The Carian language

What a surprise, there was a Carian language! 

So far, I have encountered inscriptions in the Lycian language and in Pamphylian, and even a rare bit in the language of Side but until now, Carian has eluded me. 

A chance revelation came from the Turkish site of Zero Books advertising for this new book “Kaunos Kbid 1966-2021” by Baki Öğün, Cengiz Işık (ISBN-ISSN: 9786256212046).

The front cover displays a very sharp image of a bilingual text from the 4^th century BC, written in Carian and Ancient Greek. A parallel can be made with Lycian which used the Greek alphabet but added extra letters for the sounds that do not exist in Greek. Carian applied the same rule. Useless to say that this bilingual document contributed widely to deciphering the Carian language. 

It is noteworthy that the Carian inscription does not use the Greek city’s name Kaunos or Caunos but Kbid as known by the Carian people. 

The Introduction of the book on Zero Books reads as follows: 

While the numerous inscriptions unearthed at archaeological sites throughout the Eastern Mediterranean help to understand many aspects of the ancient world and its peoples, bilingual ones (Bilingue) are very special and valuable to linguists in deciphering ancient languages and understanding their structures.
The Kaunos Bilingue, written in Carian and Ancient Greek in the 4th century BCE, made a great contribution to the understanding of the Carian language. Although the Carian alphabet superficially resembles the Ancient Greek alphabet, it differs in that some similar-looking letters take on different sounds in the language and there are a few letters specific to Carian. Moreover, the most striking part of this Bilingue, long before the use of Greek name Kaunos, is the use of the original name of the city, KBID, given to their city by the Carians, the indigenous people of Anatolia. 

More information about the unique city of Caunos can be found in my earlier blog post, The surprise of Caunos.

Alexandria’s Graeco-Roman Museum finally reopens

We are all familiar with the Egyptian Museum in Cairo which holds the many treasures from the Egyptian dynasties including the world-famous gold mask of Tutankhamun. 

However, few people are aware of the Graeco-Roman Museum with its 40,000 artifacts from the Greek and Roman eras. It has been closed since 2005 for renovation and finally reopens. It covers artwork from before the foundation of Alexandria by Alexander in 331 BC, the ensuing Ptolemaic Dynasty that ended with Cleopatra in 30 BC, and the Roman occupation up to the Muslim conquest of 641 AD. 

The newly arranged collection is presented in an up-to-date manner as shown in this short video.

The most recent statues and artifacts to enter this museum are those recovered by Franck Goddio and his team during underwater excavations in the broad Nile estuary particularly from Thonis-Heracleion. 

Noteworthy is, for instance, the stele discovered at Thonis-Heracleion in 2000, displayed next to its twin uncovered in Naucratis in 1899. It is quite unique to find two identical inscriptions holding a decree of Nectanebo I. They state that the pharaoh raised subsidies for the temple using the taxes levied from Greek trade and manufacturing in Thonis and Naucratis. The steles also confirm that Thonis and Heracleion were respectively the Egyptian and the Greek name for the same town “at the entrance of the sea of the Greeks”. 

Another striking addition from Thonis-Heracleion is the statue of a Ptolemaic queen, 2.20 meters high made of black granodiorite and dated to the 2^nd century BC. It is attributed to either Cleopatra Selene II (185-180) or Cleopatra III (116-115 BC) and is executed in a mix of Greek and Egyptian styles. Alternatively, it could represent Cleopatra Thea, the queen consort of three Syrian kings of the Seleucid Empire between 150 to 125 BC. 

A new acquisition of the Graeco-Roman Museum is the so-called Neilos-bust, an astonishingly well-preserved rendition of the god of the Nile in greywacke (a variety of hard sandstone). It was found in the temple area of the Nile’s Canopus mouth. 

In-depth research by Franck Goddio revealed that Graeco-Egyptian statues in this dark Egyptian stone were probably made in specialist workshops in Alexandria. The Nile bust is of particular high-quality greywacke. 

Of an entirely different order is the Naos of the Decades, a small chapel-like shrine for statues of the divinities at the most sacred place of the temple. During Franck Goddio’s underwater exploration of the Bay of Abukir, he discovered walls of this exceptional naos, parts of which were already at the Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria and the Louvre in Paris. 

