Aphrodisias (; ) was a

Hellenistic 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 ...

Greek city in the historic

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 ...

cultural region of western

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, today's

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

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 ...

. It is located near the modern village of Geyre, about east/inland from the coast of the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

, and southeast of

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

. Aphrodisias was named after ''

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

'', the Greek

goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

of love, who had here her unique

cult image In the practice of religion, a cult image is a Cultural artifact, human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit or Daimon, daemon that it embodies or represents. In several traditions, incl ...

, the ''Aphrodite of Aphrodisias''. According to the

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; ; ) is a large 10th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine encyclopedia of the History of the Mediterranean region, ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas () or Souidas (). It is an ...

, a Byzantine encyclopedic compilation, before the city became known as Aphrodisias () it had three previous Greek names: ''Lelégōn Pólis'' (Λελέγων πόλις, "City of the

Leleges The Leleges (; ) were an aboriginal people of the Aegean Sea, Aegean region, before the Greek people, Greeks arrived. They were distinct from another pre-Hellenic people of the region, the Pelasgians. The exact areas to which they were native are u ...

"), ''Megálē Pólis'' (Μεγάλη Πόλις, "Great City"), and ''Ninó''ē (Νινόη). Sometime before 640, in the

Late Antique Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodization has since been wide ...

period when it was within the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

, the city was renamed ''Stauropolis'' (Σταυρούπολις, "City of the Cross").Siméon Vailhé, "Stauropolis" ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'', 191
full text
citing

Heinrich Gelzer Heinrich Gelzer (1 July 1847 – 11 July 1906) was a German classical scholar. He wrote also on Armenian mythology. He was the son of the Swiss historian Johann Heinrich Gelzer (1813–1889). He became Professor of classical philology and an ...

, ''Ungedruckte ... Texte der Notitiæ episcopatuum'', 534. The name ''Tauropolis'', said to have been borne by the town prior to that of Stauropolis, is an error of several scholars, ''e.g.'' ''Revue des études grecques'' 19:228-30; the error 'Tauropolis' derives from inscriptio
IAph 42
see discussion by Roueché a

/ref> In 2017, it was inscribed on the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

list.

History

Aphrodisias was the metropolis (provincial capital) of the region and

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

. White and blue-grey Carian marble was extensively quarried from adjacent slopes in the

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

periods, for building facades and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Marble sculpture Marble has been the preferred material for stone monumental sculpture since ancient times, with several advantages over its more common geological "parent" limestone, in particular the ability to absorb light a small distance into the surface b ...

s and sculptors from Aphrodisias became famous in the Roman world. Many examples of statuary have been unearthed in Aphrodisias, and some representations of the Aphrodite of Aphrodisias also survive from other parts of the Roman world, as far afield as Pax Julia in Lusitania. The city had notable schools for sculpture, as well as philosophy, remaining a centre of

paganism Paganism (, later 'civilian') is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Christianity, Judaism, and Samaritanism. In the time of the ...

until the end of the 5th century. It was destroyed by earthquake in the early 7th century, and never recovered its former prosperity, being reduced to a small fortified settlement on the site of the ancient theatre. Around the same time, it was also renamed to ''Stauropolis'' (, "city of the Cross") to remove pagan connotations, but already by the 8th century it was known as ''Caria'' after the region, which later gave rise to its modern Turkish name, Geyre. In Byzantine times, the city was the seat of a fiscal administrative unit (''dioikesis''). Aphrodisias was sacked again by the rebel Theodore Mankaphas in 1188, and then by the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...

in 1197. It finally fell under Turkish control towards the end of the 13th century.

Geological history

The site is in an earthquake zone and has suffered a great deal of damage at various times, especially in severe tremors of the 4th and 7th centuries. An added complication was that one of the 4th century earthquakes altered the water table, making parts of the town prone to

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing. Evidence can be seen of emergency

plumbing Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses piping, pipes, valves, piping and plumbing fitting, plumbing fixtures, Storage tank, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. HVAC, Heating and co ...

installed to combat this problem. The city of Aphrodisias never fully recovered from the 7th century earthquake, and fell into disrepair. Part of the town was covered by the modern village of Geyre; some of the cottages were removed in the 20th century to reveal the older city. A new Geyre has been built a short distance away.

