APHRODISIAS
Caria, Turkey.
Generally reckoned among the cities of NE Caria though close to the
confines of Lydia and Phrygia, the site is located in a
well-watered tributary valley of the Maeander (Büyük
Menderes) river system. It lies on a plateau ca. 600 m
high by the W slopes of the Salbakos (Baba Dağ) range,
in the vilayet of Aydin, near Karacasu, ca. 230 km SE
of Izmir. The hamlet of Geyre situated in the SE part of
the ancient city was resettled by governmental decree on
a new site 2 km to the W a few years ago.
Recent discoveries have revealed a long prehistory for
Aphrodisias, dating back at least to the Chalcolithic
period (early 3d millennium B.C.) and ranging through
all phases of the Bronze Age, with especially rich evidence for Early Bronze II and III. Textual sources provide little information about the city. Stephanos of
Byzantium refers to it as Ninoe and by several other
names. It is possible that Ninoe is to be connected with
the Akkadian (Nm or Nina) names for the goddess Ishtar. In view of the fertility of the soil, a nature goddess
cult probably developed here early and combined several
native Anatolian with eastern traditions, culminating in
the equation of the divinity with Aphrodite in the later
Hellenistic period (hence the name Aphrodisias, a Greek
version of Ninoe). Numismatic and epigraphic evidence
suggests a sympolity with the neighboring town of Plarasa in the late 2d—early 1st c. B.C. Occasional references
are encountered in Strabo, Pausanias, Tacitus, and Pliny
the Elder. Extremely cordial relations with Rome started
with Sulla (App. 1.97), continued with Julius Caesar and
Octavian, who was involved in the grant of privileges (including the inviolability of its sanctuary) to the city.
Most emperors maintained their benevolent support. It
is, therefore, during the early centuries A.D. that Aphrodisias (eventually metropolis of Caria) reached great
fame and prosperity both as a religious site and as a
center of art and culture. Because of the popularity of
Aphrodite, paganism remained strong in Early Christian
times, even though the city became the seat of the bishops of Caria. Consequently, the name Stavropolis, and
more simply Caria, began to be used to eradicate the
memory of the goddess. Except for sporadic mentions of
bishops, the history of Byzantine Aphrodisias is relatively obscure, though its role continued to be significant.
Located in an area strategic in the 11th to 13th c., Caria
(Aphrodisias) suffered at least four captures by the
Seljuks, recorded by Nicetas Choniates and George
Pachymeres between 1080 and 1260. The site was then
virtually abandoned, though eventually the small Turkish
village Geyre (etymologically derived from Caria) grew
up among its ruins.
The evidence of some 30 signatures on many items
found in Rome and elsewhere, bolstered by the discovery
of much statuary and decorative sculpture of high quality, induced scholars to identify Aphrodisias as one of
the major sculpture centers, as well as marble suppliers
(quarries are located ca. 2 km E of the site in the mountains), of the Graeco-Roman world. New discoveries have
more than confirmed the validity of this theory. Aphrodisias contributions to other fields also merit attention:
Xenocrates was a medical writer of the late 1st c.; Chariton, an early novelist; and Alexander was an exponent of
Aristotelian philosophy.
The core of the city is surrounded by a fortification
system over 3.5 km long, begun in the A.D. 260s against
the threat of Gothic invasion, repaired in the mid 4th c. (according to a dedication to Constantius over one of the gates) and in the Byzantine period. A great quantity
of architectural blocks, inscriptions, and sculptural fragments was incorporated in the wall construction. The
circuit is irregular in shape with several towers at intervals and at least six gates. The enclosed area is ca. 520
ha, though it does not represent the full extent of the
Roman city. The ground is essentially flat with a gentle
inclination towards the S, and a tributary of the Maeander (today, the Geyre, possibly ancient Morsynos). A
conical hill ca. 15-20 m high rises in the S sector of the
site. Though labeled an acropolis, this formation is actually a prehistoric mound. The remains of a series of
mudbrick settlements of all phases of the Anatolian
Bronze Age were brought to light on the W slope. Similar and even earlier (Chalcolithic) discoveries were made
SE of the acropolis at Pekmez. The great number of
artifacts recorded in both areas indicates that Aphrodisias was a significant prehistoric site connected with the
Aegean, NW (Troy, Yortan, Kusura) and NE (Beycesultan) Anatolia, as well as the center (Kültepe) and
the SE (Karataş) of the peninsula in the 3d and 2d millennia B.C.
The Temple of Aphrodite, chief sanctuary of the city,
is located at about the center of the settlement; 14 columns of its peristyle are still standing. The building was
transformed into a Christian basilica from the 6th c.
onwards by removal of its cella, the shifting of its columns (to create a nave and two aisles) and the addition
of an apse, including a presbyterion, prothesis, and diakonikon incorporated within an early temenos (?) wall
to the E. A double narthex and an atrium were contrived
to the W within the Roman temenos colonnade. The
temple was Ionic, octostyle with 13 columns on the sides.
