↓
 
Xanthos heroons

Tolun's private Turkey tours

Experienced archaeologist tour guide offering custom tours in Turkey.

  • Home
  • My Resumé
  • Testimonials
  • Accommodations
  • Transportation
  • Suggested Tours
  • Prices
  • Contact me
  • Blog

Post navigation

← Older posts

Sanctuary of Hekate – goddess of moon and magic

Tolun's private Turkey tours Posted on March 11, 2023 by MarielleMarch 11, 2023

We made a daytrip to Hekate sanctuary at Lagina from Bodrum a couple of months ago. It was a grey winter’s day right before Christmas and the cold wind and occasional drizzle of rain made me hesitate to get out of the car. However, once out, walking around the extensive grounds of this mysterious site was a rewarding experience. The sanctuary of Hekate is located in Turgut neighbourhood of Mugla province, not far inland from the South Aegean city of Bodrum in Western Turkey. It is closely connected to the ancient Carian city of Stratonikeia, which has been inhabited continuously since the Late Bronze Age (1500 BC).

Temple of Hekate at Lagina

We started walking towards the sanctuary, passing a large olive tree, known to be more than two thousand years old, the oldest in the area. The sanctuary was encircled by a wall and consisted of the portals, the main temple, strolling areas with roofs, the altar, small temples, a memorial obelisk and living quarters for the priests and at least one fountain. The first excavations were carried out in 1891 and 1892 by Osman Hamdi Bey who took all of his findings to the Istanbul Archaeological Museum. The excavation works are continuing to this day.

The Propylon of Hekate sanctuary in Lagina

So why is this sanctuary so interesting? Hekate, the goddess to whom it is dedicated, is not a goddess related to the well-known Olympian deities. Hekate is thought to be an Anatolian Goddess, who rules over the moon, night and darkness. She keeps hold of spells and magic and is the queen of dark powers. She is the patron of crossroads and doorways and the restless dead, a mediator between heaven and earth, a nurse of the young. In her hands are a torch, a dagger, a whip, a serpent and a key. Her sacred animals are a mare, a she-wolf and a she-dog. In some regions she is depicted being a triple-bodied goddess, but in Lagina, she has only been depicted as a single-bodied deity. Homer did not mention her, but Hesiod mentions her frequently in his Theogony. According to Hesiod, Hekate was the daughter of the nymph Asteria and the Titan Perses and she was venerated by Zeus, who made her an authority over the lands, seas and skies. She also assisted Demeter in her search for Persephone in the Underworld.

Fragments of the ceiling of the Hekate Temple

According to findings, there was religious activity at the Hekate sanctuary already in the fourth century BC in Lagina. The site has remained in use through the Byzantine period. Hekate sanctuary at Lagina was the main sanctuary dedicated to Hekate. Every year smaller festivities and every four years major festivals were held here to honour Hekate. She was the patron of Stratonikeia and honoured as its protector. Coins were minted with her image. The best-known rite from the festivals was the “Key Carrying ” (Kleidagogia). This involved a procession, including the choir of young girls, walking along the sacred paved road from Lagina to Stratonikeia 10 kilometres away, carrying a special key, which perhaps opened a special door or a gate in Stratonikeia and then returning back to Lagina, opening a gate and with that, festivities, there. Another known festival at Lagina celebrated loyalty to Rome, which made Hekate play the role of the political goddess in the area. There are inscriptions that note the Roman state’s sponsorship of various constructions of the sanctuary.

The first construction on our walk towards the site was the main gate, the Propylon, the entranceway to the sanctuary. It is a semi-circular structure with columns of Ionic order where priests performed their ceremonies. There are two more entranceways to the sanctuary. After passing the Propylon, we reached the Temple of Hekate. It has a central situation and has five steps going up. On top of the steps there are interesting carvings of two pairs of human footprints with an arrow-like line going through one of the pairs. The columns surrounding the temple are both of Ionic as well as Corinthian order. The friezes over the columns and walls depict four themes: the birth and life of Zeus, peace and friendship between the Amazons and the Greeks, a battle between the Gods and giants and the fourth frieze depicts the gathering of various gods. There was a small temple here already in the first century BC. The current temple existed here in 81 BC according to the inscription on the temple walls. Scattered around the area are the pieces of beautiful cassette ceilings of the temple, depicting various objects such as a double-axe – a symbol of Zeus, animals, such as turtles and birds, human portraits, plants, such as sweetcorn, flowers, pine cones, geometric shapes, etc. Part of the sacred pathway and the second gate are located behind the temple. The site is quite large and the excavations are still ongoing.

Entering Propylon at the Hekate Sanctuary in Lagina

Hekate is a goddess who brought people together as a community in Lagina. They gathered in her honour every year and had festivities with singing, dancing, eating good food, playing and listening to music. Hekate and Zeus, who was another patron of Stratonikeia, formed powerful mystic allies in people’s minds and hearts, helping them to feel safe and in comfort. And in fact, even today the people bring offerings to Hekate in Lagina, as I saw some pomegranates, garlic, pine cones and apples offered to her on the altar.

