A Roman bust retrieved in Soli Pompeiopolis (Mersin)

Excavations in Soli have been ongoing since 2015 (see: A two-month project to excavate the city of Soli), and each year, more remains of buildings, walls, and statues reach the news. 

[Picture from Hürriyet Daily News]

The most recent find appears to be the bust of a Roman Emperor or another high-placed nobleman. Based on the style of his curly full beard, he has been dated to the 2^nd-3^rd century AD. Emperor Hadrian, who visited Cilicia in 129-130 AD, seems to have initiated the beard fashion that had been abandoned after Alexander the Great. 

After Hadrian, Roman men were generally depicted with a beard, and many of the successive emperors followed suit. 

The bust was recovered near the colonnade street and may have belonged to one of the statues that stood on the plinth of one of these columns. 

The near life-size head has been transferred to the Museum in Mersin, which holds many of the recent finds.

All Alexander's Women (enlarged edition 2025) by Robbert Bosschart

In this new edition of All Alexander's Women (enlarged edition 2025), Robbert Bosschart further develops the role of women in Alexander's life, including their place as equals to men. 

It is fascinating to follow the author as he digs ever deeper into the many oriental sources that are not commonly shared in our Western literature. Besides the Darab-Nama, and the Sikandar-Nama, the Persian versions of the Alexander Romance, he discusses the Liber de Morte, Alexander’s fictional last will, and his role as prophet in the Koran. The Persian viewpoint is unique and worth further investigation, an ongoing process - as it turns out.

Hence Bosschart’s updated and enlarged edition, which is richly illustrated with many rare and very telling pictures. 

The content of his book has been discussed in my earlier blogpost of May 2018 when I commented on his 3^rd edition. The matter of Equality of women and men in ancient Persia has been developed in my recent post with the eponymous title.

Petra's famous Treasury reveals a large tomb

In my post of February 2014, I wrote that archaeologists had discovered a level below the known ground floor of Petra’s Treasury (see: Hellenistic Petra, an indirect heritage of Alexander). It was thought that this meant that the entrance was at least four meters lower than accepted till then. Nothing more was published on the subject till October 2024 – a good ten years later! 

An article published on the site Arkeofil announced that archaeological scans revealed the presence of an underground tomb containing the remains of 12 skeletons buried in separate sarcophagi. It was established that the tomb dates from between the 1^st century BC and the 2^nd century AD. 

The most likely theory is that it was built around 40 AD as a Mausoleum for the Nabataean King Aretas IV Philopatris. It remains hard to prove since the Nabataeans made little difference between classes, meaning the royals could be buried in the same way as the average population. However, the location beneath the Treasury may indicate that the grave belonged to people of high status like a king. 

The skeletons, and the grave goods such as ceramics, bronze, iron, and pottery will allow for narrowing down the dating of the tomb. A DNA test of the skeletons will determine whether they belonged to the same family. 

Equality of women and men in ancient Persia

The thought alone causes most people to frown their eyebrows and stare at me in utter disbelief. Who says this? 

Well, obviously not our Greek and later Roman historians for whom the Persians were the enemy. Persian sources, however, describe their women as enterprising, independent, and resolute. This has been widely researched by Robbert Bosschart in his book All Alexander’s Women on which I commented repeatedly (see: Persia’s historical memory of Alexander). An updated version, his 5^th edition is now available on Amazon. 

His study, based on the in-depth research published by such experts as professors Amélie Kuhrt, Maria Brosius, Jozef Wiesehöfer, Wouter Henkelman, and others is concentrated on the clay tablets found at Persepolis (see: Fire over Persepolis) and saved by the fire as mentioned in his chapter Biographical/Geographical Notes: 

“An unintended consequence of these fires was the preservation of clay archive tablets, cooked and hardened. About a hundred Treasury Archive texts from Persepolis, recording royal payments in silver in 492-458 BC were made available between 1948 and 1965. Other texts, published in 1970, were written in Aramaic. This coincided with the biggest windfall: the discovery of over 8,000 texts, dated between 509 and 493 BC and found on tablets in the Persepolis Fortification Archive. They deal with the royal administration of food commodities. About 7,000 are written in the Elamite language of Susa, with some incrustations of Old Persian. Another thousand were written in Aramaic, but there is also one in Greek, one in Frygian, and a few in Neo-Babylonian.” 

