Afrodisias, Turkey

Afrodisias

This ancient town named after Aphrodite, the Greek godless of love and sexuality, was a popular pilgrimage site from the 6th century BC. But when the Byzantines ruled, the Temple of Aphrodite was changed into a chaste Christian church, starting in 350AD. Frankly, the Greek and pagan gods and goddess seemed a lot more fun.

Baccus, the god of wine, and Aphrodite are fine examples. The term aphrodisiac comes from this goddess. The Greek art is also filled with naked gods and goddesses, making paganism a lot more natural than Christianity or any organized religion. The notion of sin was not engrained in those days.

Anyway, this ancient city of Afrodisias is set in a beautiful valley. Walking around its ruins was like being in an open museum where the loose pieces looked like art work. A column here, an elaborate sarcophagus there, the statue of a goddess in a drape revealing one breast some where else... More or less like a sculpture museum trying to mirror ancient fragments, figures and construction objects. And this time of year, there is a bonus of witnessing the red poppies everywhere, mixed in the green fields against the mountains.

The highlight of the more preserved buildings for me was the tetrapylon, the monumental gateway to the Temple of Aphrodite. The stadium was also amazing, with place for 30,000 people, double the population of this city way back then, in its early days, when it reached 15,000 people. So, why did the stadium fit double the number of people? Maybe folks from other villages joined in a version of what we know as the Olympics.

Another highlight for me was the Hadrianic Baths. You all know by now that I am crazy about baths, hot springs, and water in general, but this is a special pool, made with marble with a sculpture of Hadrian right next to it, looking into the pool. I think it is Hadrian, although the head is missing. I could easily visualize myself sitting in one of those corners, immersed in water, gazing at the snow caped mountains early in the Spring, just about this time of the year.

The Sebastion was also interesting, a new feature in a classical ancient city for me. This is a temple to the deified Roman emperors. Yes, those guys were worshiped as divine beings despite all the killing, domination and pillage of the towns. Maybe people were “forced” to worship them. It goes with the territory, sort of speak. Things haven't changed much for some. Many citizens in the world still have to obey leaders they despise.

Finally, I really liked the Bouleterium, a place where the community met for town meetings. This is really nice. All these meeting places, are either oval or round shaped. I think people were into sharing a lot more in those days than we do now.

Afrodisias is about 75 miles from Pamukkale and on the way we passed near Laodicea. This is the place of the Seven Churches of Asia mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation. This is also where Cicero lived before Mark Anthony had him killed. But Laodicea is mostly in ruins nowadays, so I decided not to make the trip there. Instead, I spent a day resting at my hotel in Pamukkale, enjoying the serenity of this small town, the swimming pool and the hot springs at my hotel.