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.

Excavations at Dascylium

We’ll remember that the city was the capital of Hellespontine Phrygia, which Alexander took after the Battle of the Granicus in 334 BC (see: Heading for Dascylium and Sardes). 

[Picture from Archaeology News Network - Credit: Anadolou Agency]

This year, archaeologists recovered a relief from the 5th century BC, i.e., well before Alexander’s conquest, showing Greek soldiers trampled by Persian warhorses probably referring to one of the Graeco-Persian wars. They assume that the artist's purpose was not to glorify either army but to create a work of propaganda.

Unfortunately, the Archaeology News Network doesn’t tell us what led them to this conclusion. The pictures they released are not too clear as they show the team cleaning parts of the reliefs rather than the scene itself.

During their excavations, the archaeologists also exposed sections of a stone and mudbrick wall. This is a rare find from Phrygian times, i.e., the 8th century BC. The remaining wall is 40 meters long, five meters thick, and four meters high. However, because the mudbrick sections have not survived, the original height is estimated at seven or eight meters.

A 2,400-year-old terracotta mask honoring Dionysos

Dascylium, the capital of Hellespontine Phrygia, is not often in the news and is hardly mentioned in Alexander’s expedition in Asia Minor (see: Heading for Dascylium and Sardes). In fact, Alexander never went that far since he sent his general Parmenion to take the city. Less than one hundred years before Alexander, Xenophon and what remained of his Ten Thousand marched through this countryside. This means that Alexander was well aware of its role and its importance.

[Picture from Archaeology News Network]

As the king pressed south, Parmenion took Dascylium without trouble as the guards had abandoned the town. A new satrap, Calas, was quickly put into place. From then onward, the tribute Dascylium used to pay to Persia would come to Alexander. 

Recent excavations around the city’s acropolis have exposed a terracotta mask of the ancient Greek god Dionysus. It is thought to be a votive mask and according to the legends, it is believed that whoever wore such a mask would pay homage to the god, the patron of the arts.

Archaeologists also unearthed a nearby cellar belonging to a Lydian kitchen. They hope that the seeds and other organic elements will give a better understanding of the eating habits of the Lydians - maybe even of the later Greek settlers.

Heading for Dascylium and Sardes

After contemplating the Battle of the Granicus, I am taken further north on this trip with Peter Sommer In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great, heading for Dascylium. I am a little surprised because Alexander never went to Dascylium, as he sent his seasoned general Parmenion instead. Well, I suppose it was just part of the campaign, and I take in the same rather dull, flat landscape I met on the road to the Granicus. Yet, so much history has been written in the furrows of this freshly plowed soil. Less than one hundred years before Alexander, Xenophon and what remained of his Ten Thousand marched through this countryside, a detail that cannot have been lost on Alexander.

But the Macedonian king had to press south, well aware of the threat posed by the sizable Persian navy patrolling the coast of Asia Minor. Parmenion took Dascylium, the capital of Hellespontine Phrygia, without trouble, as the guards had abandoned the town. A new satrap, Calas, was quickly put in place. From now on, the tribute Dascylium used to pay to Persia would come to Alexander.

It is hard to imagine the city on this low hill now overgrown with bright spring flowers, yellow rapeseed, and red poppies. Remains of low Greek city walls with neatly cut stones, bits of Byzantine walls in which spolia from earlier ages have been used, and then the scarce ruins of habitation. It is beyond doubt that Parmenion did a thorough job! A lovely place for a city anyway, I think.

From here, we pass but don’t stop at Cyzicus, which Alexander also conquered. It is said that he was responsible for connecting the island to the mainland. I wonder what is left of the huge amphitheater with a diameter of 150 meters, which the Romans built here in the 3rd century BC. It was intersected by a stream, making it particularly fit for naval battles – the only one of its kind in Turkey! It must have been a magnificent sight, and it is mentioned as being one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Apparently, as late as 1444, the visitor could still admire thirty-one of the immense columns in place.

My trip continues through a landscape filled with tumuli, which I am told belong to the days of King Midas (late 8th century BC). It is a long drive to Sardes, the capital of Lydia, for Alexander, a march of nearly 200 km. Apparently, the news of Alexander’s victory at the Granicus had traveled quicker than his army. Before reaching the fortified city, he was met by the leading men and their satrap, Mithrines, who not only surrendered Sardes but also its treasury. The money was most welcome, of course, since Alexander had left Pella with only sixty talents - a very poor financial situation, knowing that he had inherited a debt of 500 talents from his father and had been borrowing another 800 talents to get this expedition underway. For now, he had a financial breather.

