Εμφανίζονται 19 τίτλοι με αναζήτηση: Αρχαιολογικοί χώροι για το τοπωνύμιο: "ΠΡΙΗΝΗ Αρχαία πόλη ΤΟΥΡΚΙΑ".
Site: Priene
Type: Fortification
Summary: Continuation of city wall circuit at north, east and west
of acropolis, with towers.
Date: ca. 350 B.C. - 340 B.C.
Period: Late Clas./Hell.
Plan:
The acropolis fortification wall uses straight stretches of curtain, not the saw-toothed
design of the lower fortification walls. Square towers project at intervals along
the exterior of the wall. In the north of the acropolis, a gateway is protected
by flanking walls and hollow, two-storied towers.
History:
Like the fortifications of the lower city, the acropolis fortifications date back
to the city's foundation in the mid-fourth century B.C. A round tower at the northern
extension of the acropolis dates to the Byzantine period.
Other Notes:
The acropolis fortifications contain four hollow, inhabitable towers which served
as living quarters for the guard; an inscription indicates that the captain of
the garrison may not leave his post on the acropolis for the entire period of
his duty, one year.
Sarah Cormack, ed.
This text is cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains 22 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Site: Priene
Type: House or sanctuary
Summary: Large house-type structure with central courtyard, located
in western section of city, in third housing quarter from west gate; site of possible
cult.
Date: ca. 350 B.C. - 150 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
A central courtyard is bordered on north, east and south by rooms; the entrance
is in the west wall. The northern room, containing a stone podium, is entered
through a colonnaded pronaos and is two-aisled; three smaller rooms open onto
the court in the east; in the south are two additional rooms, built above cellars.
History:
The basic plan of the complex may date back to the fourth century B.C. and may
represent a substantial private dwelling which was subsequently converted into
a sanctuary or cult center; or, it may have been planned as a sanctuary from the
outset. Later construction phases are in evidence: the long northern room with
central colonnade was divided into two by a cross-wall running north-south, and
a second doorway was opened into this room. The mosaic floor of the northern room
of the eastern row was obscured by later wall construction. The renovations and
restorations probably date to the second century B.C.
Other Notes:
A 1.90 m. tall doorpost at the main entrance to the structure is inscribed with
the following text: elache te hierosun[en:] Anaxidemos Apollon[iou:] eisinai eis
[to] hiero hagno e[n] estheti leuk[ei.] "Anaxidemos, son of Apollonios, received
the priesthood to enter the holy temple in white clothing." Inside the northern
room, near the podium, were discovered a number of terracottas (bust of Cybele,
Eros and female, bearded Herm) and marble figurines, including a bearded Herm
and a bust of Alexander the Great. Also near the podium stood a marble offering
table, in front of which a natural fissure in the bedrock forms a pit. This pit
is interpreted as a sacrificial pit through analogy with that in the Sanctuary
of Demeter. Architecturally, the entire complex in no way resembles a typical
Greek sanctuary. This divergence from public cult architecture leads to the suggestion
that the structure was essentially a private cult center. If it was initially
a private house, it may have been the one in which Alexander the Great stayed
when he spent some time in Priene in 334 B.C.
Sarah Cormack, ed.
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Site: Priene
Type: Altar
Summary: Rectangular altar located 12.35 m. east of the Temple of
Athena, on axis with the temple.
Date: ca. 325 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
A low, rectangular altar standing on two steps; its sides were probably decorated
with half-column pilasters between which are a series of low podia, supporting
twenty relief panels. In the relief panels were carved draped female figures,
almost certainly Muses, and a figure of Apollo Kitharoidos. The columns supported
an entablature consisting of an architrave crowned by an ovolo and dentil, with
cornice course of Ionic geison with ovolo crown, and finally a cyma recta. The
relief panels and columns essentially formed a screen wall around the three sides
of the altar platform on which the sacrifices took place.
