess more universal appeal. Like the Lady of Ephesus, the "Aphrodite" of Aphrodisia wears a thick, form-disguising tunic, encasing her as if in a columnar box, always with four registers of standardized imagery. Her feet are of necessity close together, her forearms stretched forward, to receive and to give. She is adorned with necklaces and wears a mural crown together with a diadem and a wreath of myrtle, draped with a long veil that frames her face and extends to the ground. Beneath her overtunic she wears a floor-length ''

chiton Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora (), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized. They are also sometimes known as gumboots or sea cradles or coat-of-mail s ...

''. The bands of decoration on the tunic, rendered in bas-relief, evoke the Goddess's cosmic powers: the Charites, the Three Graces that are the closest attendants of Aphrodite; heads of a married pair (the woman is veiled), identified by Lisa Brody as

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; from Ancient Greek , a poetical form of , 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenog ...

and Uranos, Earth and the Heavens, over which this goddess reigns, rather than as Zeus and

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

;

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the deity, god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyper ...

and Selene separated by a pillar; the marine Aphrodite,The marine Aphrodite, known to Greeks as ''Aphrodite Pelagia'', to Romans as ''Venus Marina'', is not elsewhere represented riding the sea-goat. riding a sea-goat, and at the base a group of Erotes performing cult rituals.

Gallery

File:Relief_image_of_Aphrodite_of_Aphrodisias,_dedicated_by_Theodoros,_from_the_theatre,_2nd-3rd_century_AD,_Aphrodisias_Museum,_Turkey_(17194881282).jpg, Aphrodite of Aphrodisias originated in the Archaic period or earlier as a local Carian goddess File:Marble_head_of_a_goddess,_found_in_the_Hadrianic_Baths,_2nd_century_AD,_Aphrodisias_Museum_(16993498327).jpg, Marble head of a goddess, found in the Hadrianic Baths, 2nd century AD File:Relief_depicting_the_birth_of_Aphrodite_(Aphrodite_Anadyomene),_Aphrodisias_Museum,_Turkey_(19868596734).jpg, Relief depicting the birth of Aphrodite (Aphrodite Anadyomene), Aphrodisias Museum File:4542_-_Istanbul_-_Museo_archeol._-_Donna_-_sec._II_d.C._-_da_Afrodisia_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg, Unknown Roman matrona, 2nd century AD. from Aphrodisias, now presented in

Istanbul Archaeological Museum The Istanbul Archaeology Museums ( tr, ) are a group of three archaeological museums located in the Eminönü quarter of Istanbul, Turkey, near Gülhane Park and Topkapı Palace. The Istanbul Archaeology Museums consists of three museums: #Arch ...

File:Museum_of_Aphrodisias_Sevgi_Gönül_Hall.jpg, Aphrodisias Museum Sevgi Gönül Hall. This hall contains items from the Sebasteion structure

References

;Sources

(Late Antique and Ecclesiastical History)

American Center of Research The American Center of Research (ACOR) is a private, not-for-profit scholarly and educational organization. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, with a facility in Amman, Jordan, ACOR promotes knowledge of Jordan and the interconnected region, past and ...

Drone footage of the ancient city from July 2022
{{World Heritage Sites in Turkey Archaeological sites in the Aegean Region Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Populated places in ancient Caria Historic Jewish communities Former populated places in Turkey Aphrodite Buildings and structures in Aydın Province History of Aydın Province Tourist attractions in Aydın Province World Heritage Sites in Turkey Populated places of the Byzantine Empire Karacasu District