The army set up camp on the banks of the Hermus River, about 2,5 miles from Sardes, and Amyntas was sent to take possession of the fortress. Alexander kept Mithrines in his own suite and treated him according to his rank. After taking Babylon, Mithrines was appointed governor of Armenia.

As we will see so often afterward, Alexander treated well those who did not defy him. Sardes and Lydia were now declared free from Persian rule but had, of course, to pay the same tribute to their new ruler, yet in exchange, they were allowed to observe their old customs. It was also here that, for the first time, Alexander gave orders for Lydian youths to be trained in Macedonian tactics. This practice would be repeated over the years in Lycia, Syria, Egypt, and Persia. This shows once again that Alexander never doubted he would be victorious!

Sardes, as it has reappeared from archaeology, is definitely worth a visit. On a previous visit, I had walked around the beautifully restored Palaestra and Baths with the Synagogue that was reserved for the Jews and incorporated into the Palaestra by Severus Alexander in the third century.

I was looking forward to seeing it from Alexander’s point of view. The two-story high (restored) buildings are visible from afar, and it is a pleasure to stand in front of this mixture of high Ionic and Corinthian columns, some with spiral grooves turning alternatively to the right and to the left. Inasmuch as possible, the original inscriptions have been reintegrated. It seems this complex was inspired by the Library of Celsus in Ephesus. Behind the Palaestra are the Baths with two distinctive pools, just tempting my imagination. This complex built in Imperial Style, was completed in the second century AD and remained in use till the Sassanid invasion of 616 AD.

In Alexander’s days, neither this sport's complex nor the integrated Synagogue nor the Roman villas and the public buildings across the street existed. Next to the modern road runs the monumental 18.5-meter-wide avenue built on top of the original Lydian road from the 7th-6th century BC, two meters below. So maybe Alexander walked over that Lydian road? Luckily, the modern asphalt road has been planned to run parallel to the south in order to expose the antique marble slabs of this Roman thoroughfare of the 4th-6th century that was wider than the modern road!

With my co-travelers threading in Alexander’s Footsteps, we move further to the impressive remains of the Temple of Artemis, which was never finished. Some columns have been fluted, but many were not. The construction began at the time of Alexander the Great in 334 BC, having a double row of columns surrounding an enclosed inner building.

The altar of Artemis, however, is much older than the temple itself and seems to go back to the sixth century BC. The stepped platform we see today dates from the Hellenistic period. Construction of this temple went in fits and starts and was hit by the earthquake of 17 AD. At some time, Artemis shared her sanctuary with Zeus, as indicated on an inscription honoring both. In about 150 AD, Sardes gained the title of “neokoros,” meaning “temple-warden”, which implied that it was required to have a temple dedicated to the Roman imperial family. This time, the Temple of Artemis was split in two, where Artemis and Empress Faustina were worshiped together in the front part. At the same time, Zeus and Emperor Antoninus Pius shared the back of the sanctuary. With hindsight, the base of the columns looks very much like those of Didyma. This makes sense as it is the fourth largest Ionic temple in the world after Didyma (the largest being the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, followed by the Temple of Hera in Samos).

It makes a huge difference to visit this site under the guidance of a historian like Peter Sommer, as he effortlessly points out the details of the buildings or the reasons for their inscriptions, something that a lone traveler will have a hard time figuring out.

We do not climb to the Acropolis, however, since the visible remains are mainly Byzantine and do not add to Alexander’s exploits. According to Arrian, Alexander went up there and saw the Palace of the Lydian kings and the Persian garrison. He must have been aware of his luck for not having to besiege this impregnable fortress. He decided that this was the right location to build a temple in honor of the Olympian Zeus. While he was considering the best spot, a thunderstorm broke loose, which he took as a sign sent by Zeus himself, and he made his decision accordingly. Whether or not this temple was ever built, we simply don’t know.

Alexander then made all the practical arrangements, leaving Pausanias, one of his Companions, in charge of the fortress and assigning others to specific organizational functions. Then, the news reached him of unrest in Ephesus, and it was time to resume his march south.