27th May 2007, 14:46
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Aphrodisias Birth place of the goddess of love Quote:
This city in western Turkey was named after the Greek goddess of Love, Aphrodite. Famous for its ornate sculpture, Aphrodisias was also along an important land trade route to the west coast of Turkey.
Famous throughout the ancient world for its magnificent Temple of Aphrodite, Aphrodisias is undoubtedly the most spectacular city of Caria; it is the home of the greatest sculpturing school of antiquity. Among the recently excavated ruins are a well‑preserved Stadium with 20,000 seats, the Odeum and parts of the famous temple. The earliest settlements in Aphrodisias go as far back as the Bronze Age. Various soundings on the slopes of the acropolis have revealed evidence that the city goes back to a very early period; finds dating from the 3rd millennium B.C. have been unearthed. During the Roman period, Aphrodisias reached the apex of its wealth and fame. It had become by then a highly respected city, exempt from taxes and enjoying religious privileges. The city produced many great works of sculpture, literature and medicine.
| The ancient city of Aphrodisias, once the capital of the province of Lydia, is located near the village of Geyre in the district of Karacasu 38 km south of Nazilli.       Temple of Aphrodite 
by Nyu.edu Quote: The Temple of Aphrodite was built in stages in the late first century B.C. and early first century A.D. As completed, it was a pseudodipteral structure, 8.5 X 31 m in dimensions, with eight columns along the front and back and thirteen on the sides. Inscriptions on some of the temple's columns and door moldings record the contributions of various leading citizens to the construction of the building. One of Aphrodisias's most important monuments, the temple emphasized the city's links with the Julio-Claudian dynasty by providing an impressive home for the cult of their divine ancestress, Aphrodite. In the second century A.D., possibly during the reign of Hadrian, the temple was enclosed within an elaborate temenos structure, consisting of a two-storied aedicular facade on the east side, and porticos on the north, south, and west.
Around A.D. 500, the temple was converted for use as the city's cathedral. The conversion was an enormous undertaking, in which the columns of the front and back of the temple were moved from their original positions and used to extend the side colonnades, creating two long rows of 19 columns each. The cella of the temple was also dismantled, and the stone reused in the construction of new walls enclosing the building on all sides. The building was thus converted into a church of basilical plan, 60 X 28 m in size, and so much larger than the pagan temple it replaced. The manner in which this change was effected -- the temple was essentially turned inside out is unique among all known temple-to-church conversions.[I]Resource:New York University[/i]
|  Tetrapylon Quote: | One of the most attractive features of Aphrodisias is the ornamental gate constructed in the middle of the 2nd century. The name Tetrapylon refers to its being composed of four groups of four columns. The entrance lies to the east. The front row of Corinthian columns with spiral fluting look out on to a street with north-south alignment. The second and third columns of this fourfold structure are surmounted by a semicircular lintel with relief figures of Nike and Erotes amid acanthus leaves. The process of repairing and re-erecting the Tetrapylon columns was completed in 1990. | [  Stadium Quote: The Aphrodisias stadium is the best preserved of all the ancient stadiums in the Mediterranean region. Located in the northern section of the city it is 262 m in length and 59 m wide with a seating capacity of 30,000. The ends of the stadium
are slightly convex, giving the whole a form rather suggesting an ellipse. In this way, the spectators seated in this part of the stadium would not block each other's view and would be able to see the whole of the arena. The stadium was specially designed for athletic contests, but after the theatre was damaged in the 7th century earthquake the eastern end of the arena began to be used for games, circuses and wild beast shows. During the Roman period the stadium was the scene of a large number of athletic competitions and festivals.
These competitions in the province of Asia Minor were modeled on the Olympic and Pythian games in Greece , and had the same name and organization as the Greek equivalent.
These shows were held with the permission of Rome and the granting of such permission was regarded as a signal honour. The games held in Aphrodisias were Pythian, not Olympic. These were complemented by the Gordineia festivals held in honour of the Emperor and with his special permission | . 
by uscs.edu Agora Quote:
The agora, located between the temple and the acropolis was planned in the 1 St. century B.C. for use as a market and popular meeting place. It is composed of two Ionic porticoes over 200 m long and running from east to west. The southern portico, which is known as the portico of Tiberius, was systematically examined in the course of the older excavations, while the 1937 excavations carried out by the Italian team yielded extremely valuable friezes together with inscriptions written in praise of the Emperor Tiberius.Recent excavations conducted in the northern section, in the western section near the baths of Hadrian and the gate of the agora in the south-east yielded a large number of very fine specimens of the skill of the Aphrodisian sculptors and stone-carvers. Most of the reliefs consist of sacred or individual portraits surrounded by wreaths or garlands, masks and mythological scenes.The monumental gate of the agora is located at the eastern end of the Portico of Tiberius. This ornamental entrance was erected in the middle of the 2nd century but in order to prevent the flooding that followed the 4th century earthquake it was converted into a nymphaeum and connected to a water supply system to be used in controlling the water flow.
This is thought to have been constructed in the 5th century and to have suffered severe damage in the 7th century earthquake. Among the scenes represented on the reliefs in the niches on the Agora gate are to be seen the struggle between the Centaurs and the Lapiths (Centauromachy), between the Gods and the Giants (Gigantomachy) and between the Amazons and the Greeks (Amazonomachy)
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