ATTALEIA
(Antalya) Turkey.
City in Pamphylia founded by Attalos II Philadelphos, probably before 150 B.C. After the end of the Pergamene kingdom
in 133 Attaleia seems to have been left free; it remained
so even after the formation of the province of Cilicia, but
was finally annexed to Rome by Servilius Isauricus in
77. Proof is lacking that the city had been involved with
the pirates to any considerable extent. Attalein served as
a base for Pompey in assembling his fleet in 67 B.C., and
a visit by Hadrian in A.D. 130 was the occasion for much
restoration and embellishment. At a comparatively late
date Attaleia appears with the title Colonia. In Byzantine
times, when much more mention is made of the city, the
bishop of Attaleia came under the metropolitan of Perge-Sillyon, until in 1042 he was raised to the rank of metropolitan.
Whether Attaleia was founded on the site of an earlier
town or city is disputed. Strabo's words (667) are none
too clear, but certainly do not imply that Attaleia replaced a town of Korykos; and the old idea that Antalya
is the site of Olbia is quite untenable. The harbor,
though small, is nevertheless the best natural harbor on
this coast, and it is likely enough that there was some
earlier habitation. If so, however, the name is unknown.
Nothing is standing today apart from the fortifications.
No theater, stadium, temple, or any public building has
ever been located. The wall circuit remains virtually
whole, but only a few sections in the N part have been
dubiously attributed to Attalos' original foundation. The
rest, as it now stands, dates from the time of Hadrian
or later, with much subsequent repair and reconstruction,
including many reused stones, some sculptured or inscribed. Many of the towers are well preserved and contain more ancient work. Seven gates are identifiable; the
Gate of Hadrian, on the E side of the circuit, is the most
impressive.
At the extreme end of the wall on the S side stands
a tower quite unlike the rest; it is known today as
Hidirlik Kulesi. It is thought to have always been isolated
and not to have formed part of the wall circuit. It is in
two stories, the lower square, the upper round, both excellently preserved. The total height is 14 m. The lower
story consists of a nearly solid mass of masonry, in
which a passage leads from the door on the E to a small
room in the center; short passages lead off from this
towards the other three sides. At ground level on the
outside a door in the N wall leads to a narrow staircase
ascending in the thickness of the wall to the foot of the
round upper story; a second similar stairway leads to the
top of the building. Here a circular wall with crenelations surrounds a platform open to the sky; in the center
is a solid rectangular base 4.56 m thick, resting on a
vaulted substructure. Its purpose has been disputed; it
may have served as a base for a lighthouse or for artillery. A suggestion that the whole building is a mausoleum
is clearly improbable.
The Gate of Hadrian has recently been cleared and
reconstructed. It is a triple-arched gateway of familiar
form and carried two dedications to Hadrian. One was
on the architrave in letters of bronze and was evidently
the dedication of the gate itself; the other, seen only by
early travelers, seems to have been placed on the upper
story of the gate, related perhaps to a statue of the emperor. There can hardly be a doubt that the building was
erected on the occasion of Hadrian's visit in A.D. 130.
The three arches are all the same size, their undersides
decorated with cassettes containing shallow-cut rosettes
and flowers. In front of each of the four piers of the
gate, on the inner and outer sides, stood an unfluted
granite column on a high plinth; the rest of the building
was of white marble. The capitals are in the Composite
order, the bases Attic, and the epistyle was richly decorated with ovolo and leaf moldings. The upper story has
disappeared.
The new museum in Antalya houses sarcophagi from
Perge, epichoric epitaphs from Aspendos, and reliefs of
the twelve gods from Lycia.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
K. Lanckoronski,
Die Städte Pamphyliens (1890) 7-32.
G. E. BEAN