History:
The history of the altar is difficult to reconstruct with certainty. The dating
of the sculptures, based on stylistic considerations, has resulted in dates ranging
from the late third century to the mid-second century B.C. There is general agreement
that the altar is of later date than the temple itself, and the most recent analysis
suggests that the altar reliefs were carved in the late third century B.C. The
architectural style of the altar itself, however, is consistent with an earlier
date, in the second half of the fourth century, leading some to conclude that
the altar was planned at this time, but not actually executed until later. When
the temple was rededicated to Athena and Augustus in the late first century B.C.,
this rededication was also recorded on the architrave of the altar.
Other Notes:
The altar was first discovered by Pullan and briefly described in his Antiquities
of Ionia, IV (1881). The reconstruction of the altar as low and rectangular in
form was first suggested by Schrader (1904); this reconstruction was challenged
by Dorpfeld and von Gerkan (1924), who viewed the altar as similar in plan to
the Great Altar at Pergamon. By analogy with the Pergamon monument, the Priene
altar was thus dated to some time after the mid-second century B.C. Recent analysis
of Pullan's excavation notes and photographs, and the discovery of additional
relief fragments, has led Carter (1983) to confirm Schrader's initial reconstruction
of the monument as a low altar. The Pergamon analogy is thus erroneous, and the
style of the reliefs may also suggest an earlier date, that is, in the last quarter
of the third century B.C.
Sarah Cormack, ed.
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Site: Priene
Type: Bouleuterion
Summary: Bouleuterion or meeting hall in center of city, next to
the Prytaneion; oriented to the south.
Date: ca. 200 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
Almost square in plan, the bouleuterion contains rows of seats on its west, north
and east sides: 16 rows on the north, and ten each on the west and east. The south
wall contains a rectangular niche or exedra with arched roof. Stepped aisles lead
diagonally up to the rows of seats from the central floor area, or "orchestra,"
in which stands a marble altar. Regularly-spaced piers, six on each of the north,
west and east sides, would have supported the wooden roof. The building was entered
through doorways in the north, west, and south walls.
History:
Construction of the bouleuterion began in ca. 200 B.C. During a later phase of
reconstruction, the span of the roof was judged to be too wide, and the piers
were accordingly brought closer to the center. Buttresses were also added between
the piers and the side walls. The building was destroyed - probably by fire -
at some time during the Christian period; beyond the north-west corner of the
bouleuterion, a small chapel was built, and traces of Christian burials were discovered
near the north wall.
Other Notes:
The bouleuterion provided seating for 600-700 people, a large number considering
the population of Priene. Thus it may have been an Ekklesiasterion, or meeting
hall for the Assembly of citizens, rather than a bouleuterion or meeting hall
for council members alone. The exedra in the south wall, with its arcuated lintel,
also served as a light well for the bouleuterion; it is uncertain whether additional
windows existed higher in the walls.
Sarah Cormack, ed.
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Site: Priene
Type: Fortification
Summary: Well-preserved fortification wall circuit with towers,
enclosing the site and the acropolis hill in the north.
Date: ca. 350 B.C. - 340 B.C.
Period: Late Clas./Hell.
Plan:
In plan, the walls are of saw-tooth design, with square towers at intervals. The
majority of the towers are solid, but there are hollow, two-storied towers which
served as barracks for the guards. The wall includes in its circuit three city
gates, the East Gate, West Gate, and South-East Gate. The East Gate, the main
entrance to the city, was vaulted with a limestone arch and was reached from the
outside by a long, paved ramp. Two curving walls inside the gate created a horseshoe-shaped
court within which an attacking force would be trapped. The West Gate was also
arched; no towers protected this gate, but the steep topography provided adequate
defense. The South-East Gate was protected by a tower from which a defending force
could fire on the enemy's unprotected right flank. In two locations in the lower
city wall, and once on the acropolis, staircases are preserved which led to a
defensive walkway.
History:
The construction of the fortifications at Priene is contemporary with the new
foundation of the city in ca. 350 B.C.