The Naos of the Decades was a shrine to Shu, the god of air, which predated the Ptolemaic era by more than fifty years. The most remarkable feature may well be the calendar engraved on the outside surfaces of its walls. The Egyptians divided the year into sections of ten days or decades, 36 in all - represented here by 36 squares - making a total of 360 days. A 37^th square was added for the five days to complete the year. Each square showed a text of an astrological nature about the influence of the stars and Shu on daily life during the specific period of ten days. One such text tells how Shu created the sky and the stars and placed himself between the sky and the earth to separate them. 

The Greek sphere of influence did not die with Alexander. In the first stage, it lived on as Hellenism from the Mediterranean to India after which Greek art and customs gradually fused and mixed with those of the newly formed kingdoms and civilizations. In Egypt, Hellenism officially ended with the death of Cleopatra when many concepts and ideas were continued by the Romans. The Parthian and Bactrian Kings did the same in the East. Greek remained the lingua franca in antiquity and helped to spread Christianity until the Islamic conquest in the 7^th century AD took over.

[Pictures from Franck Goddio's site]

Owner of the Tomb of Vergina still questioned

Historical events are gladly twisted and turned to make an interesting or commercially profitable story. Some or even many of these tales can stay alive for years, even centuries. 

The most absurd theory is about Alexander being buried in Macedonia and not in Egypt. The other recurring discussion is about the Tomb in Vergina that has been attributed to Philip II, Alexander’s father, by Manolis Andronicos in 1977 (see: Vergina, The Royal Tombs by Manolis Andronicos).

[Picture Credit: A. Bartsiokas]

The next best candidate for the Tomb of Vergina is Philip III Arrhideus as discussed in my post Questioning the Tomb of King Philip II, father of Alexander the Great in November 2009 and Philip’s Tomb at Vergina, is it or is it not in January 2016. This last one is based on studies by Antonis Bartsiokas, Democritus, University of Thracia, Komotini, who worked on the Vergina tombs. 

Only recently a sacred purple-dyed cotton chiton of Alexander has been discovered in the golden larnax of Tomb II, thought to be Philip’s. 

This garment is most remarkable because cotton was first introduced to the Macedonians when they reached India in 327 BC. According to Antonis Bartsiokas, the tunic matches the description of a ceremonial outfit, a sarapis, as worn by King Darius and later adopted by Alexander. A closer analysis revealed the presence of huntite, a bright white mineral uncommon in Greece but used in ancient Persia, between the layers of cotton. These white stripes are also seen in Alexander’s outfit as depicted in the fresco above the entrance door of what is supposedly Philip’s tomb. This, the author says strengthens his theory that this sarapis is “the same one that Alexander would have worn in official ceremonies”. 

[Picture Credit: A. Bartsiokas]

Why this fabric suddenly appears inside the larnax is puzzling, to say the least since the cremated bones and a large gold wreath of oak leaves and acorns were removed years ago.

Why the chiton is linked to the image of a juvenile Alexander in the fresco of the tomb is not exactly in line with Alexander as King of Persia wearing a cotton chiton with traces of huntite.

And why can we be sure this sarapis is the one Alexander wore and not Philip III Arrhideus as he too became King of Kings? 

Presently, Antonis Bartsiokas also states “that many objects found in Tomb II actually belonged to Alexander the Great” including a golden diadem, a scepter, and the earlier mentioned oak wreath. Here, Philip II is not even mentioned! This would imply that Andronicos had it all wrong. Of course, this is history in the making, and new discoveries and interpretations surface time and again. 

We’ll see…

Epetion, an ancient Greek city in modern Croatia

Speaking of Croatia, the medieval city of Dubrovnik springs to mind followed by the imposing Palace of Emperor Diocletian in Split. At the southeast end of the Split peninsula lays the ancient Greek city of Epetion, near modern Stobreč. It is ideally located on an easily defendable cliff.

[The structures and walls of Epetion. Credit: Ministry of Culture of Croatia]

During recent construction works, archaeologists discovered a well-preserved Greek city wall 70 meters long and more than three meters high, said to be the best example found until now in Croatia (see: Greek presence in Croatia). Nearby, remains of a small canal about 50 centimeters wide were discovered. This probably was part of the sewage system that ran over the entire peninsula to the sea. Evidence of structures from different periods provides valuable insight into the ancient settlement as well. 

