Heraklea Sintica in southwestern Bulgaria

There are a great number of towns going by the name Heraclea or Herakleia throughout Turkey and Greece. Wikipedia provides an enticing list of places. 

In previous blogs, I developed Herakleia Pontus, a kingdom in Bithynia (see: Time to reconnect with Princess Amastris), Herakleia by Latmos to be found on the banks of Lake Bafa in Western Turkey, Herakleia Lyncestis in Illyria (see: King Philip, one year later – Macedonia forged by Philip II), and Heracleion-Thonis (see: Heracleion, ancient Greek port in Egypt).

This time, I’m focusing on Heraclea Sintica in southwestern Bulgaria. The additive Sintica refers to the Sintians, a Thracian tribe that lived in the Valley of the Struma, the Greek Strymon River that runs past Amphipolis. The Sintian occupation goes back to 1300-1200 BC. Although many sources claim that the city had been founded by Cassander around 300 BC, others state that it was Philip, Alexander’s father who conquered Sintica and added Heraclea to remind the Thracians and the Macedonians that his ancestor was Heracles. The city’s layout appears to be similar to that of Philippi or Philippopolis. 

Heraclea Sintica was a major hub on the North-South traffic and connected the Aegean coast to Macedonia, Thrace, and the Balkan hinterland. In its heyday, its population may have reached 40-50,000 inhabitants! 

The city existed at least until the 6^th century AD since it was mentioned in the Byzantine tax records of Emperor Justinian the Great. 

Although the city's name was known, it took some investigation to find its location. A Latin inscription left by Emperor Galerius revealed that in response to their plea to restore their lost civil rights in 308 AD, he addressed the local citizens as those of Heraclea Sintica. 

Serious and steady excavations in Heraclea Sintica are pretty recent and seem to have started in 2007. 

By 2016, an imposing Basilica was unearthed, measuring 22 x 16 meters with walls rising five meters tall, next to other sanctuaries and shops. An older Basilica from the 4th century BC was discovered a year earlier. A striking find happened in 2017 when a Roman gold necklace came to light. It has been dated to the 4^th century AD and may have been made by craftsmen in Rome. 

In 2018, a headless Roman statue from ca. 100 AD was found underneath the stairs of the Forum. The statue represents a magistrate and was apparently carefully buried four meters deep. More recently, a female head was discovered in the eastern corner of the Forum. This head carries traces of ocher paint, indicating that the woman was blond. In ancient times, blond hair symbolized sin. This beautiful marble seems to date to the same time as the headless man. It is too early to draw any conclusion about the reason for these careful burial rites, as the site has not been entirely investigated yet. Intriguingly, both discoveries were made underneath buildings of later periods. Archaeologists suppose that these respectful funerals could have had a ritual meaning in antiquity – and may have been meant as protection from calamities or barbarian attacks. 

More questions remain unsolved, like the bone needle whose end was wrapped in a thin gold sheet. It must have belonged to a woman of some importance who lived in Heraclea Sintica in the 2^nd century AD. 

Undoubtedly, many more buildings and artifacts are still hidden from view, awaiting to be uncovered.

Herakleia-by-Latmos

Herakleia-by-Latmos is one of those odd places to visit. The remains of the ancient city are squeezed between the Latmos Mountains and the edge of Lake Bafa. However, you have to find them! 

Today’s village of Kapıkırı holds few promises of interesting ruins as its houses are built on top of the ancient remains. It takes a careful eye to spot abandoned walls, towers, column drums rooted into a tree, and other heart-shaped drums among the modern constructions. 

To start with, the place is off the beaten path and hard to find. That was not always the case because, in antiquity, Herakleia had full access to the sea deep inside a vast gulf. Over the centuries, this gulf has mainly been silted up with the alluvia carried along by the Meander River. By the end of the 3rd century AD, access from the sea was cut off, and all that remained was Lake Bafa. 

When Alexander the Great besieged Miletus, he and his army arriving from Priene had to march along the shores of this vast Latmian Gulf. Now, looking south from Priene towards Miletus, we’ll notice a flat plain that was once at the bottom of the sea. 

It is generally admitted that Herakleia was founded by Pleistarchus, son of Antipater (see: Antipater and Alexander), in the early 3rd century BC. He ruled over large parts of Caria and made Herakleia his capital, initially named after him, Pleistarcheia. 