He further underscores how and where women are mentioned performing tasks we would expect were those of men:

 … “the archive tablets routinely register travel rations of wine, beer and grain issued to royal women for extensive journeys throughout the empire on their own behalf. And … to commoner women ... For example, one tablet (… dated to 493 BC), registers a journey by a woman employee from Susa, Mizapirzaka, who has to carry a letter to Persepolis. The text adds that she carries a personal seal (…) that authorizes her to claim provisions at the waystations.” 

Until recently, the ruling opinion was that the Greeks doubted how women “could obtain and exercise power in the Achaemenid monarchy.  How could an empire be ‘well ruled’ if women were influential and even exercised power over the king himself?”…

.. “with the publication, around 1970, of numerous tablet texts from the Persepolis Fortification site … Dr Maria Brosius identifies a particular category of women officials who carry the title of Arashara.  … specifically mentions four Arasharas by name: Dakma, Harbakka, Matmaba and Sadukka. Meat rations are rare, so the issuing of 4 complete sheep to each of these women supervisors confirms their important payment level. …

At least ten more tablets refer to the salary of Arasharas, showing that these highly qualified women were better paid than male personnel of lower professional rank. …

[Achaemenid, maybe Arashara statuette

from Bosschart's book]

750 measures of wine among 65 employees; three Arasharas receive 30 measures each, whereas a male scribe at the same workplace gets only 20. On another tablet we even see an Arashara being issued 50 measures. The sliding scale of payment in order of professional qualification (and not by gender distinction) … distributes wine rations: two men who are called ‘manual workers’ get 10 measures each; two other men who are “doorkeepers” by profession, get 20 measures each; and the Arashara is allotted 30 measures. The highest payment (in grain) of all the tablets in the archive also goes to an Arashara: 75 quarts per month…

… an exceptionally high number of Arasharas worked at the service of queen-mother Irdabama. The circa 7,000 archive texts that have been translated so far mention some 150 places in the region of Persepolis (and in a few cases, beyond) where royal ladies had storehouses or workshops. Usually the personnel working there was overseen by Arasharas.”

...

"The tablets show women in a wide range of occupations in Persepolis: woodworkers and stoneworkers, artisans, winemakers, furniture makers, treasury clerks, storekeepers, carriers, grain handlers. A tablet dated to 502 BC refers to ‘Indukka, mother of Tuku’, stating that she is “the chief of the merchants”. It registers the amount of tax she has paid -in silver- on “the business deal that she has managed”.

 

… “Irdabama regularly orders greater amounts of foodstuffs to be delivered at the palace from her own … storehouses … Irdabama has more personnel working at her various factories. On top, she can direct the royal treasury to make payments in silver” …

As Alexander traveled in the company of Queen-mother Sisygambis from Issus to Susa the equality of royals and commoners must have become apparent. His close company with Barsine undoubtedly confirmed and enhanced the role of women. Dr. Maria Brosius further writes:

“Persian queens were much more than consorts, or than queen-mothers supposedly ruling a palace harem. They had a huge influence in decisions about whom to promote, whom to punish, whom to execute, or whose life to spare. Sisygambis, queen-mother of Darius III, also wielded such power, even after her son had been replaced on the throne by Alexander the Great. He pointedly upheld her status as the most prominent woman in the empire, and treated her as if she were his own mother.” 

There is little doubt about the real meaning behind the mass-wedding in Susa as arranged by Alexander in 324 BC (see: Susa with its unique glazed brick walls). Lacking time and knowledge, he could not personally choose the brides-to-be for his Companions and close friends but Sisygambis could and did. The brides, many of them princesses in their own right, were selected with care, and probably well-prepared by Sisygambis for their new role as wife of one of Alexander’s marshals. Their independence would inevitably trickle down to their children and children’s children. What an ambitious vision! 