Ecclesiastical history

Le Quien Michel Le Quien (8 October 1661, Boulogne-sur-Mer – 12 March 1733, Paris) was a French historian and theologian. Biography Le Quien studied at , Paris, and at twenty entered the Dominican convent in Faubourg Saint-Germain, where he made ...

(''Oriens christianus'', I, 899–904) mentions twenty bishops of this see. In the 7th century Stauropolis had twenty-eight

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

bishops and twenty-six at the beginning of the 10th century. Stauropolis is also a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

titular metropolitan see, under the name ''Stauropoli'' (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Stauropolitana'').

Buildings and structures

Monumental gateway

A monumental gateway, or

tetrapylon A tetrapylon (plural tetrapyla; ; , also used in English) is a rectangular form of monument with arched passages in two directions, at right angles, generally built on a Crossroads (culture), crossroads. They appear in ancient Roman architecture ...

, stands at the end of a road that leads from the main north–south street of the town into a large forecourt in front of the Sanctuary of Aphrodite Aphrodisias. The gateway was built ca. AD 200.

Temple of Aphrodite

The Temple of Aphrodite was a focal point of the town. The Aphrodisian sculptors became renowned and benefited from a plentiful supply of marble close at hand. The school of sculpture was very productive; much of their work can be seen around the site and in the Aphrodisias Museum. Many full-length statues were discovered in the region of the

agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...

, and trial and unfinished pieces pointing to a true school are in evidence.

Sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...

were recovered in various locations, most frequently decorated with designs consisting of festoons and columns.

Pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s have been found showing what are described as "peopled scrolls" with figures of people, birds and animals entwined in acanthus leaves. The character of the temple building was altered when it became a Christian

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

. The building is believed to have been dismantled in c. 481–484 by order of

Emperor Zeno Zeno (; ; – 9 April 491) was Eastern Roman emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491. His reign was plagued by domestic revolts and religious dissension, but was more successful on the foreign front. He is credited with further stabil ...

, because the temple had been the focus of Pagan Hellenic opposition against Zeno in Aphrodisias, in support of Illus, who had promised to restore Hellenic rites, which had been suppressed during the

Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire Persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire began during the reign of Constantine the Great (306–337) in the military colony of Aelia Capitolina (Jerusalem), when he destroyed a pagan temple for the purpose of constructing a Christian church ...

, to the temples that were still standing.

Bouleuterion

The

Bouleuterion Bouleuterion (, ''bouleutērion''), also translated as and was a building in ancient Greece which housed the council of citizens (, ''boulē'') of a democratic city state. These representatives assembled at the bouleuterion to confer and de ...

(council house), or Odeon, is centered on the north side of the North Agora. As it stands today, it consists of a semicircular auditorium fronted by a shallow stage structure about 46 m wide. The lower part of the auditorium survives intact, with nine rows of marble seats divided into five wedges by radial stairways. The seating of the upper part, amounting to an additional twelve rows, has collapsed together with its supporting vaults. The plan is an extremely open one, with numerous entrances at ground level and several stairways giving access to the upper rows of seats. A system of massive parallel buttresses shows that the building was originally vaulted. The auditorium would have been lighted by a series of tall, arched windows in the curved outer wall.

Seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

is estimated at 1,750. The available evidence indicates a construction date in the Antonine or early Severan period (late 2nd or early 3rd century AD). The ''

scaenae frons The scaenae frons () is the elaborately decorated permanent architectural background of a Roman theatre (structure), Roman theatre stage. The form may have been intended to resemble the facades of imperial palaces. It could support a permanent r ...

'' (stage front) was certainly put up at this time, as the style of both sculpture and architectural ornament suggest. Statue bases terminating the retaining walls of the auditorium bore the names of two brothers, senators in the early Severan period, and two inscribed bases placed symmetrically against the exterior facade held statues of Aphrodisian benefactors, Claudia Antonia Tatiana and her uncle Lucius Antonius Dometinus, who were active at the end of the 2nd century. Tatiana is known to have had close ties with

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

, and it is possible that the striking similarities between this building and the bouleuterion on the civic agora there, dated by inscription to the mid-2nd century, are due to some initiative on her part. We do not know what stood here before the 2nd century AD, but it is likely that the present building replaced a smaller one contemporary with the laying out of the agora in the late 1st century BC. The bouleuterion at Aphrodisias remained in this form until the early 5th century, when a municipal official had it adapted as a ''

palaestra A palaestra ( or ; also (chiefly British) palestra; ) was any site of a Greek wrestling school in antiquity. Events requiring little space, such as boxing and wrestling, occurred there. ''Palaistrai'' functioned both independently and as a part ...

