#3 bce

Pnyx (First democratic parliament in the world)

Athens, Greece

507 BCE

The Pnyx (Greek:Pnyka) is a hill in central Athens, the capital of Greece. Beginning as early as 507 BCE, the Athenians gathered on the Pnyx to host their popular assemblies, thus making the hill one of the earliest and most important sites in the creation of democracy.

The Pnyx was used for popular assemblies in Athens as early as 507 BCE, when the reforms of Cleisthenes transferred political power to the citizenry. It was then outside the city proper, but close enough to be convenient. It looks down on the ancient Agora, which was the commercial and social centre of the city. At this site all the great political struggles of Athens of the "Golden Age" were fought out. Pericles, Aristides and Alcibiades spoke here, within sight of the Parthenon, temple of Athena. Here Demosthenes delivered his vilifications of Philip II of Macedon.

The Pnyx was the official meeting place of the Athenian democratic assembly (Ancient Greek: ekklesia). In the earliest days of Athenian democracy (after the reforms of Kleisthenes in 508 BCE), the ekklesia met in the Agora. Sometime in the early 5th century, the meeting place was moved to a hill south and west of the Acropolis. This new meeting place came to be called "Pnyx" (from the Greek word meaning "tightly packed together".

In the early history of the Pnyx, three phases can be distinguished:

Pnyx I: Probably constructed in the early 5th century. The people apparently sat on the hillside facing a speaker's platform on the north. The seating capacity may have been anywhere from 6000 to 13,000 people. This phase is represented archaeologically only by a few cuttings in the bedrock and a boundary stone (not found in situ), so that it is impossible to determine the date and size with any precision.

Pnyx II: Probably late 5th century BCE In this phase the orientation of the auditorium was apparently reversed (a reconstruction that is based more upon ancient literary sources than from the actual archaeological record). A stepped terrace wall was created on the north to support an artificial terrace, and the people sat facing a speaker's platform on the south. Some sources stated that this retaining wall was constructed around 500 BC for the purpose of holding the soil that was brought in to form the level space for the bema. Part of the stepped terrace wall is preserved, as well as a staircase with rock-cut steps leading up to it from the direction of the Agora. The size of the auditorium (as it is restored by the excavators) is not that much larger than Pnyx I.

Pnyx III: The Pnyx was rebuilt and expanded in the 3rd quarter of the 4th century BCE, probably around 345-335 BCE A massive, curved, retaining wall was built (or at least begun) on the north. The southern side of the auditorium and speaker's platform (bema) were quarried out of the natural bedrock. (Traces of the quarrying process can still be seen at the eastern side of the great rock-cut scarp). On a terrace above (south of) the speaker's platform, the foundations were begun for 2 long stoas (but these seem never to have been finished). It is unknown for how many years Pnyx III was used as the meeting place of the ekklesia, and certainly by the 1st century BCE the assembly held their meetings in the Theater of Dionysos on the South Slope of the Acropolis.

Finally, in the Roman period, part of the Pnyx was used as a sanctuary of Zeus Hypsistos. Evidence for the sanctuary consist of c. 50 niches for votive plaques cut into the bedrock scarp east of the speaker's platform. Many of the votive plaques are carved with representations of human body parts (eyes, breasts, etc.), suggesting that this Zeus Hypsistos was a healing divinity.

Great Theater of Ephesus

Ephesus, Turkey

3rd century BCE

24,000 seats

The Great Theater was constructed in the Hellenistic period but remodelled many times in the Roman period. The main diffrence between a Hellenistic Theater and a Roman Theater is that the Hellenistic ones are leaning on a hill. It is the Romans who invented free standing huge walls. It took 60 years to complete and is the largest theater in  the Asia Minor. It was originally two-storied and was heightened by one story at a later date. Served not only for dramatic performances, but also for demonstrations of a social, political, economic, religious nature and for gladiator games.

The construction of the theater began in Hellenistic times. In Roman times, during the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54 CE), the theater was enlarged. The two-storey stage (skene) was built during the reign of Emperor Nero (54-68 CE) and the third storey was added later, in the mid-2nd century. The completion of its construction took place only in the times of Emperor Trajan (98-117 CE). In the early 2nd century CE an aqueduct was constructed to bring water to Ephesus, for the Trajan nymphaeum. Its course required a channel through the upper section of seats.