Alexander always led by example. His wedding with Stateira, the eldest daughter of King Darius III, and Parysatis, the youngest daughter of King Artaxerxes III was celebrated at the same time as that of 90 court members. Each of the newlywed couples received a dowry from the king and on this happy occasion, Alexander granted a gratuity to his Macedonians who had taken Asian wives during his campaigns. He paid out of his own pocket for the proper education of their children. 

The Susa celebration was Alexander’s first step towards uniting West and East, not limited to Greece and Persia but encompassing the entire then-known world. He laid the basis for one single world in which everybody was equal, East or West, man or woman. What we call today an emancipated woman existed for 2,500 years, not as a dream but a reality! So much time has been lost on the subject! 

Alexander was a visionary, but none of his generals or friends understood his vision. The one exception was Hephaistion, but he died shortly after the wedding, poisoned no doubt. As a result, Alexander’s plans were muffled and erased from history. 

When the king died one year later, his world died with him. Had Alexander lived long enough, we would all speak Greek. What’s more, for 2,500 years our world would have been one where men and women lived on the same foot, with the same rights and the same status. 

The surprise of Myndos

Nowadays, Myndos is probably best-known for its underwater causeway running from the city’s harbor to Rabbit Island, which is guarding the mainland. It is a favorite with the tourists who happily walk across the bay when the sea level is only reaching to their knees. Otherwise, the site has very little to offer with cut stones and column drums strewn around. 

These ruins make it very difficult to imagine that Myndos was once a large prosperous city. In 377 BC, King Mausolos of Halicarnassus established Caria’s independence from Persia. He rebuilt the cities of Myndos and Syangela, and moved all other Carians to Halicarnassus, which he proclaimed his new capital (see: Halicarnassus, capital of Caria). 

Myndos, modern Gümüșlük, had a well-sheltered harbor, well-protected against the prevailing wind. The city had a two-mile-long fortification wall and its most vulnerable southeastern section was strengthened with towers. The green granite used for its construction is the same as the one known from the Mausoleum in Halicarnassus. The quarry providing these stones has been located in Koyunbaba, some three kilometers to the north. 

Otherwise, hardly anything else remains from ancient Myndos. Some rock-cut stairs and foundations of houses are found on the hillside, but the ruins that were present in the early 19^th century have entirely disappeared. They are said to belong to a theater from the 4th century BC, a stadium with 7 columns, vaulted remains of a Bath, and a late Roman/early Byzantine basilica. 

Until the 1990s, there were more ancient stone blocks and bits of columns lying around in the village. Near a school, about 1.5 kilometers inland, some columns and Roman mosaics could be seen. Strangely, the nearby silver mines (hence the name Gümüșlük) are not mentioned in ancient sources. 

When Alexander besieged Halicarnassus in 334 BC, he speculated that Myndos would offer an easier approach. Some people in Myndos had actually suggested that they might open the city gates if he arrived under cover of darkness. Alexander took their word, but when he showed up at the gates there was no sign of surrender. Facing the betrayal, he ordered his Macedonians to attack without much result because he had not brought any rams, artillery or ladders. Myndos put up a vigorous resistance and soon was joined by Halicarnassus’ troops arriving by sea. Alexander was forced to withdraw and returned to besiege Halicarnassus. 

The capital of Caria was not taken so easily because the Persian commander Orontobates had the support of the Persian fleet. For the time being, Halicarnassus was no longer a real threat. Alexander moved on but left Ptolemy and Asander behind to finally take the city and to evict the remaining Persians. It was only a year later, in Soli, that Alexander received the long-awaited news that Halicarnassus had finally fallen!  At the same time, the town of Myndos came under Macedonian hands (see: A two-month-project to excavate the city of Soli). 

