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City of the Mother Goddess Metropolis
[Originally distributed by TurkC-L. See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TurkC-L ]
[Photographs of finds at Metropolis can be found at: http://makeashorterlink.com/?I5AF12C6A ] x0x City of the Mother Goddess Metropolis By NERMIN BAYCIN Until a decade or so ago noone had heard of it. It was not a lost city, only forgotten. Lying at the foot of a steep mountainside between Izmir and Ephesus, it was almost entirely buried under soil, yet enough remains were visible for European travellers to note its existence in passing. A field survey by archaeologists in the mid-19th century identified the city, but no one pursued the faint trail. Two visits at long intervals, and then a deep silence prevailed until the early 1970s, when it was rediscovered by Professor Recep Meric, an archaeologist at Dokuz Eylul University. EXCAVATIONS BEGIN Professor Meric's interest was initially aroused not so much by the faded dusty ruins themselves on their hilltop site overlooking Kucuk Menderes Plain, but by the finds displayed in the nearby village. A statue of a lion, grave steles, figurines, inscriptions, pottery fragments and other objects showed that a magnificent city lay hidden beneath the soil. Five years of field research confirmed that Metropolis was a major city of the Hellenistic Age (300-30 BC), which had stamped its mark on future civilisation. This was a golden age of scholarship, art and architecture, producing such spectacular masterpieces as the Temple of Zeus at Pergamon. THE THEATRE AWAITS ITS GUESTS This rare example of a surviving Hellenistic city in Anatolia did not have to wait long to see the light of day again. Professor Meric and his team commenced excavations in 1989, at the spot where the ancient theatre was thought to lie. As work progressed their excitement rose, until finally the marble paving of the orchestra (the part of the theatre where the chorus and actors performed) was revealed at a depth of four metres. The steep gradient combined with the superimposed layers of later construction all made excavation work at the theatre extremely difficult. Erosion had caused the stones belonging to the upper tiers of seats to slip downhill, and they lay in tumbled heaps. All this is described in Professor Meric's new book, `Metropolis, City of the Mother Goddess,' sponsored by Philip Morris/Sabanci. Excavations eventually revealed one of the finest theatres of the Hellenistic world, reflecting outstanding aesthetic achievement and craftsmanship of the age in the tiers of seats culminating in carved lion's feet, sacrificial altars, and magnificent carved seats for the city's nobles. It was in an excellent state of preservation, conveying the atmosphere of that distant time 2150 years ago, when audiences of four thousand people watched plays here. Restoration work began, and within eight or nine years the theatre was able to seat 900 people. In the course of restoration and example of the engineering skills of the people of Metropolis was revealed. Foreseeing the damage that could be done by rainwater pouring down the rocky slope on which the theatre was built, a deep drainage channel with a system for precipitating silt had been dug along the upper wall to divert and water to nearby fountains. REMARKABLE EXAMPLES OF ANCIENT DESIGN The theatre was not the only spectacular structure at Metropolis, which had been designed down to the smallest detail for maximum effect on its steep hillside site. With its sewerage and water systems, streets extending in a grid from one side of the city to the other, and in particular the grand flight of steps adorned with lion's feet on either side leading up to the acropolis, the city is truly imposing. The council hall where decisions about everything from the price of bread and the city accounts, to the renting of land and capital punishments, were taken, is one of the most impressive works of architecture here. The facade was adorned with carvings, and within were numerous statues of councillors and city notables. The carved head of a woman and several torsos of statues found here are beautiful examples of Hellenistic period sculpture. The council hall seating around 350 people is still impressive today, despite the Byzantine fortress wall built right through the centre in the 12th or 13th century AD. ANCIENT SPONSORS The location of the agora was identified by means of an inscription erected in memory of a citizen who was both hero and entrepreneur. The stoa, a covered and colonnaded promenade with a view stretching to the Kucuk Menderes plain in the distance, was a prestigious structure where rich citizens who had made contributions to the city were honoured. On each column of the 70 metre long stoa is inscribed the name of one of these donors, whom Professor Meric describes as the earliest known examples of what we know today as sponsors. During the Hellenistic period public buildings which combined beauty with functionality were built with the help of private donations. The city reached the height of its splendour in the second century BC, and unlike Ephesus, which was entirely covered by Roman period buildings, it is the Hellenistic age which is mainly reflected today at Metropolis. This is what makes the site of such importance. Nevertheless, powerful and magnificent Rome did leave its mark on Metropolis, with buildings like the bath, gymnasium complex and public lavatory, and above all the Reception Hall next to the theatre. This hall, where eminent guests who had come to the theatre were feasted, is adorned with an exquisite mosaic pavement depicting Dionysus, the creator of tragedy and god of wine, and other mythological beings. CITY OF THE MOTHER GODDESS Metropolis means 'city of the Mother Goddess,' or Mater Gallessia, after Mount Gallession behind the city, and was its protector. Numerous figurines and coins portraying the Mother Goddess in a seating position have been found in a cave five kilometres away from the city. Metropolis was renowned for its agricultural products, wine and marble, and situated at a strategic point on the road between Izmir (the ancient Smyrna) and Ephesus. The latest finds have shown that settlement here goes back to the 4th millennium BC, during the Bronze Age. A seal found on the acropolis and Hittite layers (2nd millennium BC) at Bademgedigi 6 kilometres away provide strong evidence that the latter site was the Arzawa city of Puranda referred to in Hittite documents. |
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