Anatolian Civilizations and Historical Sites - TEDA

ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS:10x19 antik kentler 8/1/11 10:51 AM Sayfa
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highest tumulus of Anatolia. The tumulus measuring 53 m. in height
and 300 m. in diameter was opened in 1956 and the tomb chamber was
obtained intact. The skeleton of Midas was lying on a bench in a wooden
room. Examination of his bones revealed that he was 1.60 m. height and
was in his sixties.
Phrygian artifacts have been obtained in the chamber, including many
earthen and metal containers as well as a wooden table.
Phrygian Culture, Art and Architecture
Even though the Phrygian State collapsed after the death of King Midas,
Phrygian culture, customs and traditions continued. Almost the entire
spectacular cult monuments in Mountainous Phrygia belonging to the
6th century BC confirm this.
Members of the royal family who could escape the Cimmerians
continued forming principalities for a period of time in different parts
of Central Anatolia and gave life to their traditional cultures. The most
crowded group of these settled in Mountainous Phrygia lying in the
Upper Sakarya Valley between Eskiflehir, Kütahya and Afyonkarahisar
and created the Phrygian monuments which we admire today.
Phrygian principals administered this region until the K›z›l›rmak
Expedition initiated by the Lydian King Alyattes in 590 BC against
Meds. They existed in the form of princedoms bound to the Lydian
State until 546 BC, and came to be ruled by the Persians after the
Persians defeated the Lydians. This region, which entered the
Hellenistic Period after Alexander the Great defeated the Persians, was
a backdrop for the Roman and Byzantine Periods thereafter.
The Phrygian language was developed from the Phoenician alphabet,
later influencing the Greek alphabet. Approximately 300 epitaphs
written in Phrygian have been found in Anatolia. The word ‘Metar’ in
these epitaphs has been decoded; it was used by the Phrygians to refer
to their mother goddess, which is none other than Kubaba-the mother
goddess of Anatolia. During the Phrygian Period, the name of Kubaba
became Kybele, whereas Aslantafl and Aslankaya monuments portrayed
the union of lion and Kybele.
Small pitcher with trefoil mouth.