From the 2Nd Century BC to the 3Rd Century AD)
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Public Architecture, Space and Identity in Six Poleis in Asia Minor: the Observer through Time (from the 2nd Century BC to the 3rd Century AD) by Simon James Young MA, BA (Hons) (ORCID 0000-0002-7263-7305) Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2017 The School of Historical and Philosophical Studies The University of Melbourne Supervisor: Dr. Heather Jackson Abstract Research on public architecture and its development in the poleis of Asia Minor from the Hellenistic to Roman imperial period has often tended to focus on individual building types and to regard them as a series. This approach overlooks a building's role in the overall cityscape and its intended effect on the observer. Yet studies which examine the notion of the cityscape for ancient observers often make only a passing reference to the archaeological record. The identity of this observer has also tended to be ill defined. The observer, who was either a resident or visitor to these cities, experienced public architecture as well as other objects on public display, and derived meaning from their placement, decoration and overall connection to the cityscape. This thesis will consider the social and historical context as well as the archaeological record in regard to the development of different types of public architecture and other displays in specific poleis in Asia Minor. The placement and motivations for these elements' construction, their role in the cityscape and their reception by those who experienced them will be discussed. The period discussed begins with the increased diffusion of Classical-style poleis in the 2nd century BC, and ends at the beginning of the 3rd century AD. This study will employ a number of carefully chosen case studies: Balboura, Lyrbe/Seleukia, Pessinus, Ephesus, Pisidian Antioch and Kremna; and thus will apply a specific rather than general approach. The discussion will consider the evolution and character of these poleis' cityscapes and the effect they had on ancient observers. By doing so, a greater understanding of the overall cityscapes' contemporary meaning and the impact of these public displays will be gained. i Declaration This is to certify that – i) the thesis comprises only my original work towards the PhD except where indicated in the Preface, ii) due acknowledgment has been made in the text to all other material used, iii) the thesis is fewer than 100,000 words in length exclusive of tables, maps bibliographies and appendices. ii Acknowledgments I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to the many people who have assisted me on this journey. I am greatly indebted to Dr. H. Jackson, who supervised the completion of my thesis. Her encouragement, knowledge and experience was invaluable at the final stages of this PhD. I also wish to thank Prof. G. R. Tsetskhladze, who supervised the formative stages and beginning of my thesis. He urged me to undertake a PhD after he supervised the completion of my MA, and his insightful comments, support, introduction to the excavations at Pessinus and wholehearted sharing of skills and experience will never be forgotten. I also wish to thank Dr. F. Vervaet, my associate supervisor, for his insight on Roman political practices. I am also grateful to Dr. H. J. Kim for his temporary supervision and discussions about cultural identity. I extend my thanks to the director of the British Institute at Ankara, Dr. L. Vandeput, who supervised me during my 6-month Endeavour Fellowship there. Her advice to me and vast expertise in the monumental architecture of Hellenistic and Roman Asia Minor were vital for the development of this thesis, and I am very grateful for her suggestions for improvement on sections of my thesis. I also thank Dr. M. Massa, who re-inspired my faith in GIS and to Dr. M. H. Kan for his insights on our visit to Lyrbe. Thanks also go to Prof. T. Corsten, at the University of Vienna, who invited me to spend a 6-month study visit there, and I would also like to thank Prof. M. Meyer at the Institute of Classical Archaeology at the University of Vienna for giving me the opportunity to share my research in a collegial environment at an evening seminar and with a lively discussion following. I am grateful to Dr. M. Steskal, whose recommendations on how to best tackle the enormous subject that is Ephesus were invaluable. iii I would also like to thank the University of Melbourne School of Historical and Philosophical Studies for making this research possible with an Australian Post Graduate Award, and generous funding opportunities for fieldwork. I would also like to thank the Australian government for the endowment of the Endeavour Fellowship, which permitted me to spend an extremely productive six months in Ankara, and the Sydney-based Near Eastern Archaeology Foundation for assisting in funding a second field trip to Turkey. I also thank my family, especially my mother and S. Leach, and express my sincerest gratitude to N. Dotson and the Dotson family. iv Table of Contents Abstract...........................................................................................................................i Declaration.....................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgments.........................................................................................................iii Introduction....................................................................................................................1 Chapter 1 – Literature Review.......................................................................................9 Chapter 2 – Urban Public Display and the 'Observer'..................................................28 Identity.........................................................................................................................28 The Most Uncertain Observer: the Hellenistic Period Farmer....................................32 A More Certain Observer: Licinnia Flavilla.................................................................35 The Most Certain Observer: James Williams..............................................................38 Observations................................................................................................................39 Building Types.............................................................................................................68 Chapter 3 – Small Cities: Balboura and Lyrbe.............................................................85 Balboura.......................................................................................................................86 Lyrbe...........................................................................................................................117 Chapter 4 – a Provincial City: Pessinus.....................................................................143 Chapter 5 – a City of Privilege: Ephesus...................................................................198 Chapter 6 – Two Roman Colonies: Pisidian Antioch and Kremna............................252 Kremna.......................................................................................................................252 Pisidian Antioch.........................................................................................................284 Conclusion..................................................................................................................321 Bibliography...............................................................................................................330 Ancient Texts..............................................................................................................330 Appendix: Translations of Selected Ancient Sources.................................................370 v List of Illustrations.....................................................................................................451 Illustrations.................................................................................................................465 vi Introduction A sense of communal identity is clearly apparent in Greek poleis in Asia Minor, manifested through public architecture, statuary and other displays.1 This phenomenon is especially evident within poleis in the 2nd century BC in Asia Minor, modern Turkey, until their decline at the end of the Roman period.2 The ancient literary record provides some indication of this when it mentions cities deciding on and taking political action, such as alliances, provocations, the instigation of new laws, the dedication of statues and so on. However, the mechanisms that maintained, promoted and provided for a continuance of a community identity that was expressed in the cityscape of individual cities are only partially understood. On the ground, the evidence in Greek poleis also offers tantalising clues suggesting the systemisation of an ideology of community identity through the remains of public buildings and other 1 The author has opted to transliterate Greek words to the Latin alphabet and to employ the English plural conventions for the sake of consistency, except where this would be unwieldy, i.e. the plural for 'polis' remains 'poleis', 'topos' is 'topoi' and so on. 2 The period discussed in this thesis begins from approximately the 2nd century BC and ends at approximately the beginning of the 3rd century AD. However, material from earlier and later periods is sometimes utilised when it is necessary