The first human activity could be traced back to the Bronze Age, approximately 3,500 years ago. Epetion was founded by the Greeks on the island of Issa, modern Vis, where they established a colony in the 4^th century BC. Other known colonies in the region were Pharos, opposite Stari Grad (see: Peculiar history of Pharos, modern Hvar) from 384 BC, and Tragurion, modern Trogir. 

The city grew to become an important Roman trade hub in the 2^nd century BC thanks to its harbor at the mouth of the Žrnovnica  River, its harvesting of salt, and its rich agricultural hinterland. 

Remains of a Christian Basilica with three naves dated from the 5^th century AD still stand to a height of seven meters. It is one of the most important historical monuments in ancient Epetion. 

The city apparently survived well into the Middle Ages but was eventually superceded by other coastal towns.

Latest finds in Aspendos

Visitors to Aspendos rarely venture beyond the well-preserved Roman theater, ignoring the remains of the city proper behind it. 

Aspendos was an important trade center famous for wheat and horse breeding. The Persians had the exclusive rights to these horses but when Alexander arrived he claimed their yearly contribution, including four thousand horses.

The ancient city can be accessed over a path that starts to the right of the theater as facing it. It leads over a paved Roman road to what is left of a large Nymphaeum. At a right angle with this fountain are the remains of the Basilica, and in between them lies the Agora, now entirely overgrown. Only the 15 two-story shops and warehouses on the opposite side of the Agora are clearly visible (see: Aspendos, the unfaithful). 

It is here that recent excavations have exposed large amounts of coins dating from Hellenistic and Roman times. From the 5^th century BC onwards, Aspendos minted coins following Persian standards, and the obverse of the bronze coins used, very appropriately, the picture of a horse. 

Valuable objects changed hands in these stores although some spaces served as offices for trading. One of these shops yielded a wide array of precious artifacts such as small oil and perfume bottles, rings and precious gemstones, lamps, bronze belt buckles, bone hairpins, etc. 

In some of the two-story shops, bits of wall paintings and hundreds of sand mussel shells were recovered, probably used as decoration. 

[Pictures from Arkeofili]

In May 2024, statues of Zeus and Aphrodite approximately fifty centimeters tall were found in good condition. Zeus is sitting on a throne. Aphrodite is represented holding her cloak with one hand and an imperial armor standing at her feet. The material has not been specified but the statues appear to be made of marble. From a stylistic point of view, they could be dated back to the Roman Imperial Period.

Notion in Asia Minor

In antiquity, the coast of Asia Minor was a string of famous and powerful cities and towns, each with its own history. Some are only slowly revealing their presence and their treasures. 

One such relic is Notion, located roughly 50 kilometers from Izmir. One day, driving back from Izmir to Ephesos, I skirted the peninsula's entire south coast, passing cities like Teos and Claros. However, my intention was to stop at Clazomena, Colophon, and Notion. Life is such that it deviates us from our initial plan. It so happened that I frequently stopped to take in the vistas leading me from promontories into deep bays - a landscape from the beginning of time, I thought. As a result, I never made it to Notion … 

[Picture from Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, University of Michigan]

I may not have missed much because the first archaeological surveys started in 2014. Mapping Notion revealed a city laid out conform to the Hippodamian plan sitting on two promontories overlooking the Aegean Sea. Inside the remains of sturdy fortification walls, research exposed beside the ever-present Agora, a Theater, a Bouleuterion, a Heroon, a Temple of Athena, and a large housing district. Notion flourished from the 2^nd century BC until the 1^st century AD, after which it was abandoned in favor of Ephesos which became the major center of commerce in Roman times. 

The city’s origin goes back to at least the 6^th century BC when it was part of the Persian Empire like the rest of Asia Minor. Inevitably, it got involved in the Graeco-Persian Wars of the 5^th and 4^th centuries BC and was conquered in turn by Athens and Persia. 