After the king’s death, Myndos was ruled by the Ptolemies from 308 until 275 BC. In 96 BC, it became independent and minted its own coins. Myndos was included in the Roman Province of Asia Minor in 133 BC. 

The harbor city was again in the news after the murder of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, after which Brutus and Cassius were expelled from Rome; they took their fleet to safety here at Myndos. By the end of 42 BC, the two murderers lost the battle against Marc Antony and Octavian in Philippi, and Myndos was given to Rhodes (see: Philippi, Macedonia’s gold and silver mines). Not for long though as the Rhodians treated Myndos harshly and unfairly and became independent again. However, it gradually lost its prosperity, although it may have survived till the 7th century AD. 

Myndos is often referred to as a Lelegian town, dating back to the Bronze Age. Except for its name, it has no connection with the classical city discussed in this article and both have a different history. The Lelegian site is nowadays called Old Myndos and lies a good three kilometers southeast of Gümüșlük.

A painted Graeco-Persian Sarcophagus

The existence of a Graeco-Persian sarcophagus seems quite unique. In any case, it is the first time I come across such an example. The find is not new and dates from 1998 when the grave was discovered inside a circular vaulted tomb in Çan, halfway between Troy and Dascylium in northwest Turkey. 

[Picture of hunting scene by Dan Diffendale from Wikipedia]

The sarcophagus fits tightly inside the chamber that has a diameter of 3.70 meters. It could be dated between 400 and 375 BC and attributed to an Anatolian dynast from Hellespontine Phrygia that belonged to Persia. 

Let us not forget that Asia Minor had been very much involved in the Graeco-Persian Wars that raged between the Achaemenid Empire and several Greek city-states from 499 to 449 BC. From then onwards, the Persians put trusted satraps at the head of these western provinces in order to rule in their name. This structure was still in place when Alexander the Great arrived in 334 BC and conquered Dascylium, the capital of Hellespontine Phrygia (see: Heading for Dascylium and Sardes). 

The alternating occupation of Hellespontine Phrygia by Persians and Greeks has obviously influenced local customs as well as the arts, as illustrated in the present tomb. 

The marble sarcophagus was damaged by illegal diggers who used a bulldozer to gain access to the tomb. Amazingly, most of the paint on the reliefs on the sarcophagus has survived. A wide range of colors have been identified: red, purple, ochre, blue, and green; also some black that was often mixed with red for shading. 

The reliefs have a lot to tell. The longest side is decorated with two hunting scenes separated by a leafless tree. To the left, we see a stag hunt on a blue background, and to the right a boar hunting scene on a green background suggesting a forest. The hunter wears pants, a long-sleeved red tunic, and a light ochre sleeved cloak. His chest is covered with a leather ochre-colored breastplate. The saddle blanket is also ochre with a thick red border. 

[Picture of combat scene by Dan Diffendale from Wikipedia]

The short side of the sarcophagus represents a battle scene with a warrior on horseback defined as an Anatolian dynast spearing a Greek soldier. As suggested by his armory the victim belongs to the light infantry. The cavalryman is accompanied by his henchman, probably a Greek mercenary in his service. Here, the rider wears pants, a long-sleeved pink tunic under his red cuirass with large shoulder pieces. His red helmet is probably made of leather. His cuirass has two rows of pteryges (a defensive skirt of leather strips attached to the waists to protect the hips and thighs). The upper row is white, and the lower row shows alternating red and white strips. The other two sides of the sarcophagus were not decorated. 

No Lycian tomb displays this type of armor and no other example of this kind of relief is known in Asia Minor. 

Further research has revealed that this iconography was customary in the Near East and Asia Minor in particular at that time. The owner of the tomb could very well be Pharnabazus, satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia, who fought against the Greeks on several occasions. Best-known is his battle against Agesilaos who attacked Hellespontine Phrygia in 395 BC. 

Based on the bones found inside the sarcophagus, archaeologists could determine that the body belonged to a strongly built man about 170-175 cm tall, who died when he was 25-28 years old. He probably fell from his horse during combat and broke many limbs. He survived the accident for several years although he was seriously crippled and in much pain, as the bones did not align properly. 