Side

Asia minor, Turkey

The beginnings of the settlement

Side was founded in the 7th century BCE by Greek settlers from Kyme in Eolia, a land located in the north-western part of Anatolia. The patron goddess of the town was Athena, whose head was depicted on the coins minted in Side. However, the Greek origins of Side inhabitants were quickly forgotten, and the descendants of Greek colonists took over the language and customs of the local people. That language, examples of which have been discovered on the inscriptions from the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, has not yet been understood by researchers. However, it is known, that the name of the city meant pomegranate in the local dialect.

Thanks to its favourable location at the natural harbour Side quickly became one of the most significant settlements in Pamphylia and a trading station of the region. In the 6th century BCE, Side came under the rule of Lydia and later Persia, but little is known about this period of history.

Hellenistic period

In 333 BCE, Alexander the Great took control of Side without a fight, and before embarking on his great journey to the east, he left a small garrison there. This way Side residents came in contact with Hellenistic culture. After Alexander's death, Side fell under the control of one of diadochi - Ptolemy I Soter, who declared himself the king of Egypt. The dynasty descended from Ptolemy ruled over Side until the 2nd century BCE when the city was occupied by the Seleucids. Throughout this period Side maintained a significant degree of independence and was an important cultural centre of Pamphylia.

In 190 BC a fleet owned by the city-state of Rhodes, supported by Rome and Pergamon, defeated the Seleucid king Antiochus. Under the terms of the peace treaty concluded in Apamea in 188 BCE, Pamphilia became a part of the Kingdom of Pergamon. However, the actual power of Pergamon reached only as far as Perge, leaving the areas located to the east, including Side, in a state of practical independence. In this period the Pergamon King, Attalos II Philadelphus, ordered the construction of a new harbour, located in Attalia (the present Antalya).

Roman rule

In the period from 188 to 67 BCE, Side was a free city and minted its own coins, tetradrachms with the goddess Nike and a laurel wreath. In the first century BCE, the city became the main naval base of pirates from Cilicia and, consequently, the centre of the slave trade. In 78 BCE, the pirates from Side were defeated by the Roman consul Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus, and in 67 BCE they suffered a final defeat, this time at the hands of general Pompey. It meant a de facto takeover of Side by Rome.

In 25 BCE, Emperor Augustus reformed the administration, and according to new provisions Pamphilia, and hence Side, was incorporated into the Roman province of Galatia. The wealth of the city during this period came not only from the slave trade but also from the sale of olive oil. The population rose to 60,000 and a period of prosperity lasted until the 3rd century CE. The merchant fleet of Side often played a double game - of peaceful merchants and, in favourable circumstances, bloodthirsty pirates. Wealthy traders allocated a significant proportion of their income for the development of the city and its beautification. They sponsored new public buildings, gladiatorial combats and games. Most of the ancient buildings preserved until today in Side date back to this period of history.

Agora of Priene & Sacred Stoa

Priene, Ionia, Turkey

3rd century BCE

Agora of Priene  was an open place for people to meet, celebrate special days and festivals and commerce like any other Hellenistic city Agoras. So it had an important place in the daily life of ancient cities.

The Priene Agora was defined by Pausanias as being “a characteristic example of Ionic agoras.” It was built in the 3rd century BCE and has a horseshoe shape. One side is open and is surrounded, and the other side had a stoa. Both the east and west sides had 18 columns and on the south side 30 columns were constructed in the Doric style. There is a row of rooms (shops) at the rear parts of the south and west side of the stoa. The shops at the rear part of the east stoa remain in the temenos of the Asclepius Temple. From the middle part of the south side, some of the rooms were removed and this area was turned into a large hall.

The Sacred Stoa, the northernmost, was built by Ariarathes, the King of Cappadocia in the middle of the 2nd century BCE. It was 12 meters wide and 116 meters long. A 6-stepped stairway in the front opening onto the street leads to a wide gallery open to the sky. This gallery is 6.47 meters wide and had a marble-paved floor. There were benches on the east and the west side of the gallery of which one was exedra (a room in a public building furnished with seats) and the other in a horseshoe shape. The certain names from among the people of Priene were mentioned as inscriptions on the back of the seats. 