During those uncertain times, it is thought that Notion was occupied and/or defended by “barbarian” mercenaries. This is documented through the hoard of Persian gold darics found under the floor of one of the houses. The coins were probably buried there to be recovered later on. The daric with its particular face featuring the figure of a kneeling archer was the equivalent of a month’s pay for a mercenary foot soldier. Based on their style, these darics were probably minted during the 5^th century BC in Sardes, which lies about 100 kilometers to the north. 

Darics rarely surface in Greek or Hellenistic cities and to find such a collection buried in a jar is astonishing. 

I remember seeing my first Darics in Sicily at The Medagliere, the strong room of the Archaeological Museum in Syracuse. It was quite a shock because I knew the coins only from pictures and was not expecting to find them here. On the other hand, their presence raised the question of how they had reached Sicily – probably carried west by early colonists from mainland Greece who settled in Magna Graecia. 

Life surely is full of surprises.

Two temples identified in Thonis-Heracleion

It is noteworthy to realize that underwater archaeology is a very recent discipline. It started seriously in the 1960s and the techniques and equipment have grown and improved considerably since. 

Although Thonis-Heracleion was mentioned by Herodotus and Strabo, its location at Abukir Bay in the Nile Delta remained unknown until its discovery in 2000. Since then, much of the port has been mapped (see: Heracleion, an ancient Greek port in Egypt). A variety of ships in all shapes and sizes have been located, as well as hundreds of anchors. 

In my earlier post, Remains of an almost unique warship discovered in Thonis-Heracleion, I spoke about an ancient Greek warship discovered beneath the rubble of a temple destroyed by an earthquake in the 2^nd century BC. As a result, the ship sank into the muddy seabed, which contributed to its preservation. It could be established that the 25-meter-long ship was built in Egypt using both Egyptian and Greek techniques. 

By now it has been established that this temple was dedicated to the god Amon-Gereb, who played a key role in the continuity of the pharaohs’ dynasty. It was here in Thonis-Heracleion that Ptolemaic rulers were confirmed and legitimized in their power. The temple was part of a large sanctuary that covered an area of more than 3 hectares surrounded by walls made of limestone blocs. Remarkably, the naos of the temple was built using red granite, which automatically linked it to Amon-Gereb, the supreme god of Egypt in the 6^th-4^th centuries BC. 

The cult of Amon-Gereb was already known from the Royal Decree of Canopus established by Ptolemy III Euvergetes in 238 BC. From its Greek version, we learn that every year a statue of Osiris was carried in his sacred boat from this sanctuary in Heracleion to his temple in Canopus. The Decree also mentions the temple of Amon-Gereb.

The research, which started in 2019, revealed countless artifacts ranging from statues to gold jewelry like the eye of Horus, earrings in the shape of a lion’s head, silver ritual phiales, a bronze jug, and alabaster bottles for perfumes and ointments have been brought to light. Also, a more than six-meter-high stele from the reign of Ptolemy VIII that stood near the Temple of Amon-Gereb has been found in several pieces and much eroded. Because of its condition, it could be only partially deciphered. 

Three colossal statues of a royal couple in pink granite, a five-meter-tall god of fertility, and the Nile flood were retrieved. The statues of the Ptolemaic rulers are the best preserved so far. 

In 2023, a temple of Aphrodite was also discovered, and remains of some buildings supported by preserved wooden beams dating from the 5^th century BC. It is not surprising to read that bronze and ceramic artifacts of Greek origin were found. 

The Temple of Amon disappeared in the 2^nd century BC and the city of Heracleion vanished in the 8^th century AD after surviving years of earthquakes and land liquefaction caused by tidal waves. Until now, it is estimated that only five percent of the city’s surface has been discovered. 

For more information and pictures as used above, please visit the website of Franck Goddio.

Who were the Thracians?

A recurrent question that keeps popping up. The Thracians are often seen as a barbarian tribe north of Macedonia. In ancient Greece, everyone non-Greek was labeled as Barbarian and the word does not answer our concept of un-civilized. 

The Thracians had no writing, meaning that we had to depend on what had been described by Greek and later Roman authors. Their works of art, however, are of the highest quality of craftsmanship. The most striking example is the bronze head of King Seuthes III, who ruled from 331 until 300 BC, i.e., after Alexander set out for Asia (see: Seuthes III, King of Thracia).