This rare sarcophagus is exhibited in the new Museum of Troy.

Ancient harbor of Kenchreai

Corinth straddled the isthmus between mainland Greece and the Peloponnesus and relied on two harbors. Lechaion, faced the Gulf of Corinth and served the western sea routes to Italy, Sicily, and beyond to Spain. Kenchreai, in turn, was on the Saronic Gulf and received ships from the Aegean Sea, Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt. 

Kenchreai was named after Kenchrias, twin brother of Lechis, son of Peirine and Poseidon. The harbor took advantage of the natural capes that were extended with two breakwaters and horseshoe-shaped piers to form a large basin and create a separate commercial and military port. The greatest width of the harbor was 280 meters with a welcoming entrance of 120 meters wide. 

Recent excavations in the port exposed extensive warehouses, shops, and public buildings, most of them belonging to Roman times. They included a Temple to Aphrodite and Isis and an early Christian Basilica. 

Kenchreai yielded many artifacts, the most remarkable of which is a series of stained glass panels not unlike our modern stained glass windows, now in the Isthmia Museum. 

A wonderful Roman cemetery, largely unknown to the general public has been explored also. Its chamber and pit tombs cover the period from the 1^st to the 7^th century AD. Some of the tombs have kept their original painted decorations. The inside walls could be painted with architectural elements but also with mythical creatures, garlands, dolphins, ibis, herons, etc. 

The chamber tombs of Kenchreai were found inside a building that displayed a funerary inscription with the name of the tomb's owner and the dedication to his family, descendants, and sometimes to his freed slaves. Inside the tombs, niches could hold the body of the deceased or the urns in case of a cremation. These cremations took place on a pyre in a dedicated spot near the cemetery. It took a long time for the bones to burn completely, apparently at a temperature as high as 700°C. In the end, the remaining bones were removed from the ashes and placed inside the urn, which the mourners then took to the grave. 

The deceased were buried with the usual rich offerings such as gold jewelry, perfume bottles, clay figurines, marble statuettes, as well as common household utensils. 

Based on the care taken in the burial process and the decoration of the tombs leads scholars to believe that the dead belonged to the local upper class who wished to present themselves as members of a prominent society.

[Pictures from anagnostis.org] 

The importance of Perinthus

In antiquity, Perinthus was of strategic importance as it controlled Athens’ grain route from the Black Sea through the Bosporus. Each spring Athenian ships loaded with wheat from the Danube and Maritza basins sailed down via Byzantium, the Hellespont, and further across the Aegean to Athens. 

Perinthus, near the modern city of Tekirdağ, had two harbors in the East and the West side of the peninsula both used for commercial and military purposes. So far, the remains of a shipwreck have been located at a depth of 60 meters, and the finding is under investigation. More of the city’s buildings are being exposed, including an Acropolis with large temples and a theater. Besides the many small artifacts such as bits of jewelry and statuettes, there also is a necropolis.

[Picture from Sozcu.com.tr]

In late 352 BC, King Philip of Macedonia was asked to assist a coalition of Central Thracia, consisting of Byzantium, and Perinthus in besieging the nearby fortress town of Heraion Teichos that threatened Perinthus (see: Philip is bouncing back). He marched his army east, took the town, and returned it to Perinthus, presumably its original owner. 

Philip’s presence in the area was a threat to the Athenians but also to the Persians aiming to control Perinthus. In 340 BC, the Persians ordered Pixodarus of Caria, their ally in Halicarnassus, to help Perinthus revolt against Philip. The operation was not successful. 

Pixodarus then changed his mind as Persia was in turmoil after the murder of King Artaxerxes III. He thought it wise to seek Philip’s support instead. He offered his daughter, Ada, in marriage to Philip’s retarded son Arrhidaeus. The pact was accepted. 