The building is separated into two parts by columns. The wooden roof was supported by 49 Doric columns in the front row and 24 Ionic ones in the second row. There are fifteen rooms at the rear part; three of these are excellent stone workmanship of exedra design. R-The ninth room from the west was consecrated to the cult of Roman gods and Emperor Augustus which is understood from the inscriptions and drawings on the wall of this room. It is also understood that the Julian (Roman) calendar was begun to be used in western Anatolia in the year 9 BCE. It is believed that these rooms were used for the conversations of the State and the Athena Temple archives.

The statues in Agora in marble and bronze and created a very impressive atmosphere that represented the notabilities of the city. In ancient times there was an art gallery, but today only the bases of the statues remain and use the visitors for sitting.

Sanctuary of Egyptian Gods

Priene, Ionia, Turkey

3rd century BCE

temenos 47 m. long x 31 m.    

altar 14.60 x 7.31 m. 

This temple was built in the Hellenistic period. It is located on the terrace south of the theatre, on the south Athena Street. The building was supported by a 5-meter high terrace wall which displayed excellent stone workmanship.

The original plan of the sanctuary, dating to the late fourth or third century BCE was very simple: a rectangular temenos entered from the east, containing an altar. At a later date, a more elaborate propylon was built in the northern wall of the temenos, and a portico was constructed alongside the west wall. Both of these additions may still be pre-Roman.

The sanctuary was dedicated to Egyptian gods which is understood from the epigraphs found there. In the epigraphs, Egyptian god names included such as Isis, Serapis, Osiris, Anubis, and Harpocrates. According to the inscriptions on the wall of the propylaeum and the detailed information on the cult, the rites should have been conducted by an Egyptian priest or by Isis. If these rules were not violated, the punishment was defined as 100 drachmae. But the Prienean people were not familiar with this tradition.

Hypostyle Hall (Stoa of Poseidon)

Delos, Greece

210 BCE

56.44 m x 34.28 m

Altar of Athena Polias

Priene, Ionia, Turkey

325 BCE

13.20 m. in length,  7.12 m. in width, 3 m. in height

Temple of Athena Polias & The sanctuary’s Propylon

The Altar of Athena polias was to the east of the Temple of Athena in Priene erected in the mid ­2nd century BCE with the financial support of Orophernes. The Altar is considered to be a model of the Great Altar of Zeus at Pergamum and of a horseshoe shape.

The low, rectangular altar stood on two steps; its sides were probably decorated with half-column pilasters between which are a series of low podia, supporting twenty relief panels. In the relief panels were carved draped female figures, almost certainly Muses, and a figure of Apollo Kitharoidos. The columns supported an entablature consisting of an architrave crowned by an ovolo and dentil, with cornice course of Ionic geison with ovolo crown, and finally a cyma recta. The relief panels and columns essentially formed a screen wall around the three sides of the altar platform on which the sacrifices took place.

The reliefs decorating the Altar represented scenes from the battle of the Gods and Giants. On a relief from the Altar, (now in the Museum of Archaeology in Istanbul) representing the battles of the Giants, the influence of the Pergamene school of sculpture is clearly visible. In contrast with the Pergamene model, the reliefs here were placed not in the frieze but in the metopes of the lower structure. At the time of the building of the Altar, the area surrounding the Temple was also put into order and the front was paved with stones. 

More Priene buildings

Hellenistic Fountain house

Ephesus, Turkey

3rd century BCE

A rectangular marble structure found in the NW corner of the Ephesus Theatre stage. This is a fountain-house in the Ionic order, dating to the Hellenistic period (3rd cent. BCE), which was converted during the Roman Period (2nd cent. CE).

The fountain house is made of marble in the isodomic masonry system and has a rectangular shape. Originally it measured 3.82 in width x 1.45 m. in depth. When it was expanded during the Roman period, its dimensions changed (depth 3.65-3.90 m). Its height was 3.73 m.