Anatolian Civilizations and Historical Sites - TEDA

ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS:10x19 antik kentler 8/1/11 10:51 AM Sayfa
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western corner of the State Agora is a fountain built by Gaius Laecanius
Bassus in 80 AD. Many of the statues that once adorned the side of this
fountain facing the street are now in museums. This fountain is
connected to another, located on the southern side of the agora,
opposite the odeion. Also in the north western corner is a monumental
fountain built in 93 AD during the reign of Domitian, and dedicated to
Gaius Sextilius Pollio. The wide arch on the south western side of the
State Agora was built for Emperor Domitian and opens into the area
where his temple was located. The temple was destroyed during the
Christian-era. Surrounding the Temple of Domitian are the ruins of
numerous chambers that once formed the temple’s temenos (sacred
precinct). All that is left of the monument are some foundation remains.
The building once had many niches in its four sides and was built in the
1 st century BC.
At the northern end of the street on the west side is the Monument of
Gaius Memmius, resembling a four-sided monumental arch. The long
street beginning at the Monument of Memmius and sloping down to the
Library of Celsus is Curetes Street. After passing through the Herakles
Gate, built some time before the 6 th century AD, on the right is the
Fountain of Traianus, a two-storied structure which, according to its
inscription, was built between 102 and 114 AD in honor of Emperor
Traianus. There was once a statue of the emperor located in a central
niche of the fountain. Another interesting building on Curetes Street is
the Temple of Hadrian. The Corinthian temple consists of a cella, where
the statue of the emperor stood, and a portico. Along the sides there are
two columns, whereas these support a round arch, in the center of which
is a relief of Tyche. According to the inscription on the temple’s
architrave, it was built by one P. Quintilius and dedicated to Hadrian,
who reigned between 117-138 AD.
The temple was in a state of ruin in the 4 th century when it underwent
restoration, during the course of which four reliefs were added to the
interior wall of the portico as decorations. The originals of these reliefs
are now in museums whereas the ones seen on the site are only plaster
copies. Originally, the reliefs themselves were taken from other
buildings in Ephesos and installed here. Behind the Temple of Hadrian
are the Scholastica Baths. Opposite the Temple of Hadrian, on the slopes
of Mt. Bülbül, are houses that once belonged to rich Ephesians. They
were built here in order to take advantage of the cool sea breezes that
counteracted the oppressive summer heat that stifled the city below.
These private houses sometimes had three or four floors. Excavations