However, Alexander felt left out and decided to act on his own, offering himself as a marital candidate. When Philip got vent of this maneuver behind his back, the agreement with Pixodarus was called off. Philip seriously reprimanded his son by exiling several of his closest friends from Pella (see: Pella, the birthplace of Alexander). 

By 188 BC, Perinthus fell under the rule of Pergamon until the Romans took over in 129 BC. By the end of the 2^nd century AD, they used the port as a main hub to ship their troops between the Euphrates and the Danube fronts. On the other hand, Perinthus had an important connection with the Via Militaris that ran west to Philippopolis, Serdica, and Viminacium. From here, the Via Egnatia led to Thessaloniki, Dyrrhachion, and Brundisium. 

Based on inscriptions from the late 2^nd century AD, it has been established that the provincial governors of Thracia had a residence in Perinthus. 

[Map from Stilus.nl]

In 286 AD, Emperor Diocletian renamed the city Heracleia to become a state capital. He may well have built a palace here as the outline of the ruins indicates a similarity with his palace in Nicomedia.

Under Constantine in 330 AD, Heracleia was supplanted by Byzantium which was renamed Constantinople. 

In the end, Perinthus lived a long and prosperous history thanks to its strategic location with ideal access to the Black Sea, the Aegean, and the Mediterranean, as well as inland Anatolia, and Egypt. Inevitably, it became a multicultural center populated by different peoples all speaking their own language. That sounds very close to today’s praise of Istanbul joining Europe and Asia. 

Alexander’s missed voyage to conquer the West

Alexander always planned ahead, far ahead even. He was a true genius juggling many problems, projects, and strategies (see: Eyewitness accounts of Alexander's life). 

His most significant projects, or at least their outlines, were put on paper, as we may conclude from the to-do list the king left upon his death, as mentioned by Diodorus. We have no reason to believe Alexander’s ambition was a utopian dream. After all, conquering the then-known world in less than ten years is a superhuman achievement. Nobody before or after Alexander succeeded. Nothing could stop Alexander – except his own death. 

It has been generally accepted that Alexander aimed to conquer the western Mediterranean, and the idea is consistent with his character. However, Diodorus’ text may be a list of ideas rather than real plans, as we all would imagine. 

Besides his plan to build colossal temples and a mausoleum for his father, there was the project to build a thousand warships, larger than triremes, in Phoenicia, Syria, Cilicia, and Cyprus. This construction had already started while Alexander was in Babylon and alive. He planned to conquer Carthage. On the way, along the coast of Libya, he would create a string of safe havens and shipyards. Eventually, this strategy would lead him to Iberia and Magna Graecia, including Sicily, where many Greek colonists had established themselves centuries earlier. 

In the end, the Romans attacked the Carthaginians in Sicily in the First Punic War, 60 years after Alexander’s death. A second war shifted their terrain to Iberia, which was largely occupied by the Carthaginians (see: Carthage Antique, des origines jusqu’à l’invasion Vandale). We can only guess how Alexander would have handled the confrontation, especially since the power of Carthage was different in his days. 

On his way to Carthage, Alexander would need to secure the hinterland to protect his newly built harbors along the North African coast. To this effect, he conceived the construction of a road as far as the Pillars of Heracles (Gibraltar). The project materialized 2,500 years later when Mussolini built a 2,000 km-long highway, the Litoranea, running from Tunisia all the way to the Egyptian border (see: Cyrene, founded by the Greeks). We may wonder whether this was Alexander’s megalomania or far-sightedness. 

Greek immigrants searching for fertile lands and a better life had already colonized a significant part of the western Mediterranean. Around 600 BC, the Phocaeans (from modern Foça), who fled Asia Minor after a siege by the Persians, established themselves in southern France, where they founded the city of Massalia, modern Marseille. By 575 BC, these settlers founded regional colonies in Agde (Agathe Tyche), Antibes, Nice (Niké), and Monaco. 

With time, these colonists went further inland and spread all over Provence. The city of Arelate, modern Arles, occupied a strategic position where goods traveled up and down the River Rhone after they had been transhipped from Massalia. Most of those settlements are best known by their Roman names: Orange, Vaison-la-Romaine, and Glanum, although their origin was much older. 