Other Notes:
Built into the west facade of the South-East Gate is an inscription, contemporary
with the construction of the wall, preserving the following text: hupnotheis Philios
Kuprios genos exalaminos huios Aristonos Naolochon eiden onar thesmophorous te
hagnas potnias em pharesi leokois: opsesi d' en trissais heroa tonde sebein enogon
poleios phulakog choron t' apedeixan: hon heneka hidrusen tonde theio Philios.
"When asleep, Philios Kyprios (of Cyprus?) of the Exalaminos family (?), son of
Ariston of (?) Naolochos, saw in a dream holy reverend Thesmophoroi in white cloaks.
And in three visions they ordered him to honor this hero of the guard of the city
and they showed him the spot. Wherefore Philios established this sanctuary." The
use of the saw-tooth wall design, combined with the contours of the land, would
have compelled an attacking force to concentrate their attack on the projecting
towers. The saw-tooth wall design is referred to by Philo 86.3 as PRIONOTE. The
towers were not bonded into the wall, and thus, if they collapsed, they would
not destroy the adjacent wall circuit. The presence of a tower at the proper left
of the South-East Gate would have enabled a defending force to fire on the unprotected
right flank of an approaching enemy force.
Sarah Cormack, ed.
This text is cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains 14 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Site: Priene
Type: Gymnasium
Summary: Gymnasium adjacent to stadium, below center of city, inside
southern city wall
Date: ca. 130 B.C. - 100 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
Square central palaestra surrounded by colonnades; double colonnade in north,
leading to a row of at least five rooms; in the west, an additional row of four
rooms and the monumental entrance to the complex. The colonnade in the north was
two-storied.
History:
An inscription found in the North Stoa of Priene and dating to the mid-second
century B.C. refers to the construction of a new gymnasium, the lower gymnasium.
Funding for the new building was delayed until ca. 130 B.C., when two brothers,
Moschion and Athenopolis, donated considerable funds for its construction. Graffiti
of Republican date indicate that the gymnasium was still in use at this time.
Unlike many Hellenistic gymnasia of Asia Minor, it was not converted into a bath
building in the Roman Imperial period.
Other Notes:
Typologically, the lower gymnasium combines the characteristics of a simple, square
palaestra surrounded by Doric colonnades, with characteristics reminiscent of
agora architecture, here represented by the double colonnade in the north leading
to the Ionic facade of the schoolroom or ephebeum. The lower gymnasium forms part
of a complex together with the adjacent stadium, although there are differences
in their level and orientation. In some respects the gymnasium at Priene accords
with Vitruvius' description of a typical Greek palaestra, surrounded by colonnades
to provide shelter from inclement weather, and with rooms for instruction, washing
and philosophical discussion behind the colonnades.Vitr. De Arch. 5.11.1-2
Sarah Cormack, ed.
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Site: Priene
Type: Propylon
Summary: Monumental entrance to the Athena Sanctuary, oriented east-west;
not aligned with central axis of temple.
Date: ca. 25 B.C. - A.D. 1
Period: Roman
Plan:
In the east, six steps lead from the street level to a courtyard articulated by
tetrastyle porticoes at the front and rear; a transverse wall with central door
crosses the west end of the propylon.
History:
The propylon belongs to a later date than the construction of the temple, probably
to the period of Augustus, when interest in the Sanctuary was renewed with the
rededication to Athena and Augustus. The structure was never completed - bosses
remain on the columns of the west front and the paving was never smoothed.
Other Notes:
The propylon is not aligned with the central axis of the Temple but instead is
situated slightly to the south, providing a visitor to the Sanctuary with a view
of the south-east corner of the Altar and the Temple. Pilaster capitals decorated
with acanthus decoration, once believed to have articulated the interior walls
of the propylon, are now thought to have come from at least four free-standing
pilaster monuments, which once supported bronze statues, and which stood between
the south wall of the temple and the south stoa. One of the Ionic column capitals
(now in the British Museum) preserves the compass marks used in designing the
volute.
Sarah Cormack, ed.
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Site: Priene Sarah Cormack, ed.
