Antiquity in full color

Since 2013, I have repeatedly highlighted how colorful our world was in Greek and Roman antiquity.
 

In my first post, Ancient Greece in full Technicolor, I explained the modern techniques used to analyze and define the true original color pigments applied on statues, reliefs, temples, theaters, and many other monuments in a world we know basically as bright white. The technique is very well explained in a video I posted in 2022, Gods in Color – How it’s done.
 
In our modern concept, marble is such a precious material because of its structure and natural color that shines by itself. Nobody in their right mind would apply paint to a marble bust, for instance. The vision of our forefathers was entirely different.
 

Our ancient world was very colorful as we witness inside the houses of Ephesos and Pompeii, or in Etruscan and Macedonian tombs, to name only a few examples. Why do we find it so difficult to accept and imagine that the outside of monuments and their statuary decoration was painted as well?
 
An answer to this intriguing question is given in this French video (with English subtitles), Les couleurs de l’antiquité, which is well worth watching. However, it may not be available after 11 June 2026.
 
It’s always a pleasure to share this kind of thorough research!

[Top picture by Marsyas]

Uniqueness of Agrigento’s Gymnasium

Antique Greek and Roman cities come with a standard number of very recognizable monuments, such as the temples to their gods and goddesses, the Bouleuterion, the Theater, and the Stadium. Less impressive but still important is the Gymnasium and/or the Palaestra.
 
Among the many quoted examples, perhaps the most striking one is the impressive Gymnasium of Olympia, home of the Olympic Games. We can easily visualize the layout, with its central courtyard surrounded by a wide Stoa whose roof was supported by a double row of Doric columns. It was 220 meters long and 120 meters wide, a size that is very close to that of a Stadium (see: Olympia, an ongoing excavation project).

Less known is that besides being a center for physical training, the Gymnasium served for intellectual education, where young men studied rhetoric and the duties of civic life. How exactly this formal education was taught remained rather obscure till this year’s excavations in Akragas (modern Agrigento), the largest colony the Greeks founded in Sicily in 580 BC.
 
This Gymnasium from the 2^nd century BC revealed a semi-circular covered classroom or auditorium in the style of a theater with eight rows of seating, which could accommodate some 160 youngsters. The orchestra was the central space where teachers and students presented their exercises before the audience. This room is a unique example known so far in the Greek world. Archaeologists found two blocks of white limestone with a Greek inscription that could have been used as a pulpit. This inscription, with traces of red pigment, holds the word gymnasiarchos, the director of the Gymnasium, and tells us about the renovation of the apodyterion, the large changing room that got a new roof. The project was appropriately dedicated to Hermes and Heracles, underscoring the role of the Gymnasium as a center for both physical and intellectual development. These gods were associated with youth athletics, and strength.
 
This inscription is also important because, on the one hand, it is one of the very rare texts found in Akragas and, on the other hand, confirms that the Greek language and customs continued to be used far into Roman times.

The auditorium in Akragas opens onto a 23-meter-long and 11-meter-wide hall that holds benches designed for classes and intellectual competitions. Competitiveness was key in the Greek education!
 
Akragas’ Gymnasium also housed a Palaestra, i.e., a section reserved for boxing and wrestling. At present, work is underway to define its layout and role within the entire complex. Elsewhere in the antique world and particularly in smaller cities, a Palaestra could exist as a standalone facility, but that certainly is not the case here. 
 
The premise also included a 200-meter running track and a swimming pool. This year (2026), research will focus on the water supply and map the entire hydraulic system. The team will also investigate the western rooms of the Gymnasium, hoping to find traces of its construction’s history that ranged from the 2^nd century BC to the early days of the Roman Empire.

[Pictures from Institut für Klassische Archäologie]

A few words about Syedra

Syedra was discovered as recently as 1994, but excavations only slowly exposed parts of this ancient port city, a good 20 kilometers south of modern Alanya on the coastal road to Anamur and Tarsus beyond. In antiquity, the city was either part of Cilicia or Pamphylia.
 

I read the name Syedra while visiting the Archaeological Museum of Alanya, before knowing where to look for it. I was struck by its mosaics, clearly Roman and belonging to the 3rd century AD.
 
Archaeological excavations have revealed standard elements of the town, but none show signs of in-depth study. The structures are listed as a street lined with columns, shops, several staircases, remains of a town hall (Odeon?), a temple, a theater, and several cisterns that provided water to the city.
 
On the upper terrace that holds the Acropolis stands a building tentatively identified as a Heroon. Its walls with traces of frescoes welcome the visitor at the end of the colonnaded street. It is not known to whom this shrine was dedicated.
 
Important sections of the city walls display the remains of entrance gates, for instance, on the southwest and western side; the latest being the strongest, which is recognized as the main access to the city.
 

[Picture from Daily Sabah]

Another interesting feature is the Roman Bathhouse, where a large floor mosaic depicts the Twelve Labors of Heracles with life-size human figures. It was excavated in late 2020 and dated to the 2^nd century AD. The rectangular mosaic with an apse-like recess at one end measures 21.95 x 7.92 meters, which would typically fit the layout of a Caldarium. 
 
The reports also mention a statue of Nike, the goddess of victory, that I have not seen at the Museum of Alanya at the time of my visit.
 
By the end of 2025, a huge Stadium from the 2nd or 3^rd century AD was discovered, when Syedra reached its height. It is about 190 meters long and 16 meters wide and can accommodate 2,000-3,000 people. Since it was cut into the solid rock, it remained hidden till now.
 
Researchers also mention some 40 inscriptions on Syedra’s walls providing information about sports and entertainment.
 

At the Museum of Alanya, I had noticed a large inscription in which Septimius Severus praised the city for its bravery and loyalty in resisting the pirates that constantly raided the eastern Mediterranean (see: Exploring Olympos, next to Chimera). In the text from 194 AD, the Roman Emperor underscores Syedra’s “goodwill towards the Romans”.
 
The city also has two Necropolises, one to the northwest and the other to the south, which one day may reveal more important information about its citizens and their burial practices.

Sadly, excavations have not been structured so far, and even the intrepid visitor will have a hard time imagining the layout and monuments that graced this commercial hub and bustling harbor during the twenty centuries of its existence. Syedra was founded in the 7^th century BC and remained inhabited until the 13^th century AD.