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Selçuk/Ephesus - Turkey tel +90-(0)232-892-6050 fax +90-(0)232-892-1594 info@anzguesthouse.com |
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Selçuk/Ephesus - Turkey tel +90-(0)232-892-6050 fax +90-(0)232-892-1594 info@anzguesthouse.com |
The ancient Greeks put great importance on the setting of a potential religious center, and Aphrodisias is a good example of when they got it right. It's in a great setting, with the temples framed by distant mountains.
It's south-west of Denizli near the village of Geyre, although you can't get there from Denizli in anything close to a straight line due to the rugged terrain between. Expect to spend most of a day visiting Aphrodesias on a day-trip out of Denizli or Pamukkale. The pensions in Pamukkale can help you set this up, hired vans go to Aphrodesias most days during the busy season, and many days during slower seasons.
The city was built near a marble quarry, and the sculptors working in Aphrodisias were among the best. The style of the local carvers has been recognized in statues found throughout the Greek and Roman empires.
Aphrodisias was an important city under Greek and later Roman rule. In later years it because a significant Christian city, getting a name change in the 600s to "Stauropolis" ("City of the Cross", replacing the earlier "City of Aphrodite").
For much more see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aphrodisias
The Tetrapylon, or monumental gate. The main axis of the city was aligned with the distant mountains. The Tetrapylon was at one end of this axis.
The Tetrapylon.
Looking through the Tetrapylon.
Looking the other way through the Tetrapylon toward the Temple of Aphrodite.
The Temple of Aphrodite, or at least what remains of it today.
Aphrodite was the goddess of love. However, the cult image here, the Aphrodite of Aphrodisias, was a local goddess. When the Greeks showed up, they did as they often did and identified the local deities with their gods and goddesses. The local version of Aphrodite was much more of an Anatolian mother-goddess, similar to how the mother-goddess of Ephesus was identified with Artemis and bore little resemblance to the classical Greek goddess..
The Aphrodite of Aphrodisias, like the modified Artemis of Ephesus, was represented wearing a thick and form-disguising tunic. That's right — Aphrodite in a heavy coat! Nothing like the gauzy lingerie associated with the classical image we have of Aphrodite!
She was represented with her feet close together, her forearms stretched forward to receive and give, wearing necklaces, a heavy crown, a diadem, and a wreath of myrtle. A long veil framed her face and hung to the ground.
That's right — a veil on Aphrodite.
The Temple of Aphrodite was heavily altered when it was converted into a Christian basilica.
Around the 600s the city was renamed as Stauropolis ("City of the Cross"). This would have been around the time that the Temple was rebuilt.
The stadium.
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Selçuk/Ephesus - Turkey tel +90-(0)232-892-6050 fax +90-(0)232-892-1594 info@anzguesthouse.com |
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