Type: Prytaneion
Summary: Meeting house and dining room for senate members, adjacent
to bouleuterion, in center of city.
Date: ca. 180 B.C. - A.D. 150
Period: Hellenistic/Roman
Plan:
The building in its present state takes the form of a peristyle house: a rectangular
structure with central paved, colonnaded courtyard surrounded by three small rooms
on the north, two on the west and three on the south sides. The building was entered
through a door in the north wall of the central room in the south row.
History:
The preserved remains date to the Roman Imperial period, but an older building
existed on the site. Elements which belong to the earlier, Greek building are
the walls of the three rooms in the north, a stretch of east-west wall dividing
the two rooms in the west, a short stretch of north-south wall in the south, and
two very fragmentary walls in the east. It is uncertain whether the earlier structure
had a central peristyle. A hearth in the south-east room is also identified as
belonging to the Greek period.
Other Notes:
At the entrance to the southernmost room of the western row stands a reused column
shaft carved with the following inscription: he lamprotate Prieneon Ionon polis
kai <hek>r[atiste] boule kai to philosebaston sunedrion t
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Site: Priene
Type: Stoa
Summary: Two-aisled stoa located in the north of the agora in the
center of the city.
Date: ca. 160 B.C. - 150 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
A two-aisled stoa facing south, with 15 rooms (shops) extending for ca. 76 m.
from west end of stoa in the rear (north); closed side walls. 49 columns form
the exterior colonnade, with 24 in the interior. A flight of six steps connects
the stoa to the agora below.
History:
Although the market clearly constituted an early element of Priene's town plan,
the Sacred Stoa itself was not built until the middle of the second century B.C.
The form of the building which must have occupied this location before the construction
of the Sacred Stoa is not known, although the excavators postulate that a shorter
stoa, possibly equal in length to the stoa along the south of the agora, stood
here, based on the following evidence: the rear (north) wall of the rooms of the
Sacred Stoa is the earliest element of the structure, and may once have formed
the rear wall of an older stoa without rear rooms. Furthermore, the eastern section
of the flight of six steps connecting the agora to the level of the stoa is of
later construction, containing reused blocks; this suggests that the original
stoa which stood here was shorter than the Sacred Stoa, and that the staircase
was extended when the longer Sacred Stoa was constructed. This reconstruction,
postulating an earlier structure, has been rejected by one scholar, Miller 1978,
123-124, who argues that the Sacred Stoa itself may well date to the fourth century
B.C. The new stoa of the second century B.C., in its extended form, would have
concealed the facades of the Bouleuterion and Prytaneion to the east. In the Imperial
period, one of the rear rooms was probably dedicated to the cult of Roma.
Other Notes:
A fragmentary text inscribed on the architrave of the exterior colonnade refers
to the donor of the building: [-- BASIL]EOS ARI[ARATHOU --] The text was restored
by the excavators as follows: basileus Orophernes basil]eos Ari[arathou... "King
Orophernes, son of King Ariarathes...." In this reading, the Cappadocian ruler
Orophernes, significant benefactor of other structures at Priene (including notably
the cult statue of the Temple of Athena) would have been responsible for the construction
of the Sacred Stoa in ca. 155 B.C. An alternative restoration of the inscription
is as follows: [huper basil]eos Ari[arathou Epiphanous kai Philopatoros] restoring
as the benefactor of the stoa Ariarathes VI, and providing a terminus post quem
of ca. 130 B.C. Some have suggested, however, that the inscription may not belong
to the stoa, and furthermore that the block on which it is inscribed may not be
an architrave, but rather a statue base: Miller 1978, 122-23. Miller would prefer
to date the Sacred Stoa, and indeed the entire insula of which it forms a part,
to the fourth century B.C. The title of the building is derived from an inscription
carved on the west end wall: the inscription, of post-Mithradatic date, honors
one Aulus Aemilius Zosimos and refers to the inscribing of the decree en tei hierai
stoai tei en tei agorai "in the Sacred Stoa in the Agora," leading some scholars
to suggest that one of the exedrae incorporated into the northern row of shops
functioned as a cult center for Dea Roma already in the second century B.C.