Though generally dated to Hadrianic times, recent discoveries have suggested the 1st c. B.C. for the beginning
of construction. The elaborate Corinthian temenos with
naiskoi was, however, erected under Hadrian according
to its epistyle inscription. The cella, destroyed by later
transformations, consisted of a large chamber with a
pronaos, but no opisthodomos. Testimonia of earlier
structures, presumably sanctuaries, were also recorded,
including a rough mosaic pavement of the 3d c. B.C. and
some late archaic (6th c. B.C.) fragments, terracotta as
well as architectural. Unfortunately, subsequent rebuilding activities have obliterated much of the earlier evidence, but the antiquity and sanctity of the area is secure
since even prehistoric data were found here.
Though the Hadrianic temenos featured a central gate
opening to the E towards an open area, the chief doorway lay farther E. A monumental tetrapylon was discovered and studied there. Built in the mid 2d c., it consisted of two pairs of four columns standing on high
bases. The pairs farthest E, spirally fluted and double
Corinthian, presented an elaborate facade with a central
door and a broken arcuated pediment and marble
screens. The temple side was decorated with handsome
pedimental reliefs showing Eros and Nike figures among
acanthus scrolls and elaborate acroteria. The space between the two column pairs was probably timber-roofed.
South of the temenos there is a well-preserved odeon;
its lower cavea consisted of nine tiers of seats, but its
summa cavea, once supported by 11 vaulted chambers,
collapsed in late Roman-early Byzantine times and was
never repaired. The orchestra was modified, as shown by
its opus sectile mosaic, in order to create a conistra.
Handsome statuary decorated the elaborate stage, which
consisted of four naiskoi between five doors opening on a
backstage corridor. At opposite ends of the corridor,
staircases led to the upper cavea, whose seats reached
over the vaults of the parodoi. Five other doors opened
from the corridor onto a porticus post scaenam, part of
the large agora complex and decorated with the portraits
of prominent citizens. Large buttresses built at intervals
along the exterior semicircle of the cavea were connected
with the timber-roofing scheme of the building.
West of the Odeon, an elaborate complex of rooms
and halls, including a triconch to the E and a peristyle
court communicating with it, was probably begun in Late
Roman times as a private residence and subsequently
turned into a bishop's palace, to judge from a number of
seals uncovered during the excavations.
The plan of the agora S of the odeon and bishop's
palace was initiated in the 1st c. Its large dimensions,
however, extended the period of its construction into the
2d c. Most of this marketplace remains to be investigated, but it consisted of two adjacent Ionic porticos (ca.
205 x 120 m each) with colonnades on at least three
sides. A long row of the columns of the N portico is
still standing. The N side of the S portico is shown by its
epistyle inscription to have been dedicated under Tiberius.
The most elegant feature of this portico was its frieze
featuring a vast repertory of beribboned masks and heads
(including identifiable dramatic types) joined by garlands
of fruit and flowers. Recent excavations in the SW part
produced an unusual number of fragments of Diocletian's
Edict on Maximum Prices. This decree was probably
exhibited here in a large basilica which lay S of the
colonnade.
The S side of the Portico of Tiberius partly skirted
the acropolis, but its W end communicated with imposing Baths of Hadrian. Many huge consoles, in the shape
of Medusa, Minotaur, bull, or lion protomes were found
here. Large pillars decorated with elaborate scroll motifs
with figures formed large exedras and an unusual facade
for the baths. Most of these decorative elements are today in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. Their resemblance to finds made at Leptis Magna (especially in the
Severan basilica) have led several scholars to suggest the
involvement of Aphrodisian sculptors in the decoration
of the forum of that North African city.
Newly excavated portions of the baths (dedicated to
Aphrodite and Hadrian) have revealed that the core of
the building was constructed of large, uneven tufa blocks,
revetted with marble and colored stone. Five large galleries, parallel and intercommunicating, have so far been
revealed. The central one, beyond a praefurnium, was a
caldarium with shallow stepped pools at either end, and
flanked by two tepidaria (?). On either side of the praefurnium, sudatoria with a central circular pool were located. To the N, an area with a rectangular stepped pool adorned, like the whole establishment, with much statuary
(including Achilles-Penthesileia and Menelaus-Patroklos
groups) may be the frigidarium. Intricate networks of
underground corridors crisscrossed the whole area. The
baths were used in Byzantine times but their size was
modified, possibly after earthquake damage.
The large theater of Aphrodisias was located in the
heart of the city, built against the E acropolis. When the
hillock was turned into a Byzantine fortress, some of its
features, as in Miletos, were incorporated into the defensive system. Recent operations have revealed a well-preserved monument with several unique characteristics. The summa cavea was heavily damaged, but below the
N diazoma, 27 rows of seats were revealed in excellent
condition. The theater was built in the 1st c. B.C. Its plan
shows the horseshoe-shaped cavea typical of many theaters in Asia Minor. In the 2d c., modifications were
undertaken to accommodate gladiatorial games, wrestling
bouts, and animal baiting. Only half of the stage has so
far been excavated, but a conistra and via venatorum
arrangement are recognizable. Six vaulted rooms of
the stage were used as storage areas for “props” at one
time. The wall of the stage building facing the N parodos proved to be entirely covered with a long series of
inscriptions cut in the 2d and 3d c. The documents include a senatus consultum and official letters, some dating back to Republican times and all relevant to the history of Asia Minor and the city. Many of the abundant sculptures found on or near the stage betray signs
of ancient repair, probably due to earthquake damage in
late Roman times. The ultimate destruction of the stage
and the lower theater, however, occurred in Byzantine
times (post 6th c. ?). Evidence indicates Early Christian
occupation at several points.
