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National Geographic : 1967 Aug
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National Geographic, August, 1967 one of them apparently Ninoe, from Nin or Nina, a goddess similar to Ishtar or Astarte. Following Greek penetrations into Asia Minor after Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.), the city was renamed Aphrodisias, since Ishtar and Aphrodite were equivalent divini ties in ancient mythology. The name Aphrodisias suddenly appears in the first century B.C. Appian mentioned it, stating that the Roman dictator Sulla, at the direction of the oracle at Delphi, sent gifts to the Carian Aphrodite-a golden crown and a double ax-in A.D . 82, hoping thereby to gain power and good fortune. (Caria was the overall name for the region in antiquity.) Mark Antony, following the wishes of Julius Caesar, decreed the city inviolable and ex empted it from payment of tribute. Its temple was empowered to offer asylum to outcasts. Traveling Vendors Hawked Sarcophagi Excellent white and blue-gray Carian mar ble, quarried from adjacent slopes, made possible the adornment of the sanctuary of Aphrodite and the erection of other monu ments. Soon the reputation of the city's sculp tors spread abroad. Traveling salesmen offered sarcophagi from Aphrodisias, predecorated with figures but with the heads blocked out roughly, so that likenesses of the gentry laid to rest could be added. Artists trained in the Carian city set up shop abroad, establishing an Aphro disian school of sculpture in the farthest corners of the empire. Their masterpieces adorned the homes of aristocrats and the vil las of the Caesars. Proudly, such Italy-based sculptors as Koblanos, Aristeas and Papias, and Antonianos inscribed Aphrodisieus-of Aphrodisias-after their signatures. Aphrodisias nurtured writers, poets, rheto ricians, and philosophers. Xenocrates, who wrote medical treatises during Nero's reign (A.D. 54-68), was an Aphrodisian, as was the early Greek writer Chariton. In the third cen tury Alexander of Aphrodisias, expounding Peripatetic philosophy in Athens, became one of the shrewdest commentators on Aristotle. With the advent of Christianity, a metro politan bishop was seated at Aphrodisias. Temples were converted into churches and the city was renamed Stavropolis, "City of the Cross." Between the 11th and 13th centuries, Seljuk invaders and Turkoman raiders rav aged Aphrodisias. Earthquakes must have added to the devastation, and soon the de- serted monuments, colonnades, and churches subsided into the silt and dust of time. Little by little, though, we are removing the overburden of a millennium. What was enjoyed and lost can now be praised again. Two of the sturdier houses of old Geyre provide our excavation headquarters, where we sort our treasures. There are potsherds to classify, carved marbles to date, coins to clean. Frequently, at the start of a new season, our local workmen bring us a few coins, pots, or beads, or a fragment of sculpture or in scribed marble which they have found while laboring in fields and vineyards. Just last summer Ismail, a foreman on the dig, stunned me by handing over a bag of sev eral hundred bronze coins! Within the next few days, fellow workers gave me more coins, bringing the total to 7,200. The men had found them in the vicinity of Aphrodisias, but outside the excavation area. The coins, of small denomination, had been minted under fourth-century Roman emper ors, among them Valentinian II, Theodosius, and Honorius. This was a dazzling find. Old Artifacts Serve Modem Ends In late summer, as the grapes ripen all around the village, the farmers present us with heaping dishes of honey-colored or dark blue grapes. Some villagers make a heady wine from the fruit, or pekmez, a delicious jelly that we spread on flat country bread at breakfast. For vats in which to press the grapes and ferment the juice, the people use the old broad sarcophagi, often delicately carved with gar lands of fruits and flowers. I gave up trying to explain that these con venient troughs once served as caskets. The countryfolk smile and shake their heads, pointing to the clusters of graven grapes. "You see, agabey-brother,"they say, "these were meant to be used for pressing grapes!" No point arguing. In this adaptation of ancient artifact to modern use, as in our own revelations of forgotten history, Aphrodisias lives again and mysteriously reveals itself to those who can appreciate beauty and probe beyond the horizon of the moment. Surely there will be much more to tell about our progressive excavations at this marvelous ancient city. I look forward to making that report in these pages. How exciting it is to contemplate the yet undiscovered treasures of Aphrodisias that may enrich the story! 294
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