Sarah Cormack, ed.
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Site: Priene
Type: Temple
Summary: Temple, altar, and sacrificial pit situated within temenos
enclosure north of city center, at foot of acropolis.
Date: ca. 350 B.C. - 300 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
The rectangular temenos enclosure is oriented east-west, with an entrance in the
east wall. The central court of the temenos was left free for cult activities.
Against the rear (west) wall of the temenos stands the temple building, of unusual
form: behind the east-facing pronaos is a cella which is wider than it is long,
and which narrows towards the south. Two small rooms open off the cella to the
north. The pronaos does not extend for the entire length of the cella, nor is
the cella door centered between the columns of the pronaos. A door leads from
the pronaos to the sacrificial pit in the south.
History:
Construction of the sanctuary began sometime in the late fourth century B.C. Some
features of the sanctuary are of Roman date and attest to continuity of use: the
altar near the entrance is Roman, and later walls of uncertain purpose were built
within the temenos.
Other Notes:
An altar of Roman date stood inside the temenos near the north wall. Outside the
entrance were found two statue bases, one for a bronze statue and one for a marble
statue. The latter is preserved, and depicts the priestess Nikeso, although the
possibility that it represents Demeter herself is not to be discarded. The inscription
is dated to ca. 300-250 B.C. von Gaertringen 1906, no. 173.The podia inside the
temple cella represent bases for dedications to the goddess; some contain cuttings
for the placement of statues. Also preserved in the cella of the temple are marble
offering tables. Numerous terracotta figurines of a style dating to the fourth
century B.C. were discovered in the sanctuary; they represent draped females,
sows, and grotesques (fertility figures).
Sarah Cormack, ed.
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Site: Priene
Type: Sanctuary
Summary: Walled sanctuary containing large altar, situated in eastern
sector of city on a massive terrace wall.
Date: ca. 300 B.C. - 100 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
The rectangular temenos enclosure contains a large rectangular altar oriented
north-south; a propylon provides access in the northern wall; a portico stood
along the west wall. The altar itself was reached via a staircase in the south;
the steps projected in the manner of Italian podium temple staircases. There appears
to have been no significant superstructure on top of the altar.
History:
The original plan of the sanctuary, dating to the late fourth or third century
B.C., was very simple: a rectangular temenos entered from the east, containing
an altar. At a later date, a more elaborate propylon was built in the northern
wall of the temenos, and a portico was constructed alongside the west wall. Both
of these additions may still be pre-Roman. Traces of houses dating to the Middle
Ages are found in the northern area of the sanctuary.
Other Notes:
A number of inscriptions (two from altars, one from an anta) make certain the
identification of the complex as a sanctuary of the Egyptian Gods. The altars
are inscribed as follows: Isidos; Sarapidos; Anoubidos., "Of Isis, of Serapis,
of Anubis." The letter forms of this inscription are dated to the third century
B.C. A second, round altar carries the following text: Xa[nthippou] neokoron Sarapidi
Isidi Anoubidi Harpokratei Heraklei Aniketoi. "Of the neocorate of Serapis, Isis,
Anubis, Harpokrates, Herakles Unconquerable..."
Sarah Cormack, ed.
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Site: Priene
Type: Stadium
Summary: Stadium with seating and colonnade along north; located
directly inside the south wall of the city, adjacent to the lower gymnasium.
Date: ca. 130 B.C. - 120 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
Running track which was square at both ends (not U-shaped), with starting gates
in west; spectators' seats in north only (due to slope of land); above the seats,
a flat terrace with Doric colonnade behind.
History:
The stadium was probably constructed at the same date as the adjacent gymnasium
to the west, in ca. 130 B.C. The present building may have replaced an earlier
structure. Evidence of restoration at a later date is provided by the construction
of an elaborate starting gate with engaged Corinthian pilasters, directly behind
the simpler marble starting blocks of the Hellenistic period. Also at a later
date a 0.50 m. thick mortar wall was erected in front of the first row of seats.