'', recording his achievement in an inscription on the upper molding of the ''pulpitum'' (stage). ''Palaestra'' usually refers to a wrestling ground, but in the 5th century it could be used to describe a hall for lectures, performances, and various kinds of competitive displays, as suggested by a number of factional inscriptions carved on the seats. Numerous additional cuttings in the surviving seats, probably for poles supporting awnings, suggest that by this time the building had lost its roof. 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, ...

was lowered and provided with a marble pavement, reused, perhaps, from the earlier phase.

Sebasteion

The Sebasteion, or

Augusteum An Augusteum (plural ''Augustea'') was originally a site of imperial cult in ancient Roman religion, named after the imperial title of Augustus. It was known as a Sebasteion in the Greek East of the Roman Empire. Examples have been excavated in ...

, was jointly dedicated, according to a 1st-century inscription on its

propylon In ancient Greek architecture, a propylaion, propylaeon or, in its Latinized form, ''propylaeum''—often used in the plural forms propylaia or propylaea (; Greek: προπύλαια)—is a monumental gateway. It serves as a partition, separat ...

, "To Aphrodite, the Divine Augusti and the People". A relief found in the ruins of the south portico represented a personification of the ''

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 ...

'' making sacrifice to the

of Aphrodite of Aphrodisias, venerated as ''promētōr'' ("foremother" or "ancestral mother"). "Aphrodite represents the cosmic force that integrates imperial power with the power of local elites", a reader of

Chariton Chariton of Aphrodisias () was the author of an ancient Greek novel probably titled ''Callirhoe (novel), Callirhoe'' (based on the subscription in the sole surviving manuscript). However, it is regularly referred to as ''Chaereas and Callirhoe'' ( ...

romance has noted. This connection between the goddess and the imperial house was also a particularly politic one at the time, as the

Gens Julia The gens Julia was one of the most prominent patrician families of ancient Rome. From the early decades of the Republic, members of this gens served in the highest offices of the Roman state, beginning with Gaius Julius Iulus, consul in 489 ...

– the family of Julius Caesar, Octavian Augustus, and their immediate successors – claimed divine descent from Venus/Aphrodite.

Stadium

The stadium was used for athletic events until the theatre was badly damaged by a 7th-century earthquake, requiring part of the stadium to be converted for events previously staged in the theatre. The stadium measures approximately by . With 30 rows of seats on each side, and around each end, it would have had a maximum capacity for around 30,000 spectators. The track measures approximately by . As the stadium is considerably larger and structurally more extensive than even the

Stadium of Delphi The Stadium of Delphi lies on the highest spot of the Archaeological Site of Delphi. It overlooks the sanctuary of Apollo and has a view to the Delphic landscape. It was built either within the second half of the 4th century B.C. or even after th ...

, it is probably one of the best preserved structures of its kind in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

Other finds

Archaeology

The first formal excavations were undertaken in 1904–5, by a French railroad engineer, Paul Augustin Gaudin. Some of the architectural finds (mostly friezes, pilasters and capitals) he discovered at the site are now in the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. The most recent, ongoing excavations were begun by Kenan Erim under the aegis of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1962 and are currently led by Professor R. R. R. Smith (at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

) and Professor Katharine Welch of the NYU Institute of Fine Arts. The findings reveal that the lavish building programme in the city's civic center was initiated and largely funded by one Gaius Julius Zoilos, a local who was a slave of

Gaius Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war. He ...

, set free by

Octavian Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in ...

. When Zoilos returned as a

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

to his native city, endowed with prestige and rich rewards for his service, he shrewdly directed it to align with Octavian in his power struggle against

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...

