Εμφανίζονται 7 τίτλοι με αναζήτηση: Πληροφορίες για τον τόπο στην ευρύτερη περιοχή: "ΤΕΡΜΗΣΣΟΣ Αρχαία πόλη ΤΟΥΡΚΙΑ" .
ΤΕΡΜΗΣΣΟΣ (Αρχαία πόλη) ΤΟΥΡΚΙΑ
Termessus (Termessos, Termesos, Termesos, Termissos, Telmissos: Eth.
Termesseus), a town of Pisidia, celebrated for its natural strength no less: than
for its artificial fortifications, was situated on a height of Mount Taurus, at
the entrance of the defiles which are traversed by the river Catarrhactes, and
formed the means of communication between Pisidia, Pamphylia, and Lycia. (Strab.
xiii. p. 630, xiv. p. 666; Ptol. v. 5. § 6, viii. 17. § 34; Polyb. xxii. 18; Steph.
B. s. v.; Dion. Per. 859.) A peak of the mountain rising above the acropolis bore
the name of Solymus; and the inhabitants of the town itself were, as Strabo says,
called Solymi. They were certainly not Greeks, for Arrian (i. 27) distinctly calls
them Pisidians and barbarians. Their town stood on a lofty height, precipitous
on all sides; and the road running close. by the place was very difficult, passing
through a narrow gorge, which could be defended by a small force. Alexander the
Great succeeded indeed in forcing his way through it, but despairing of the possibility
of taking Termessus, he continued his march. Strabo (xiv. p. 666) therefore seems
to be mistaken in stating that Alexander conquered the place. The consul Manlius,
after relieving Isionda, passed along the same road. (Liv. xxxviii. 15.) The town
of Termessus continued to exist down to a late period, when it was the see of
a Christian bishop, who also had the administration of two neighbouring places,
Jovia and Eudocia. (Hierocl. p. 680.) The site of ancient Termessus has not been
difficult to discover by modern travellers, and considerable remains still exist
at Karabunar Kiui, at the foot of the height on which the ancient fortress was
situated. (Leake, Asia Minor, pp. 133-135.) As to the coins of Termessus, which
come down as far as the reign of the emperor Severus, see Sestini, p. 96. On some
of these coins we read meizonon in addition to the name of the Termessians, a
circumstance which confirms the statement of Stephanus B. that there was another
town of the same name in Pisidia, which was called Lesser Termessus (Termessos
he mikra.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
A city of Pisidia, high up on the Taurus in the pass through which the river Catarrhactes flowed, and regarded as so impregnable that even Alexander the Great made no attempt to take it.
An old Pisidian foundation on Gulluk Dag, 25 km NW of Antalya, more
or less Hellenized by the 3d c. B.C. In poetic inscriptions the Termessians call
themselves Solymians (TAM III.1.103, 127, 135; cf. Strab. 650), and probably they
originally spoke a language which Strabo (631) calls Solymian and distinguishes
from Pisidian; later this dialect died out, apart from personal names. The Solymi
appear in Homer in the tale of Bellerophon (Il. 6.184).
In 333 B.C. Alexander, having completed his business in Pamphylia,
contemplated an attack on Termessos, but decided to march directly to Sagalassos
(Arr. 1.27-28). In 319 Alketas, defeated by Antigonos, took refuge in Termessos;
Antigonos demanded his surrender. To avoid falling into his enemy's hands Alketas
killed himself.
In 189 B.C. Termessos besieged neighboring Isinda, but the siege was
raised by Manlius Vulso in response to an appeal from the Isindians and Termessos
was fined 50 talents (Livy 38.15; cf. Polyb. 21.35). Probably at about the same
time the city became involved in a war with the Lycian League (SEG XVIII 570),
of which the outcome is unknown. At some time during the 2d c. Termessos concluded
an alliance with Adada (TAM III.1.2) in which reference is made to the democracy
in each of the cities. About 70 B.C. a treaty of friendship was made with Rome
(CIL I2, 589 = ILS 38), apparently as a reward for the city's opposition to Mithridates.
From 36 to 25 B.C. Termessos, with the rest of Pisidia, was governed by Amyntas
of Galatia; later, under the Empire, Termessian coins claim the title of Autonomous.
