Amos (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Ἄμος, possibly from ἄμμος "sandy") was a settlement ('' dēmē'') of

ancient Caria Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; ) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid- Ionia ( Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Carians were described by Herodotus as being Anatolian mainlanders ...

, located near the modern town of Turunç,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

History

Amos was located in the

Rhodian Peraia The Rhodian Peraea or Peraia () was the name for the southern coast of the region of Caria in western Asia Minor during the 5th–1st centuries BC, when the area was controlled and colonized by the nearby island of Rhodes. Already in Classical Gre ...

Caria Caria (; from Greek language, Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; ) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Carians were described by Herodotus as being Anatolian main ...

on the Mediterranean coast. It was probably connected with

Lindos Lindos (; ) is an archaeological site, a fishing village and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is a municipal unit. ...

which is supported by

epigraphic Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

finds from that city.P. M. Fraser & G. E. Bean, ''The Rhodian Peraea and Islands'', London 1954. Its connection to the ''

poleis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...

'' of Rhodes is further attested by the use of the Doric dialect in the inscriptions found at the settlement.Richard Stillwell ''et al.'' eds. (1976)
''The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites''.
/ref> Amos was in the 5th century incorporated in the

Delian league The Delian League was a confederacy of Polis, Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, founded in 478 BC under the leadership (hegemony) of Classical Athens, Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Achaemenid Empire, Persian ...

together with the other Rhodian areas, and is noted in the Athenian tributes lists as belonging to the community of the ''kherronēsioi'' ("the people of the peninsula"). The Loryma peninsula is the most probable candidate for this peninsula; the other members of this community are unknown. At some point during this period, Amos and the other two members of the ''kherronēsioi'' formed an economic union (συντέλεια, ''synteleia'') in order to pay their tributes. The members of this ''synteleia'' must have incorporated the majority of the Loryma peninsula. It is known from a set of three inscriptions ( SEGbr>14.68314.68414.685
that Amos in ca. 200 B.C.E. had a board of '' hieromnamones'', "sacred rememberers" that were responsible for keeping and remembering legal agreements and other juridical proceedings.Michael Gagarin (2008
''Writing Greek law''
p.117. The inhabitants of the Rhodian Peraia, and thus Amos as well, were full Rhodian citizens. It seems however as the amiens, being of Lindian descent, held no citizenship at Lindos. The inscriptions mentioned above indicate that the city (''ha

polis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...

'', that is,

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

) had the right to evict tenants and charge fines, showing that the ''polis'' had strong interests in the area.

Remains

The remnants of ancient Amos is centered on the elongated hill of Asarcık at Hisarburnu ("fortress point"), just above the gulf of

Marmaris Marmaris () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Muğla Province, Turkey. Its area is 906 km2, and its population is 97,818 (2022). It is a port city and tourist resort on the Aegean Sea, Mediterranean coast, along the shorel ...

. The city wall is made of coursed polygonal masonry dated to the

Hellenistic period In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

, and is fairly well preserved on the north slope where walls and towers still stand 3–4 metres high. The wall on the south reach has almost disappeared due to erosion. Five towers are preserved, all of which are solid except for one. There is one gate in the northern wall, which is probably the main city gate. On the basis of the type of masonry used, the construction of the original wall has been dated to the 4th century B.C.E.A. W. McNicoll, ''Hellenistic fortifications from the Aegean to the Euphrates'', Oxford 1997.T. Saner, "Observations on the different types of masonry used in the city walls of Amos", ''RÉA'' 96, 1994, 273-284. Of the ''intra muros'' remains, the theatre is the most apparent. Of the three known

Greek theatre A theatrical culture flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. At its centre was the city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, and the theatre was institutionalised there as par ...

s of the Rhodian Peraia, the Amos theatre is the only one with preserved remnants of the '' skēnē'' and the

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

. The approximate number of possible spectators is estimated to around 1300. G. E. Bean found in 1948 a fragmentary altar to

Dionysos In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ) by the Greek ...

in the area of the orchestra. On the top of the hill, just west of the theatre, several fragments of an Hellenistic circular or semi-circular statue base is to be seen.A. Maiuri, 'Viaggio di esplorazione in Caria', ''Annuario della Scuola archeologica di Atene e delle Missioni italiane in Oriente'', 4-5 (1921–1922, 415–419). Further to the west, close to the ramparts, are the foundations of a small temple ''in antis'' with a

pronaos A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cultu ...

, 6.8 m wide and 13.8 m long. Inscriptions with a temple inventory found in the vicinity show that the temple was probably dedicated to

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

Samnaios ("Apollo-of-the-hill"), a deity only known from this location. The

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

is located just outside the city proper, north of the city walls. Several rock-cut tombs are visible in the terrain, together with some inscriptions and fragments of monumental architecture.

References

{{Ancient settlements in Turkey Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Archaeological sites in the Aegean region Members of the Delian League Greek colonies in Caria Ruins in Turkey Marmaris District History of Muğla Province Populated places in ancient Caria