Aphrodisias, a city of the eastern Roman Empire

 

Aphrodisias was a “free city” (i.e. self-governing) on a tributary of the Meander River in south-western Turkey, the remains of which have taught us a great deal about how civic life was lived in the eastern Roman Empire.

The city was named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, and was founded as a Greek colony during the Hellenistic period (after the death of Alexander the Great which took place in 323 BCE). However, most of the remains that can be seen today date from the city’s time as part of the Roman Empire.

Archaeology has uncovered not only buildings and statues, but also inscribed archives that record the links between Aphrodisias and Rome.

For example, much has been learned about Caius Iulius Zoilos, who began adult life as a slave but was later freed. He appears have done very well for himself and been a major benefactor to the city. Reliefs have been found that show him dressed both as a Greek and a Roman, being crowned by personifications of “manliness” and “honour” to show just how much distinction he had brought to the city.

Although Aphrodisias was self-governing, the cult of the Roman imperial family was still observed by the citizens, as is evident from a temple to Aphrodite approached via a courtyard flanked by two colonnaded buildings that were three storeys high. Porticoes on these buildings portrayed scenes showing the achievements of the Imperial family from Augustus to Nero. One of these shows Claudius subduing Britannia, thus reflecting his successful invasion of Britain in 43 AD.

Wealthy members of the community left money to enable festivals to be held, the details being recorded by a series of inscriptions. One of these bequests, in the late 2^nd century AD, was by Flavius Lysimachus to fund a musical contest. Games were held in his honour in a 4-yearly cycle.

The well-preserved theatre at Aphrodisias was where cultural events would have been held, with more athletic contests taking place in the stadium, where the seating was assigned to different groups of people, such as associations of gardeners and gold-workers, possibly reflecting the contributions that each had made to the building of the facility. The best seats were on the south side of the stadium, where the spectators would have been shaded from the sun by a canopy.

© John Welford

Roman London

 

Roman Britain’s first urban settlement was Colchester, which is today an Essex market town with a population in excess of 100,000 people. However, it was not long before London began to assume a major role and eventually became the capital of the new province.

London, which may have existed as a Celtic settlement before the Romans arrived, was a favoured site for merchants as it was at the lowest possible crossing point on the Thames and an important port.

The revolt by the Iceni under Boudicca in 60 A.D. led to the deaths of tens of thousands of Romanised traders in London, thus demonstrating its importance as a commercial centre at an early date. By around 100 A.D. London had acquired a governor’s palace, a military fort covering 11 acres, and a bridge across the Thames.

When Britannia was subdivided in around 200 A.D. London retained its role as the capital of Britannia Superior. In the fourth century A.D. London’s high status was recognised by being given the title Augusta.

London’s basilica, beneath modern Gracechurch St, was the largest in the Empire north of the Alps. Built on the site of an earlier basilica erected under Emperor Domitian, Emperor Hadrian ordered its massive reconstruction during his visit to Britain in 122 A.D. The new building’s main hall was around 49 feet in length and 115 feet wide. It was refurbished in the third century but demolished at some time during the fourth century.

Although there is very little to be seen today in terms of Roman buildings, one notable exception is the temple to Mithras close to the Mansion House. Built in around 200 A.D., it was about 60 feet long and divided into a nave and two aisles by a row of columns with an apse at one end. Cult images of Minerva, Serapis and Dionysus have been found.

The walls that enclosed Roman London ran for about three miles and enclosed an area of about 330 acres. They formed the base of the mediaeval city walls and still mark the boundary of the City of London, although the street plan within the walls has been changed. During the fourth century the walls were strengthened with projecting polygonal bastions that incorporated tombs.

London’s continuous occupation and importance as a centre for commerce and government has meant that very little remains to be seen of Roman London, and one needs to visit other cities, such as Chester and Bath, to see more extensive examples of the architecture of the period.

© John Welford