The city was approached by a Royal Road leading up the valley from
the NE to a gate through the outer fortification wall; higher up is a second wall
still standing in part to its full height. The site has never been excavated and
is heavily overgrown, but the ruins are considerable. The agora, in a central
position, is a paved area flanked on NW and NE by the stoas of Attalos II and
of a citizen named Osbaras. The latter apparently dates from the 1st c. A.D.,
and both are in poor condition. Under the paving is a row of five large stone-vaulted
cisterns with circular mouths, and in the SW corner is a remarkable heroon cut
in an outcrop of rock. A flight of steps leads up to a platform with a semicircular
bench, above which is a wall containing a plain grave lacking its lid. There is
no inscription or other indication of the owner's identity, nor is the monument
datable. In the W face of the rock are three large semicircular niches which may
be connected with the heroon.
A little to the E is the theater, small but well preserved. It dates
from Hellenistic times, with some later alterations. The stage building is simple,
a long narrow chamber with five doors opening onto the stage; between the doors
were columns, but only the supports remain in place. Below the stage is a hyposcaenium,
with five doors into the orchestra. The parodoi were open in the Greek manner,
but the S one was later replaced by a vaulted passage with a loggia above it in
the Roman style; above this again the rows of seats have been extended to join
the stage building. The cavea, facing E, is more than a semicircle, and has 24
rows of seats, 8 above and 16 below the single diazoma. Six stairways divide it
into five cunei; these are doubled above the diazoma. At the top of the central
stairway is a door 2.5 m wide.
Some 100 m SW of the theater is a well-preserved building identified
as an odeion, with walls standing up to 10 m high. It is thought to date from
the 1st c. B.C. It is rectangular in plan and faces roughly E; the upper part
of the walls is decorated on the outside with pilasters, and on the S and E sides
are 11 large windows. In the E front are two rectangular doors, and in the back
wall is a third. In the interior are some remains of rows of seats with a shallow
curve, forming an arc much less than a semicircle.
Close to the odeion on the S is the Temple of Artemis, identified
by an inscription at the door. This door stands complete with lintel and statue
bases at either side. The temple apparently dates from the 3d c. A.D. and probably
replaced an earlier temple the foundations of which still exist a few paces to
the SE, and in which a dedication to Artemis was found. Behind the odeion is another
small building, standing 5 m high, which may have been connected with the cult
of Solymian Zeus; it consists of a single chamber, beautifully built, with a bench
across the back wall.
To the SW of the agora is a large, ruined building which has been
called the Founder's House, a splendid villa of Roman type. The front door is
over 5 m high, with a window to its left; inside is a vestibule leading to the
central atrium, where the impluvium is surrounded by columns.
Heavy overgrowth impedes the investigation of other features, notably
a large and handsome gymnasium N of the theater, several large cisterns, and a
street in the W part of the city lined with stoas and shops and adorned with statues.
The necropolis is vast; there are tombs on all sides of the city,
but the main concentration is on the higher ground to the W and S. No fewer than
650 epitaphs have been published. The rock tombs in the NW quarter are the earliest;
they include a tomb of Lycian type with round beam ends, a pediment, and akroteria;
a group of five tombs including three arcosolia; and a remarkable tomb which has
been thought to be that of Alketas. The grave is cut in a ledge in an angle of
the rock face, with a bench below; above is trellis-work in relief between pilasters,
and above that a pediment and an eagle with spread wings holding a snake. Various
damaged rock-cuttings and reliefs, on either side of the tomb, include figures
of Hermes and Aphrodite, and in particular a fine relief of a horseman, with a
suit of infantryman's armor just below. The main mass of later tombs consists
of built tombs and sarcophagi, some very handsome.
Arrian, in his account of Alexander's visit, observes that the hills
below Termessos come down close to the road on either side, leaving only a narrow
passage easily defensible. This spot is identifiable on the present main road
about 1 km E of the Yenice Kahve, close to the new road leading to the site. Here
a wall bars the valley; it is built of excellent ashlar masonry, with 10 towers
and a gate, and is thought to date from the 2d c. B.C. The towers, surprisingly,
are on the W side of the wall, so as to halt an enemy only after he had passed
the foot of the city; but it may be that the wall served as much for the purpose
of exacting tolls as for military defense
G. E. Bean, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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