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Aspendos

Coordinates: 36°56′20″N 31°10′20″E / 36.93889°N 31.17222°E / 36.93889; 31.17222
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The Roman[1] theatre in Aspendos

Aspendos or Aspendus (Greek Άσπενδος) was an ancient Greco-Roman city in Antalya province of Turkey. It is located 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) northeast of central Serik.

History

Aspendus was an ancient city in Pamphylia, Asia Minor, located about 25 miles (40 km) east of the modern city of Antalya, Turkey. It was situated on the Eurymedon River about 10 miles (16 km) inland from the Mediterranean Sea; it shared a border with, and was hostile to, Side.[2] According to later tradition, the (originally non-Greek) city was founded around 1000 B.C. by Greeks who may have come from Argos. The wide range of its coinage throughout the ancient world indicates that, in the 5th century B.C., Aspendus had become the most important city in Pamphylia. At that time the Eurymedon River was navigable as far as Aspendus, and the city derived great wealth from a trade in salt, oil, and wool.

In 333 B.C. Aspendus paid Alexander the Great a levy to avoid being garrisoned, but it ignored its agreements with him and later was occupied[citation needed]. In 190 B.C. the city surrendered to the Romans, who later pillaged it of its artistic treasures[citation needed]. Toward the end of the Roman period the city began a decline that continued throughout Byzantine times.

Roman structures

Aspendos is known for having the best-preserved theatre of antiquity. With a diametre of 96 metres (315 ft), the theatre provided seating for 7,000.[3]

The theatre was built in 155[3] by the Greek architect Zenon, a native of the city, during the rule of Marcus Aurelius. It was periodically repaired by the Seljuks, who used it as a caravansary, and in the 13th century the stage building was converted into a palace by the Seljuqs of Rum.[4]

In order to keep with Hellenistic traditions, a small part of the theatre was built so that it leaned against the hill where the Citadel (Acropolis) stood, while the remainder was built on vaulted arches. The high stage served to seemingly isolate the audience from the rest of the world. The scaenae frons or backdrop, has remained intact. The 8.1 metre (27 ft) sloping reflective wooden ceiling over the stage has been lost over time. Post holes for 58 masts are found in the upper level of the theatre. These masts supported a velarium or awning that could be pulled over the audience to provide shade.[3]

Until recently the theatre was still in use for concerts, festivals and events. Due to some damage caused by fitting modern theatrical equipment during these events the Turkish authorities have suspended further shows. A new modern facility known as Aspendos Arena has been constructed nearby to continue the tradition of open air theatre in Aspendos.

Nearby stand the remains of a basilica, agora, nymphaeum and 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) of a Roman aqueduct. The Roman Eurymedon Bridge, reconstructed in the 13th century, is also in the vicinity.

Coinage

Aspendos was one of the earliest cities to mint coins. It began issuing coinage around 500 B.C., first staters and later drachmas; "the hoplite on the obverse represents the soldiery for which Aspendus was famous in antiquity,"[5] the reverse frequently depicts a triskelion. The legend appears on early coins as the abbreviation ΕΣ or ΕΣΤϜΕ; later coinage has ΕΣΤϜΕΔΙΙΥΣ, the adjective from ΕΣΤϜΕΔΥΣ (Estwedus), which was the name of the city in the local Pamphylian language. The city's numismatic history extends from archaic Greek to late Roman times.[6]

Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival

Main article: Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival

The theatre hosts the annual Aspendos International Opera and Ballet Festival organized by Turkish State Opera and Ballet since 1994, with international participation of opera and ballet companies and an audience of about 10,000.

References

  1. ^ Andreae, Bernard (1977). The Art of Rome. New York: H. N. Abrams. p. 567. ISBN 0-8109-0626-0. The Roman theater survives virtually intact... scarcely another surviving theater gives a better impression of just how the Roman theater - a solid single unified structure - differed from the Greek theater, which was made up of separate structures juxtaposed but each isolated and complete in itself.
  2. ^ Barbara Burrell, Neokoroi: Greek Cities and Roman Emperors (Brill, 2004: ISBN 9004125787), p. 189.
  3. ^ a b c Roth, Leland M. (1993). Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning (First ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. ISBN 0-06-430158-3.
  4. ^ Scott Redford, "The Seljuqs of Rum and the Antique," Muqarnas, Vol. 10, Essays in Honor of Oleg Grabar. (1993), p. 151.
  5. ^ A Catalogue of the Greek Coins in the British Museum (British Museum. Dept. of Coins and Medals, 1897), p. lxxii.
  6. ^ Asia Minor Coins - Greek and Roman coins of Aspendos
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aspendos.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Aspendus".

36°56′20″N 31°10′20″E / 36.93889°N 31.17222°E / 36.93889; 31.17222

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