| Context: | Priene |
| Type: | House or sanctuary |
| Summary: | Large house-type structure with central courtyard, located in western section of city, in third housing quarter from west gate; site of possible cult. |
| Date: | ca. 350 BC - ca. 150 BC |
| Dimensions: | The dimensions of the entire complex are 20.50 m. x 35.40 m. The dimensions of the long, two-aisled northern room are 19 x 9.20 m. Width of door to room: 2.25 m. Dimensions of podium in northern room: 1.20 m. tall x 1.60 m. deep. |
| Region: | Ionia |
| Period: | Hellenistic |
Plan:
A central courtyard is bordered on north, east and south by rooms; the entrance is in the west wall. The northern room, containing a stone podium, is entered through a colonnaded pronaos and is two-aisled; three smaller rooms open onto the court in the east; in the south are two additional rooms, built above cellars.
Date Description:
Letter forms of inscription from doorpost of complex (3rd c. B.C.); style of small finds from northern room; masonry technique of exterior of complex; inscription found at Priene dating to ca. 130 B.C. referring to an "Alexandreion" - if this complex is the Alexandreion, the inscription provides a terminus ante quem for the structure.
History:
The basic plan of the complex may date back to the fourth century B.C. and may represent a substantial private dwelling which was subsequently converted into a sanctuary or cult center; or, it may have been planned as a sanctuary from the outset. Later construction phases are in evidence: the long northern room with central colonnade was divided into two by a cross-wall running north-south, and a second doorway was opened into this room. The mosaic floor of the northern room of the eastern row was obscured by later wall construction. The renovations and restorations probably date to the second century B.C.
Other Notes:
A 1.90 m. tall doorpost at the main entrance to the structure is inscribed with the following text:
"Anaxidemos, son of Apollonios, received the priesthood to enter the holy temple in white clothing."
Inside the northern room, near the podium, were discovered a number of terracottas (bust of Cybele, Eros and female, bearded Herm) and marble figurines, including a bearded Herm and a bust of Alexander the Great. Also near the podium stood a marble offering table, in front of which a natural fissure in the bedrock forms a pit. This pit is interpreted as a sacrificial pit through analogy with that in the Sanctuary of Demeter. Architecturally, the entire complex in no way resembles a typical Greek sanctuary. This divergence from public cult architecture leads to the suggestion that the structure was essentially a private cult center. If it was initially a private house, it may have been the one in which Alexander the Great stayed when he spent some time in Priene in 334 B.C.
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