Pleistarcheia/Herakleia prospered in Hellenistic times as goods arriving by sea from the west were forwarded further by road into the Carian hinterland. An extensive network of roads, probably conceived by Pleistarchus exiting the city, has been discovered. It is not easy to piece the remaining sections together because, over the centuries, its stones have been reused elsewhere. As the pavement shows no ruts from carts and is occasionally interrupted by stairs, these roads were only used by pedestrians, horses, and beasts of burden. They connected, however, with essential thoroughfares in the valley of the Meander. 

Archaeologists eventually bring the scattered remains to life by recognizing the constructions from antiquity. The open space of the Agora is easiest to spot by the modern visitor as it functions as a parking lot. The marketplace measured an impressive 60x110m and was surrounded by marble colonnades in the Doric style. This was the center for commerce and trade of cattle, agricultural products, and honey in particular. 

Overlooking the Agora are the walls of a temple built in the Doric order with two, now missing, columns at the entrance. It was most probably dedicated to Athena. Inscriptions on the outside walls of the temple reveal that it served as an archive to the city. They also give us essential information about the history of Herakleia and Asia Minor in the early 2nd century BC. In those days, the ambition of the Seleucid king Antioch III was to rule over all of Asia Minor. However, the Romans defeated him at the Battle of Magnesia ad Sipylum in 190 BC. The blocks with these inscriptions are scattered on the temple's north side. From the south side, another inscription was recovered that is being kept at the Louvre. This is a letter by Lucius Cornelius Scipio, Consul of Rome, and Publius Scipio, his brother, addressed to the Boulé and the people of Herakleia. 

Also dating from the 2nd century BC are the Bouleuterion, the theater, and the Gymnasium. There are, of course, many other remains from temples and houses that need further investigation. From later dates are the Roman Baths, a Nymphaeum, as well as remains of the city walls. The ramparts are among the best-preserved of their time, extending for more than 6 km and counting over 40 towers. In places, they stand to a height of 6 meters. 

Herakleia’s necropolis is located in the far south of the city, as always outside the walls. A large, not yet excavated tumulus is believed to belong to Pleistarchus. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of rock-cut graves do not immediately catch the eye as they appear as mere rectangular openings in the rock wall. 

The conclusion is that there is far more to explore and discover than one would expect at first sight! As mentioned in my bibliography, I’ll gladly refer to the beautiful book, although written in German Herakleia in Latmos by A. Peschlow-Bindokat.

Herakleia in Latmos by A. Peschlow-Bindokat

Herakleia am Latmos by Anneliese Peschlow-Bindokat (ISBN 9758293729) is the rarest and most complete archaeological guide you can find, not only about Herakleia itself but also about the much older settlement of Latmos, the entire mountainous area and the place of both cities in the history of Caria. Unfortunately for the English reader, this book is available only in Turkish and German, but that should not keep you from investigating. 

For those who are not familiar with Herakleia, it will be helpful to place it geographically. Today's visitor will find the remains among the town of Kapikiri at the eastern edge of Bafa Lake, off the beaten path from better-known sites like Priene, Miletus and Didyma. When the first settlers arrived at Latmos around 1000 BC, it had full access to the sea in the depth of a wide gulf, which today has been entirely silted up with the alluvia carried along by the Meander River. Eventually, Herakleia was settled as the capital city of Caria, right next to Latmos. 

I find the history of Caria a very complex and complicated one, but this guide really covers every single aspect of it. After pinpointing the area geographically, attention is given to the Latmos Mountains and its first settlers. They created intriguing prehistoric wall paintings, followed by the Hittite occupation and finally the foundation of the Carian city of Latmos. Herakleia, on the other hand, was founded in the 3rd century BC, and the author takes us through the remains of this Hellenistic city, its necropolis, and its widespread network of access roads. Herakleia was, above all, a sanctuary for the Carian gods. The history would not be complete without mentioning Byzantine and Ottoman occupation traces and following the trail of time to modern settlements.

Surprisingly, through these overall gneiss rock formations runs is a wide vein of marble that was quarried to construct the famous Temple of Artemis in Ephesos. Miletus owned its own quarry, and there are still column drums lying around that never made it to the renowned oracle Temple of Apollo in Didyma.

A final chapter is dedicated to the daring or intrepid visitor, providing a list of several tours through the larger area, including detailed maps and full descriptions. 

Overall, the book is richly illustrated with plenty of clear photographs, drawings of reconstructions, and location maps; the front and back flaps can be unfolded into handy maps of Caria and the Latmos Mountains area. I don't think anyone is left with questions after reading this book!