No attempt seems to have been made to restore the
theater after this date. Activities were transferred to the
E half of the imposing stadium located in the N part of
the city. This very well-preserved structure was incorporated in the fortifications in late antiquity. Both its
extremities were semicircular, but its long sides bow out
gently, giving it a roughly elliptical shape (ca. 262 x 59
m, with 30 tiers of seats). Byzantine transformations
created an arena in the E end with a conistra and protective gates or booths.
Several other monuments require brief mention. North
of the temple and E of the tetrapylon, two large early
Byzantine houses with peristyle courts decorated with
figurative mosaic pavements have been partly revealed.
A triconch church (martyrion?) was investigated at the
SW foot of the acropolis. Several columns of an area
partly explored and labeled gymnasium were re-erected
to the SE of the acropolis.
Though only a few streets and roads have so far been
located, the plan of the city betrays essentially a grid
system with chief arteries cutting one another at right
angles. The scheme was probably initiated in late Hellenistic or early Imperial times since most of the known
thoroughfares appear to be axially aligned with the agora
porticos. Areas long occupied, however, like the Precinct
of Aphrodite and the acropolis, fell outside the grid which
grew organically around them.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Antiquities of Ionia, Society of Dilettanti (1840) II; C. Texier,
Description de l'Asie Mineure (1849) III, 149ff.
Early excavations:
CRAI (1904) 703-11, (1906) 178-84, (1914) 46ff; Th. Reinach, “Inscriptions d'Aphrodisias,”
REG 19 (1906) 79-150 & 205-98; G. Jacopi, “Gli
scavi della Missione Archeologica Italiana ad Afrodisiade” and L. Crema, “I monumenti architettonici afrodisiensi,”
MonAnt 38 (1939-40); M. Squarciapino,
La
Scuola di Afrodisia (1943); J.M.C. Toynbee & J. B.
Ward-Perkins, “Peopled Scrolls,”
BSR 18 (1950) 1ff;
J.M.R. Cormack,
Notes on the History of the Inscribed
Monuments of Aphrodisias (1955); J.M.R. Cormack in
Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua, VIII:
Monuments
from Lycaonia, the Pisido-Phrygian Borderland, Aphrodisias (1962); L. Robert, “D'Aphrodisias á la Lycaonie,”
Hellenica 13 (1965) 190ff; id., “Inscriptions d'Aphrodisias,”
AntCl 35 (1966) 377ff; K. T. Erim, “The School
of Aphrodisias,”
Archaeology 20.1 (1967) 18-27.
Recent excavations: K. T. Erim in
TüurkArkDerg (in
vols. for 1961, 1962, 1964, 1967); id. in
ILN, 13 Jan.
1962, 5 Jan. and 21 & 28 Dec. 1963, 20 & 27 Feb. 1965;
id., “De Aphrodisiade,”
AJA 71.3 (July 1967) 233-43;
id., “Roman and Early Byzantine Portrait Sculpture in
Asia Minor: Supplement I,”
Belleten 32, 125 (1968) 4-18; id. in E. Akurgal,
Ancient Civilizations and Ruins of
Turkey (1969) 171-75; id. with Joyce Reynolds, “A Letter of Gordian III from Aphrodisias in Caria,”
JRS 59
(1969) 56-86; id., “The Copy of Diocletian's Edict on
Maximum Prices from Aphrodisias in Caria,”
JRS 60
(1970) 120-41; Erim, “Aphrodisias, Awakened City of
Ancient Art,”
National Geographic 141, 6 (June 1972)
766-91; id. et al. “Diocletian's Currency Reform: a
New Inscription,”
JRS 61 (1971) 171-77; Erim, “The
‘Acropolis’ of Aphrodisias: Investigations of the Theater
and the Prehistoric Mounds, 1966-1967,”
National Geographic Society Research Reports (1973) 89-112; id.
& Joyce Reynolds, “The Aphrodisias Copy of Diocletian's
Edict on Maximum Prices,”
JRS 63 (1973) 99-110;
Erim, “A Portrait Statue of Domitian from Aphrodisias,”
Opuscula Romana 9, 15 (1973) 135-42; id., “The Satyr
and Young Dionysus Group from Aphrodisias,”
Melanges
Mansel (1974) 767-75; id., “Il teatro di Afrodisia” in
D. De Bernardi Ferrero,
I Teatri Classici in Asia Minore,
IV (1974).
K. ERIM
