Anatolian Civilizations and Historical Sites - TEDA

ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS:10x19 antik kentler 8/1/11 10:51 AM Sayfa
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were built for two purposes; public interest and spreading the fame
and honor of the emperor. While the Romans used domes, vaults
and arches skillfully, they also developed new types of structures
such as triumphal arches, aqueducts, basilicas and baths with the
development of new construction techniques. Large structures
were built with the adaptation of architectural elements to large
sizes. Front sides gained importance, multi-storey sides were
embellished with statues, and marble constituted the main material
of the structures. However, the biggest novelty of the Romans was
that they found ‘Horasan’. This material, which was obtained by
pouring liquid mortar on broken pieces of stone and bricks, was first
used in functional buildings by the Romans. Monumental fountain
structures and the stage buildings of the theaters are indicators of
how special attention was paid to the side view. Monumental twostorey
fountains built at the squares and on the main streets of the
city were embellished with sculptures on their frontal sides. The
most beautiful examples of them were the Fountains of Pollio and
Traianus in Ephesos, the Fountain of Septimius Severus in Perge,
and the Fountain of Antonines in Sagalassos.
Sebasteions, which were the cultic centers of the empire, were also
a type a structure that emerged during the Romans. Sebasteion in
Aphrodisias reflects the best example of them. A new type of
structure in Roman architecture was basilicas. These structures,
having a thin and long form, were used for multiple purposes such
as market places, banks, stock markets and court halls. The
basilicas, which were transformed into a church during the
Byzantines with the addition of an apse, is best exemplified in
Aspendos.
In Anatolia, some examples of the temples created in the Roman
cities, reached to the present time intact, and some of them only
have their superficial structures remaining. In most of the Roman
temples, which were constructed within a holy area and located
according to the axis of the area, the Hermogenes’s rules for
temples, as recognized before, were applied. Besides rectangularplanned
small temples, circular-planned structures specific to
Roman architecture are also found as in Bergama Asklepieion. The
Temple of Zeus in Aizanoi, Çavdarhisar, which could mostly survive
with its plans and epitaphs, the Temples of Athena and Apollon in
Side are some of the examples of this period. Besides the temples