Anatolian Civilizations and Historical Sites - TEDA

ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS:10x19 antik kentler 8/1/11 10:51 AM Sayfa
Priene
A beautiful site with magnificent ruins, Priene is located in the modern
village of Güllübahçe in the county of Söke. Once a city with two ports
whose harbors have since filled in, Priene was founded on its present site
in 350 BC on four retaining-wall terraces. Priene was built on the
Hippodamos system of a retangular grid of streets. There seven streets
running east and west, the one before the Sacred Stoa being 5 m. wide wile
the others have widths of 4.4 m.. These streets are intersected at right
angles by fifteen side-streets rising in steep steps. Priene is one of the
most beatiful cities (it is certainly one of the best-planned) of the
Hellenistic Period. It was visited by Alexander the Great and from
inscriptions we learn that he was instrumental in bringing to completion
the much drawn out construction of the local temple to Athena. After
Alexander's death, Priene appears to have been with that kingdom to
Roman hegemony. As the Meander River filled the gulf, Priene lost is
importance and in the Byzantine times it was only as the center of a
diocese that it was able to maintain its importance. By the 12 th century it
was abandoned entirely. The first excavations here were begun in 1895 by
Carl Humann and then continued by Theodora Wiggand. One enters
Priene through one of the gates in its surrounding city wall measuring 2.5
km. in length. The main gate is on the north west and is accessed by a
ramped road. North of it are three cisterns that provided the city's water.
Proceeding down the road a way one comes upon a temple (a temenos or
sacred precinct really) dedicated to the Egyptian gods of Isis Serapis, and
Anubis were performed.
The city's theater is located on another ramped street called,
appropriately, ‘Theater Street’. The orchestra of its analemma walls makes
it one of the most beautiful theater structures remaining from the
Hellenistic Period. The skene underwent alterations in Roman times
making it a two-storied structure with three doors and two niches in the
facade. The twelve columns are from the Hellenistic Period. The theater
was also used as the place where the public parliament met. It is believed
that there were once fifty rows of seats and that the auditorium could have
accomodated 5,000 spectators. Some of the seats were reserved for
important persons. Inscriptions on them indicate that they were installed
in the 2 nd century BC as a gift by a man named Nysios. Adjoining the
theater is a Byzantine church. Opposite the theater south of the church is
the Upper Gymnasion which was built in the 4 th century BC. During
Roman times, a bath section was added to the northern wing of the
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