[Picture from Getty.edu]

The head of Seuthes steels the show of every exhibition. If you live in the Los Angeles area or are traveling that way soon, there is a unique opportunity to see this masterpiece for yourself at the Getty Villa in Malibu from November 4, 2024, until March 3, 2025. The exhibition covers a wide area as announced by its full title: Ancient Thrace and the Classical World: Treasures from Bulgaria Romania and Greece. 

Thracia’s superb gold, silver, and bronze works of art travel the world on many occasions and it is a unique opportunity to explore the many facets of Thracian life in all its forms and shapes. 

I was lucky to discover the Thracian treasures of Bulgaria back in 2002 when Brussels hosted a special exhibition organized by Europalia at the Palais des Beaux-Arts. “L’or des Thraces. Trésors de Bulgarie” turned out to be a true revelation of art going back thousands of years with artifacts in a typical combination of silver and gold. I remember staring in awe at the map of Bulgaria crowded with unfamiliar names of tombs and locations. 

The title of the exhibition at the Getty Villa clearly includes treasures from Romania and Greece. 

I developed Thracian Romania in a blogpost about Dacia, the name given by Emperor Trajan (see: Dacia before Alexander). 

Thracian presence in what’s now eastern Greece is treated in two separate posts, Thracian tomb at Doxipara and What is the Peraia of Samothrace that explores Mesembria. 

For all aficionados, Getty airs a special talk about “Who were the Thracians” on November 19, 2024, at 12 pm Pacific Time via Zoom. 

Happy times ahead!

Larger-than-life statue of Herakles discovered in Philippi

Road works in Philippi have revealed a larger-than-life statue of young Herakles.  

[Picture from Archaeology Magazine]

Generally, the god is represented at a more mature age but can be recognized by his most common attributes: a club, and a lion skin.  

The well-preserved statue of Herakles has been dated to the 2nd century AD and was reused to decorate a later building from the 8th or 9th century, probably a fountain.  

It is rather unlikely that Herakles would still be adored this late in Byzantine times. His statue must have caught the eye because of its beauty.

About decrees and multilingual inscriptions

In antiquity, news was carried by word of mouth, but legal matters and other important information were cut in stone and placed in a conspicuous spot for everyone to see. 

The majority of inscriptions are Decrees of which I can only mention a selection. 

At the Acropolis Museum, there is a stele with decrees for the construction of the temple and altar of Nike by Kallikrates, for the reorganization of the cult, and for the salary of the priestess of the goddess dated 427-424 BC (side A) and 424-423 BC (side B).

Also a stele with a series of Decrees by which the Athenians bestowed economic, commercial, and military privileges on their ally Methone in Pieria. 

It shows the goddess Athena shaking hands with perhaps Artemis, dated 430-423 BC.

Very broken but still readable is the Athenian Decree honoring Neapolis (modern Kavala) for its support in the war against Thasos and its constant commitment to her. 

In the upper right corner, we recognize the goddess Athena extending her hand towards another figure, probably the goddess Parthenos of Neapolis dated from 410-409 BC.

A very elegant stele with a horse and an olive wreath carries an inscription in which the Athenians honored King Alcetas of Epirus for his help during their military expedition to Corcyra (modern Corfu) in 373-372 BC.

And finally, still at the Acropolis Museum, there is the long Decree of Chalkis on the island of Euboia in which the islanders were forced to swear loyalty to Athens after failing in their revolt of 446-445 BC. 

The people of Chalkis could punish their own citizens, except in cases that involved death, exile, or the loss of their rights as citizens where the power of Athens prevailed.

The National Archaeological Museum in Athens has its own rich collection of Decrees. A good example is the honorary inscription from Piraeus dating from 347-346 BC. 

The stele honors the three sons of Leukon (depicted), king of the Cimmerian Bosporus, thanking them for services rendered to the people of Athens and allowing them to import grain free of duty.

A particular stele from 355-354BC was found near the Monument of Lysicrates in Athens. 

It honors Philiskos, son of Lykos of Sestos in the Thracian Hellespont as a public guest and benefactor of Athens. In 356 BC, Philiskos had warned the Athenians of the hostile presence of the fleet of Byzantium that threatened the city’s grain supply.