A photographer friend of mine, Andrew Squires, explored Provence. His vision was to create images of the region, including Glanum, that translate the remains into what it once was. He published a splendid work of art as an iBook (with Apple) under the name Provence Mysterious. 

The Phoceans from Massalia, about the same time as they expanded in Provence, created circa 550 BC the trading post of Emporion, modern Ampurias, and Rhoda, modern Rossas in Spain. Both cities, connected by a long sandy beach, served as stopover ports in the Greek expansion in the western Mediterranean. Geographically speaking, Emporion occupies the southwestern end of the Gulf de Lion, opposite Massalia. 

The first colonization of Magna Graecia happened earlier than elsewhere in that part of the Mediterranean. It started in Cumae, founded around 740 BC by emigrants from Chalcis and Kyme. Spartans emigrated to Taras, later named Tarentum. It was soon followed by new colonies established by the Achaeans in Metapontum, Sybaris, and Croton. In 733 BC, Greek settlers from Corinth arrived on the small island Ortygia and founded Syracuse.

In the 6th century BC, Athenian settlers founded Thurii. Around 580 BC, colonists from Gela (Sicily), Crete, and Rhodes founded Akragas (Agrigento). 

Many of these initially Greek colonies became influential cities in their own right, creating their own towns. A good example is Sicily, where the new colonies fought the Carthaginians, the Romans, and each other seeking their own ideals (see: Syracuse rivaled Athens to be the most powerful city). 

In 535 BC, Phocaean refugees established the colony of Elea, home of the Eleatic School created by the philosopher Parmenides (see: Magna Graecia, the forgotten Greek legacy). In 433 BC, the colony of Tarentum founded Herakleia, and the Achaeans Poseidonia, Roman Paestum. 

These relentless fluxes of Greek emigrants were no secret to Alexander and his contemporaries, meaning he was well aware and informed about the western Mediterranean – something we tend to forget! 

An excellent example of the high skills and wealth in the western Mediterranean is the so-called Riace bronzes retrieved off the coast of Calabria ( see: More about Magna Graecia: a testimony from Calabria). Archaeologists disagree on whether they represent warriors, athletes, or gods. Consequently, they are called “Riace A,” created between 460 and 450 BC, and “Riace B,” between 430 and 420 BC. Let’s keep in mind that these statues are the kind of artwork that existed a century before Alexander. 

Although extensive, the above-mentioned list of Greek colonists in the western Mediterranean is far from complete but long enough to prove their impressive presence. They often were caught in the expansionist attacks of the Carthaginians and, alternatively, of the Romans. Alexander would have to face both sooner or later. With his seasoned Macedonians, he would have created a Greek/Hellenistic world instead of the Latin one Rome imposed on Western Europe. How different our world would have been!

Two more temples excavated in Paestum

The site of Paestum in southern Italy and once part of Magna Graecia is known for its three well-preserved temples. One is dedicated to Poseidon (hence the city’s Greek name of Poseidonia), the second to Athena although originally attributed to Ceres, and the third one to Hera. The last one is the oldest of the three and counts an uneven number of columns. At the time of my first visit in the 1970s, it was defined as a Basilica (see: Experiencing the perfection of a Greek temple). 

[Picture from Italy Mama Mia!]

Meanwhile, two more Doric temples have been located close to the ancient city walls. The best-preserved one from the 5th century BC has kept its stylobate or temple floor measuring 11.5x7.5 meters with outlines of the cella. The cella or noas would have held the statue of the divinity to which the temple was dedicated. The remains of Doric capitals were very similar to those belonging to the Temple of Hera mentioned above. 

The second temple apparently was older and probably collapsed during the 6th century BC. Some architectural elements have been salvaged and reused for the construction of the first temple. 

Archaeological excavations are still ongoing in Paestum as documented in an earlier blogpost Luxurious Greek villa revealed in Paestum.