APHRODISIAS

ancient city of the Caria region of southwestern Asia Minor (Anatolia, or modern Turkey), situated on a plateau south of the Maeander River (modern Menderes). Remains of an Ionic temple of Aphrodite and of a stadium and portions of a bathhouse have long been evident, but, beginning in 1961, excavations revealed such structures as a theatre, an odeon, a basilica, a market, houses and baths, a monumental gateway, and a cult centre for worship of the Roman emperor. Julius Caesar favoured the city, and the emperor Augustus granted it the high privileges of autonomy and tax-free status, declaring it the one city from all of Asia that I have selected to be my own. In the Roman Empire, the city was famed for its sculptors and sculptures; rich quarries of excellent white and blue-gray marble lay about a mile east of the site. It also flourished owing to its site amid rich and well-watered agricultural land. Additional reading Kenan T. Erim, Aphrodisias: City of Venus Aphrodite (1986).