Footprints carved at the entrance of the Hekate Temple in Lagina

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a reply

Aphrodisias – the city of love and beauty

Tolun's private Turkey tours Posted on January 16, 2023 by MarielleJanuary 16, 2023

I have visited Aphrodisias – the city of love and beauty – a few times. Each time I wished I had more time to spend in this fabulous ancient city, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, for it is really quite large and full of many beautiful objects. Much has been unearthed in Aphrodisias, but who knows, how many more treasures it is still hiding from us. This time we paid this Greco-Roman city a visit right before Christmas. It was an early morning, the air was crisp and sunny and the ground was covered in frost. What a difference from my earlier visits in the height of summer in scorching Anatolian heat! Aphrodisias, the ancient Carian city, is located about 200 km south of Izmir and a hundred kilometres inland from the Aegean coast. Nowadays it is a quiet place, which thankfully has allowed it to be preserved in such an excellent condition.

Goddess Aphrodisias
Goddess. Hadrian Baths, Aphrodisias 2nd century AD.

Right at the entrance we were greeted by a display of sarcophagi, carved out with intricate details of fruit, and foliage, Eros’ faces and figures. They were found scattered all over the site, but mostly by the main roads. Does it mean people were buried in sarcophagi in public places so that the living would be always reminded of their dearly departed?

Another special feature of Aphrodisias is a frieze of carved masks of both mythological creatures as well as humans who really existed. They were found mostly around the public squares called Agoras. The level of detail is quite astonishing. Each face is unique and comes alive with its own expression. The sculptors of Aphrodisias were sought after all over Roman Empire. Their works have been found in Rome, Constantinople and Anatolian Greco-Roman cities. Many sculptures were found in the public squares and buildings of the city and they are now displayed in the museum right by the entrance of the site. The city sourced its white and grey marble from the local quarries just a few kilometres away and the easy availability of such a fine material undoubtedly contributed to the sculpture becoming the top art form in Aphrodisias.

The city had a grid-lined street plan and the main construction works began in the first or second century BC. There is a large theatre seating 7000 spectators with inscriptions on its walls that Citizen Zoilos has been the patron of the building. He also paid for other constructions such as a part of the Northern Agora and the Temple of Aphrodite. Zoilos was a freed slave who is thought to have been enslaved by pirates and then sold to the first Roman emperor Octavian Augustus. The emperor later freed Zoilos who returned to his hometown of Aphrodisias, rich and with many important connections with Rome which helped his city prosper.

Between the Northern Agora and the Theatre, the urban park was later constructed. It was called The Place of Palms. Indeed, around its 170 m long pool with pipes for fountains were two rows of Cretan date palms. There were columns and sculptures and friezes. It must have been a lovely place to stroll in the heat of the summer days, the palm trees offering shade and the cooling sound of the fountains from the pool pleasing the senses. No wonder the city was also well-known for its philosophers, for the environment of such beauty must have appealed to the great thinkers, too.

There was an entrance to the Basilicas from the park. The Basilicas, completed around 100 AD were the public halls used for administration, business and justice. Emperor Diocletian issued a famous Edict of Maximum Prices in 301 AD and it was inscribed on the Basilicas’ marble-panelled facade. The list includes around 1400 goods and services from all over the Roman Empire, stating their maximum permitted prices. The items ranged from grain, wool and wine to slaves, chariot horses and wild animals for the games.

The one building which doesn’t fit into the gridline pattern is the Temple of Aphrodite. There was a strong cult following of the goddess of love and beauty. People made pilgrimages to the temple from faraway places. They asked Aphrodite to help them in matters of love and relationships. Love and relationships are some of the most fundamental aspects of human life, one can imagine, how many people have stepped through the magnificent gates called Tetrapylon leading to the temple with their prayers and offerings to the goddess…

Theatre Aphrodisias
Theatre, Aphrodisias.

One can wander around the ruins of the great ancient streets of Aphrodisias for days, the Agoras, the Baths, the Bouleterion (The Council House), the sculptors’ workshops, to name a few buildings. Right at the edge of the city, there is the best-preserved ancient stadium in the world. The city itself had around 10,000 to 15,000 citizens, but the stadium seated 30,000. Such was its popularity for hosting sports games like foot races, boxing and wrestling and gladiator fights that people came here for shows from neighbouring cities as well.

Aphrodisias was destroyed by the 4th and especially 7th-century earthquakes. After the 7th-century earthquake, it never really recovered. The last major construction works have been made in 350 AD when the city wall was built and in 500 AD when the temple of Aphrodite was rebuilt into a Christian cathedral. After that, the city fell into a quiet slumber, with less and less human activity. The sleeping beauty has been rediscovered and her magnificence can now be seen by all who pay her a visit. It is a deep experience to walk around the ancient treasures accompanied by birds singing, the roses blossoming, the lizards playing hide and seek among the ruins, the sun glistening on the frosty grass blades in winter… The love and beauty Aphrodisias represents are imbued in everything and its special ambience can be felt by everyone visiting this marvellous city.

Stadium Aphrodisias
The Stadium, Aphrodisias.
Masks Aphrodisias
The Frieze of Masks, Aphrodisias.
Tetrapylon Aphrodisias
Tetrapylon – The Gate to the Temple of Aphrodite, Aphrodisias.
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a reply

Post navigation

← Older posts
instagram
linkedin
↑