Other Notes:
It is still unclear exactly how the starting gates of the stadium functioned,
and whether or not there was a mechanical device to ensure that the runners started
together. No trace has been found of a turning post in the eastern end of the
stadium. A 3.50 m. wide staircase led down to the level of the running track from
the terrace above, in the west near the doorway to the gymnasium. At the lower
level are the foundations of a marble altar.
Sarah Cormack, ed.
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Site: Priene
Type: Stoa
Summary: One-aisled stoa facing south, forming southern extremity
of Sanctuary of Athena Polias.
Date: ca. 200 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
One-aisled stoa facing south
History:
The construction of the south stoa belongs to a later phase than that of the temple
itself, sometime after the third century B.C. The north wall of the stoa was built
over statue bases from the sanctuary.
Other Notes:
The intercolumniation of the colonnade is calculated at 2.34 m., resulting in
a row of 32 columns. The dimensions of the south stoa are similar to those of
the stoa by the stadium at Priene. Like the columns of the stadium stoa, the south
stoa columns were unfluted for a height of 1.30 m.; above this they were faceted.
A door is postulated in the closed rear wall of the stoa, to provide access to
the sanctuary and temple.
Sarah Cormack, ed.
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Site: Priene
Type: Temple
Summary: Temple of Athena, in the sanctuary of Athena; built on
a high terrace near the middle of the city
Date: ca. 340 B.C. - 150 B.C.
Period: Late Clas./Hell.
Plan:
Hexastyle peripteral temple with eleven columns on the sides; distyle in antis,
with pronaos, cella and opisthodomos. The Ionic foot (0.295 m.) is used as a unit
of measurement throughout. The total column height and entablature height equal
50 feet, corresponding to half the length of the cella. The cella, of 100 feet,
is thus a hekatompedon, and corresponds closely with the length of the cella of
the Parthenon.
History:
Begun ca. 340 B.C.; dedicated by Alexander the Great in 334 B.C., when the east
end of the temple was completed at least up to the anta. The date of completion
of the entire temple is uncertain - some have detected two distinct building phases,
the latter falling in the mid-second century, while others maintain that the temple
was substantially complete by the last quarter of the fourth century B.C. The
cult statue, a version of the Athena Parthenos, was not installed until ca. 158
-156 B.C., and was probably dedicated by the Cappadocian ruler Orophernes. After
27 B.C., the sanctuary was rededicated to Athena Polias and Augustus, and continued
as an important cult center throughout the Imperial period. The transformation
of the opisthodomos into a closed space - perhaps a small treasury - may belong
to this Roman phase; other scholars date the moldings of the new door of the opisthodomos
to the second century B.C., that is, to a second phase of construction. The temple
was used as a church in the Byzantine period.
Other Notes:
Text of inscription on south anta: basileus Alexandros anetheke to nao Athenaiei
Poliadi. "King Alexander dedicated the temple to Athena Polias." (Text in von
Gaertringen 1906, no. 156) Text of architrave inscription rededicating temple
to Athena Polias and Augustus: ho demos Athenai [P]oliadi kai [aut]o?kratori Kaisari
theou huioi theoi Sebasto[i kathierosen] "The people dedicated it to Athena Polias
and to the divine emperor Caesar Augustus, son of the god." (Text in von Gaertringen
1906, no. 157). The entire temple was designed on a modular system based on 6
x 6 feet (Ionic foot = 0.295 m.) The overall dimensions of the temple platform
equal 66 x 126 feet; the column bases measure 6 feet wide and are 6 feet apart.
The temple may thus be regarded as an attempt at canonization of the Ionic order.
A striking feature of the temple, thought to be an innovation of the architect,
is the use of coffers carved in relief with mythological scenes (gigantomachy
with participation of Amazons), located in the ceiling of the peristyle.
Sarah Cormack, ed.
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Site: Priene
Type: Temple
Summary: Small temple at east of agora, oriented to the east; not
accessible from agora.