. This ensured Octavian's lasting favor in the form of financial privileges that allowed the city to prosper. In September 2014, drones were used to 3D map the above-ground ruins of Aphrodisias. The data is being analysed by the Austrian Archaeological Institute in Vienna. In March 2018, an ancient tomb has been unearthed in an area where illegal excavations were carried out. The tomb was taken to the Aphrodisias Museum. In 2020, two

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek σάρξ ' meaning "flesh", and φ� ...

were found in an olive grove. There was a relief of

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; ), also called Gorgo () or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her wa ...

on one of the sarcophagi. File:The_Roman_theatre,_built_in_the_second_half_of_the_1st_century_BC_on_the_eastern_slope_of_the_acropolis,_Aphrodisias,_Caria,_Turkey_(18524445015).jpg, The Roman Theater (north) File:Aphrodisias,_stone_heads.jpg, Aphrodisias Stone heads File:Aphrodisias - Baths of Hadrian 01.jpg, Baths of Hadrianus File:Aphrodisias,_sarcophagi.jpg, Sarcophagi on site File:Aphrodisias Tetrastoon Theatre fringe 4430.jpg, Aphrodisias Tetrastoon File:Aphrodisias South agora and pool 056.jpg, South agora and pool

Inscriptions

The quality of the marble in Aphrodisias has resulted in an unusually large number of inscribed items surviving in the city. As many pieces of monumental quarried stone were reused in the Late Antique city walls, many inscriptions could and can be easily read without any excavation; the city has therefore been visited and its inscriptions recorded repeatedly in modern times, starting from the early 18th century. Upwards of 2000 inscriptions have been recorded by excavators under the aegis of New York University. Many of these inscriptions had been re-used in the city walls. Most inscriptions are from the Imperial period, with funerary and honorary texts being particularly well represented, but there are a handful of texts from all periods from the Hellenistic to Byzantine. A set of documents, aimed at portraying the grandeur and history of the city, was included in so-called "Archival Wall". Excavations in Aphrodisias have also uncovered an important Jewish inscription whose context is unclear. The inscription, in Greek, lists donations made by numerous individuals, of whom several are classed as 'theosebeis', or Godfearers. It seems clear through comparative evidence from the inscriptions in the

Sardis Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...

synagogue and from the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

that such Godfearers were probably interested

gentiles ''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other Groups claiming affiliation with Israelites, groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsider ...

who attached themselves to the Jewish community, supporting and perhaps frequenting the synagogue. The geographical spread of the evidence suggests this was a widespread phenomenon in Asia Minor during the Roman period.

Frieze

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

discovered in 1980 showing a bare breasted and helmeted female warrior labelled

BRITANNIA The image of Britannia () is the national personification of United Kingdom, Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used by the Romans in classical antiquity, the Latin was the name variously appli ...

writhing in agony under the knee of a Roman soldier with to the left and below the inscription TIBERIUS CLAUDIUS CAESAR is assumed to depict Britain subjugated by Rome.

Aphrodite of Aphrodisias

The

that is particular to Aphrodisias, the ''Aphrodite of Aphrodisias'', doubtless was once housed in the Temple of Aphrodite. She was a distinctive local goddess who became, by ''

interpretatio graeca , or "interpretation by means of Greek odels, refers to the tendency of the ancient Greeks to identify foreign deities with their own gods. It is a discourse used to interpret or attempt to understand the mythology and religion of other cult ...

'', identified with the Greek Aphrodite. Her canonical image, typical of Anatolian cult images, shows that she is related to the ''Lady of Ephesus'', widely venerated in the Greco-Roman world as Artemis of Ephesus. The surviving images, from contexts where they must have been more civic than ritual, are without exception from the late phase of the cult, in Hellenistic and Roman times. They are rendered in the naturalistic style common to their culture, which gave the local goddess more universal appeal. Like the Lady of Ephesus, the "Aphrodite" of Aphrodisia wears a thick, form-disguising tunic, encasing her as if in a columnar box, always with four registers of standardized imagery. Her feet are of necessity close together, her forearms stretched forward, to receive and to give. She is adorned with necklaces and wears a

mural crown A mural crown () is a Crown (headgear), crown or headpiece representing city walls, fortified tower, towers, or fortresses. In classical antiquity, it was an emblem of tutelary deities who watched over a city, and among the ancient Rome, Romans ...

together with a

diadem A diadem is a Crown (headgear), crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of Monarch, royalty. Overview The word derives from the Ancient Greek, Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", fro ...

and a

wreath A wreath () is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a ring shape. In English-speaking countries, wreaths are used typically as household ornaments, most commonly as an Advent and C ...

of myrtle, draped with a long veil that frames her face and extends to the ground. Beneath her overtunic she wears a floor-length ''

chiton Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora ( ), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized. They are also sometimes known as sea cradles or coat-of-mail shells or suck ...