The Eleusis Museum, in turn, exhibits a decree providing for the construction of a footbridge across Lake Rheitoi on the Sacred Way from Athens to Eleusis dated 421 BC.

Two fragments from an unidentified monument carry a Royal Decree of Alexander, which defines the limits of ‘land’, meaning the agricultural area that Philippi supervised. 

The (partial) inscription dates from 336-334 BC, just before Alexander started his campaign East. It is kept at the Museum of Philippi.

On a different level, there is a Decree sanctioning the people and city of Iasos for complotting against King Mausolos of Caria. 

It is kept at the Louvre in Paris and dates to 370-350 BC. 

 

The Foundation Decree of Cyrene in North Africa is a covenant between the citizens of Cyrene in ca. 322 BC and those of their mother-state of Thera. 

The exact purpose is uncertain but it is thought that the citizens of Thera, including the early settlers of 631 BC, were granted the same rights and freedoms as the Cyreneans, even though Cyrene was wealthier than Thera at the time.

Of another level is, for instance, the trilingual stele from Letoon in the Xanthos Valley found near the Temple of Apollo. It holds a public Decree authorizing the cult of the deities and establishing the provisions for its officers.
The Decree is written in Lycian, Greek, and Aramaic which are not verbatim translations of each other. Each version contains information that is not translated into the two other tongues. The Aramaic text with 27 lines is the shortest, followed by Greek with 35 lines, and Lycian, with 51 lines. Useless to point out that this stele helped to decipher the peculiar Lycian language. This unique document can be seen at the Fethiye Museum.

The story of this stele reminds us of the Rosetta Stone which helped to decipher the Egyptian hieroglyphs and Demotic script using the Greek version carved on the same stone. The text is a Decree issued by King Ptolemy V of Egypt in 196 BC and was key to deciphering the hitherto unknown hieroglyphic signs. 

Trilingual inscriptions are not isolated cases. In ancient Persia it was current practice to leave inscriptions in three languages to make sure everyone in the vast empire would be notified: Elamite, Old Persian, and Babylonian. The best-known lines are carved on the cliff wall of Bisutun, where Darius I celebrates his victory over Gaumata and eight more pretenders to the throne in 518 BC as represented above.

The trilingual inscriptions on the Palace walls of Pasargadae, and Persepolis are mainly continuous reminders of the power of the King of Kings who ruled by the grace of Ahuramazda, repeating their title of Great King. These were defined in full by Cyrus the Great: Great King, King of Persia, King of Anshan, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, and King of the Four Corners of the World.

Perhaps the most remarkable panels are set in the spectacular landscape close to the fast-running mountain river and lovely waterfalls of Ganj Nameh, some five kilometers southwest of Hamadan. As is customary, each text starts by praising Ahuramazda and continues describing the lineage and deeds of Darius I on the left panel and his son Xerxes on the right. It reads: "The Great God [is] Ahuramazda, greatest of all the gods, who created the earth and the sky and the people; who made Xerxes king, and outstanding king as outstanding ruler among innumerable rulers; I [am] the great king Xerxes, king of kings, king of lands with numerous inhabitants, king of this vast kingdom with far-away territories, son of the Achaemenid monarch Darius." (see: The Bisutun relief of King Darius I).

I’d like to close with the impressive Monument of Opramoas in Rhodiapolis. He was a great benefactor who contributed lavishly to the reconstruction of most Lycian cities after the devastating earthquake of 141 AD. He must have been terribly wealthy for it seems that every single Lycian city mentioned his name in thanks. The construction blocks of the Monument listing his good deeds were strewn over a wide area until in 2016 archaeologists managed to sort them out and reconstruct the walls of his Monument (see: The Monument in honor of Opramoas of Rhodiapolis is taking shape).

Its text, the longest ever found in Lycia or perhaps even in all of Anatolia, contains 12 letters Opramoas exchanged with the Roman Emperors and Antoninus Pius in particular, 19 letters to the Roman Procurator, and 33 various documents related to the Lycian League. 

The reasons for leaving an inscription widely vary and the list is endless. I stopped at a few of the most telling examples that caught my attention.