Date: ca. 300 B.C.
Period: Hellenistic
Plan:
A tetrastyle prostyle temple with closed cella and without opisthodomos, situated
in a small temenos enclosure bordered by Doric stoas; entered from the east.
History:
The temple was constructed in the late fourth or early third century B.C. There
is little evidence for its later history.
Other Notes:
The temenos enclosure also contained dedications to Hera, Pan and Asklepios; an
inscription found near the temenos referring to the Asklepieion led the excavators
to their initial identification of the temple. Elements of the entablature are
completely preserved: a three-fascia architrave without frieze, surmounted by
dentils, sima and geison decorated with lions' head waterspouts and lotus and
palmette chain. The decoration was clearly influenced by that of the Temple of
Athena Polias, although there are differences in proportions.
Sarah Cormack, ed.
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Site: Priene
Type: Theater
Summary: Theater of Greek type with orchestra, parodoi, and stage
building, located in the north of the city, below the acropolis and above the
upper gymnasium.
Date: ca. 300 B.C. - A.D. 200
Period: Hellenistic/Roman
Plan:
The auditorium was greater than a semi-circle, with stone parodos walls. Seating
consisted of five cunei of seats with six staircases, with 22 tiers of seats in
the lower story and 25 in the upper. The stage building was rectangular and two-storied;
in front of it stood the proscenium, which was slightly longer than the stage
building itself. The facade of the proscenium was articulated by a one-storied
row of pillars with eleven intercolumniations. From the proscenium cross-beams
ran back to the stage building to support the flat wooden roof.
History:
The building history of the theater at Priene spans a number of centuries. Sometime
after the refounding of the city (ca. 350 B.C.), the seats of the auditorium and
the central orchestra were prepared (ca. 300 B.C.), at which time there may have
been a temporary wooden stage building. In ca. 200 B.C. marble seats were added
on the circumference of the orchestra; presumably the action still took place
in the central orchestra at this time. In the mid-second century B.C., a change
in the presentation of dramatic action, due to the influence of New Comedy, occurred:
the roof of the proscenium became the "stage", instead of the central orchestra.
Consequently, a stone proscenium was built at Priene in front of the stage building,
which also was reconstructed in stone. The roof of the proscenium became the floor
of the stage (the logeion), with the action taking place in front of the upper
story of the stage building (the episcenium). At this period the episcenium was
opened up with three large doors (thyromata) to accommodate the actors and hold
stage scenery. Statue bases dating to ca. 135 B.C. in front of the proscenium
provide a terminus ante quem for the construction of this feature. Marble benches
were constructed higher up in the auditorium, to afford a better view of the action.
To the late Hellenistic period should also be ascribed the walling-up of the intercolumniations
of the proscenium; painted panels hung here. In the Roman Imperial period, in
the second century A.D., the stage building was further articulated with a two-story
facade with three doors and two niches.
Other Notes:
Dating questions: an early document from the city, dated to ca. 330 B.C. refers
to seating rights; some have assumed that therefore the theater must have been
laid out by this time. Von Gerkan, however, prefers a date of ca. 300-250 B.C.,
based on his study of the stage building. Von Gerkan had argued that the proscenium
was part of the original structure of the theater, but such an early appearance
of this feature is not only unparalleled but also not supported by the archaeological
evidence. The proscenium at Priene must represent a later addition. A nicety of
design of the theater at Priene is the fact that the face of the proscenium stylobate
coincides with the side of a theoretical square inscribed within the circle created
by the orchestra, as prescribed by Vitruvius in his description of the Greek theater.
(Vitruvius De Arch. 5.7.1).A marble rectangular altar was found in the orchestra,
near its circumference; it is decorated with an Ionic entablature, and carried
the inscription: PUTHOTIMO[S]AGONOTh[ET...] The script dates the altar to the
early second century B.C. Numerous traces of polychromy indicate that the individual
elements of the proscenium were painted with blue and red.
Sarah Cormack, ed.