''. The bands of decoration on the tunic, rendered in

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

, evoke the Goddess's cosmic powers: the

Charites In Greek mythology, the Charites (; ), singular Charis (), also called the Graces, are goddesses who personify beauty and grace. According to Hesiod, the Charites were Aglaia (Grace), Aglaea, Euphrosyne, and Thalia (Grace), Thalia, who were the ...

, the Three Graces that are the closest attendants of Aphrodite; heads of a married pair (the woman is veiled), identified by Lisa Brody as

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; , a poetic form of ('), meaning 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea (), is the personification of Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (S ...

and Uranos, Earth and the Heavens, over which this goddess reigns, rather than as

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

and

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...

;

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; ; Homeric Greek: ) is the god who personification, personifies the Sun. His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyperion ("the one above") an ...

and

Selene In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Selene (; , meaning "Moon")''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη is the goddess and personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene (), she is traditionally the daughter ...

separated by a pillar; the marine Aphrodite,The marine Aphrodite, known to Greeks as ''Aphrodite Pelagia'', to Romans as ''Venus Marina'', is not elsewhere represented riding the sea-goat. riding a sea-goat, and at the base a group of

Erotes In Ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Erotes (; , ''érōtes'') are a collective of winged gods associated with love and sexual intercourse. They are part of Aphrodite's retinue. ''Erotes'' is the plural of ''Eros'' ("Love, Desire"), who a ...

performing cult rituals.

Gallery

File:Relief_image_of_Aphrodite_of_Aphrodisias,_dedicated_by_Theodoros,_from_the_theatre,_2nd-3rd_century_AD,_Aphrodisias_Museum,_Turkey_(17194881282).jpg, Aphrodite of Aphrodisias originated in the Archaic period or earlier as a local Carian goddess File:Marble_head_of_a_goddess,_found_in_the_Hadrianic_Baths,_2nd_century_AD,_Aphrodisias_Museum_(16993498327).jpg, Marble head of a goddess, found in the Hadrianic Baths, 2nd century AD File:Relief_depicting_the_birth_of_Aphrodite_(Aphrodite_Anadyomene),_Aphrodisias_Museum,_Turkey_(19868596734).jpg, Relief depicting the birth of Aphrodite (Aphrodite Anadyomene), Aphrodisias Museum File:4542_-_Istanbul_-_Museo_archeol._-_Donna_-_sec._II_d.C._-_da_Afrodisia_-_Foto_G._Dall'Orto_28-5-2006.jpg, Unknown Roman matrona, 2nd century AD. from Aphrodisias, now presented in

Istanbul Archaeological Museum The Istanbul Archaeology Museums () are a group of three archaeological museums located in the Eminönü quarter of Istanbul, Turkey, near Gülhane Park and Topkapı Palace. These museums house over one million objects from nearly all periods an ...

File:Museum_of_Aphrodisias_Sevgi_Gönül_Hall.jpg, Aphrodisias Museum Sevgi Gönül Hall. This hall contains items from the Sebasteion structure

References

;Sources

(Late Antique and Ecclesiastical History)

American Center of Research The American Center of Research (ACOR) is a private, not-for-profit scholarly and educational organization. Based in Alexandria, Virginia, with a facility in Amman, Jordan, ACOR promotes knowledge of Jordan and the interconnected region, past an ...

Drone footage of the ancient city from July 2022
{{World Heritage Sites in Turkey Archaeological sites in the Aegean region Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Populated places in ancient Caria Former populated places in Turkey Aphrodite Buildings and structures in Aydın Province History of Aydın Province Tourist attractions in Aydın Province World Heritage Sites in Turkey Populated places of the Byzantine Empire Karacasu District