After spending a few days in Ancyra, the Galatian capital (see previous post here), Hadrian continued to travel westward towards the Danube provinces. He reached the little town of Juliopolis just inside Bithynia on the 11th of November. Epigraphic evidence has revealed that Hadrian addressed a missive to Pergamum from Juliopolis, a formal letter of thanks… Continue reading 11 November AD 117 – Hadrian reaches Juliopolis in Bithynia (#Hadrian1900)
Hadrian and his travels have often served as the guiding thread for my travels. However, my recent trip to Turkey had a different focus, the Hittite civilization, with one of the highlights being a visit to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara. After dazzling at the magnificent artefacts on display on the museum's main… Continue reading The cuirassed statue of Hadrian from Ancyra’s theatre (Ankara, Turkey)
It is one of the best preserved and most beautiful structures on Curetes Street. The temple of Hadrian was built before 138 A.D by P. Quintilius and was dedicated to the Emperor Hadrian, who came to visit the city from Athens in 129 A.D. The facade of the temple has four Corinthian columns supporting a… Continue reading Picture of the week: Curetes Street and the Temple of Hadrian, Ephesus (Turkey)
Phaselis was an ancient Greek and Roman city on the coast of Lycia, today situated 35km south of Antalya. Shaded by towering pine trees, its ruins lie scattered around three small beautiful bays. Once a thriving port shipping timber and rose oil, its beauty is now admired by thousands of visitors each year. Phaselis was… Continue reading Hadrian goes to Phaselis – images from a Lycian harbour city
The magnificent Hellenistic theatre at Pergamon is the centerpiece of the acropolis of the ancient city, which is located just north of the modern-day town of Bergama on Turkey's northern Aegean coast. It is said to be the steepest ancient theatre in the world and the view down to the valley is rather spectacular. The… Continue reading Picture of the week: The Hellenistic Theatre on the Upper Acropolis of Pergamon (Turkey)
The larger than life size marble statue depicts Hadrian (from the Chiaramonti 392 type) in military garb including a leather molded chest covering (cuirass), a military cloak (paludamentum) draped over his shoulder and arm, a special belt (cingulum), a knee length garment (tunic), sandals, etc. His head is crowned with a tall wreath of oak… Continue reading Cuirassed statue of Hadrian wearing the Corona Civica, from the North Nymphaeum at Perga, Antalya Museum
Ahead of tonight's programme about Caligula (BBC Two 21:00) presented by Mary Beard, here is a picture of a bronze fitting head of Medusa that decorated one of the Nemi Ships. The vessels were built on the orders of emperor Caligula around AD 37-41. The bronze fittings are the most important set of objects found… Continue reading Picture of the week: Head of Medusa, bronze fitting of the Nemi Ships built by Caligula at Lake Nemi
The Temple of Apollo at Claros (also called Klaros) was a very important center of prophecy as in Delphi and Didyma. The temple, which probably replaced an earlier one, is dated to the third century BC and is the only temple built in Doric style in Ionia. It was built upon a stepped platform measuring 26… Continue reading Picture of the day: The Temple of Apollo at Claros, Ionia
The ancient city of Seleukeia (or Lyrbe) is located 15 km north of Manavgat and was only rediscovered by archaeologists in the early 1970s. The city is known to have been founded as a fortified acropolis town to be used as a final defence and protection site in the case of an attack on Side.… Continue reading Exploring Seleukeia (Lyrbe) – images from a forgotten city in Pamphylia
Inv. no. 3861-3863 Baiae portrait sculptural type. The emperor is depicted here as a nude hero. A paludamentum is draped over his left shoulder and arm. In his left hand is the sheath and sword and he wears a laurel wreath on his head.