This text is cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains 51 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Region: Ionia
Periods: Classical, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine
Type: Fortified city
Summary: Grid-planned city at the foot of Mt. Mykale.
Physical Description:
The city of Priene lies on the southern slopes of Mt. Mykale
overlooking the Maeander river. The city largely excavated by the Germans in the
late 19th century is planned on a strict grid, defying the steeply sloping topography
of the site and imposing a rational human order on the landscape. Its well-preserved
remains, with its temple of Athena, well-planned agora, theater, stadium, gymnasium,
fortification walls and many excavated houses, form one of the best examples of
a small Greek polis. The city was laid out on a rectangular grid, with blocks
measuring about 120 x 160 feet (35.40 x 47.20 m), a proportion of 3:4. These blocks
were originally divided into 8 rather long and narrow houses, although later rebuilding
has obscured much of the original scheme (see Hoepfner & Schwandner 1986, 153,
169-75, fig. 147, etc.; this original grid is included in the Perseus site plans
in lighter lines, together with the excavated sections of walls which conform
to this grid, in heavier lines). The plan was applied rather ruthlessly to the
landscape, requiring extensive terracing, with some streets transformed to steep
flights of stairs. Some of the flatter areas of the city were reserved for the
major public buildings: the Temple of Athena Polias, among the first structures
to be built in the newly-moved city, and the agora, an open area surrounded by
stoas. The theater was set into the side of the hill above the agora. The streets
vary in width depending on their position in the city and the traffic they were
intended to bear: thus the main east-west street (the "Westtorstrasse") is 5.55-5.60
m wide, about 19 Ionic feet; the street east of the Prytaneion 4.30 m (almost
15 feet), other streets average about 3.45 m wide, about 12 feet. Hoepfner and
Schwandner restore an original scheme in which the north-south streets widen progressively
towards the center of the city, from 12 feet at the gates to 16 and then 20 feet
at the agora. The impressive fortification walls also included the acropolis above
the city. This was a relatively empty area, though, without much occupation other
than defenses and barracks. The walls enclosed some 37 ha., of which the built-up
lower city covered some 15 ha.
Description:
The remains of the city on Mt. Mykale are positively identified
as Priene by inscriptions and coins. Practically no remains dating to earlier
than the mid-fourth century were found at the site, however, despite its extensive
excavation. The Germans concluded from this and from the layout of the city that
Priene had moved to this site in the mid-fourth century from an earlier, yet undiscovered
spot. They attributed the move to the silting of the Maeander river, which also
engulfed Myus, Miletus and other nearby cities, as well, later, as Priene itself
(Strabo 12.8.17); other scholars have suggested that Mausolus, Athens or other
agencies were also involved. Such a move is not attested in the literary sources,
and in fact, as Demand has pointed out, some sources seem to imply that Priene
was always located in the same place (e.g. Strabo 14.1.12; Paus. 7.2.10; see Demand
1990, 139-146; Phoenix 40 (1986) 36-44). However, the archaeological evidence,
including the lack of earlier coins and pottery, earlier architecture or architectural
fragments, and the layout of the city, of which the mid-fourth century temple
of Athena forms an integral part, seem to show conclusively that there was no
earlier occupation at this site. The end of the city is also problematic. Most
of the houses seem to have been destroyed by fire in the second half of the second
century BC, and never reoccupied. The bulk of the finds from the excavation come
from this destruction level. Parts of the city, including many of the major public
buildings, were occupied into the Roman period, though, and a Byzantine chapel
attests occupation in that era.
Exploration:
The Society of Dilettanti sent three missions to Priene,
in 1764-6, 1811-12 and 1868-9; excavations conducted during the last mission,
by Richard Popplewell Pullan, uncovered the Temple and Temenos of Athena Polias.
In 1895-1989 a German expedition led by Th. Wiegand and H. Schrader excavated
much of the rest of the city, including the agora, further sanctuaries, and houses.
Recent research by the German Archaeological Institute has refined their findings.
Nick Cahill, ed.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains 165 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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