A Phrygian tomb with a link to King Midas?

Last winter, a tomb was found inside an 8-meter-high and 60-meter-wide tumulus near Gordion, not too far from the famous tomb King Midas built for his father, Gordias (see: Gordion, a name with a resonance). 

[Picture from Turkiye Today, AA Photo]

Archaeologists suspect this burial site has links to the Phrygian royal family. A tumulus listed as T26 has yielded a wooden burial chamber closely resembling the structure inside the Midas Tumulus. It contained human remains, possibly a member of the dynasty of King Midas. 

Over one hundred grave goods were exposed, including bronze and iron cauldrons, tripods, and incense burners not unlike those retrieved from the Midas Tumulus.  Despite the chamber having been crushed over the millennia under layers of stone and soil, a bronze jug covered with linen (a rare find by itself) helped to date the site to the 8th century BC. 

It has been established that this tomb clearly has a link to Phrygian Royalty. 

An unknown kingdom in Turkey, lost in time

The time of great discoveries is not behind us. The world still holds many surprises to be unveiled, believe it or not! 

As recently as last winter, a farmer in southern Turkey unearthed a large stone stuck in an irrigation canal. This stone carried mysterious inscriptions belonging to an ancient, lost civilization. 

The archaeologists determined that the writing was in Luwian, an ancient Indo-European language from Anatolia. It was used by the people living in western and southern Asia Minor from the 2^nd millennium BC, prior to the arrival of the Hittites. The hieroglyphic symbols were read in alternating sequences from right to left and left to right.

This newly discovered inscription mentions an ancient civilization that might have defeated the Phrygians, best known through their King Midas, in the late 8^th century BC (see: Gordion, a name with a resonance). A specific symbol on the stone indicated that the message came directly from their ruler, King Hartapu. The name Hartapu was known from a previously discovered inscription on a mound some 16 kilometers away, but at that time neither his title nor kingdom was mentioned. 

The kingdom, whose name is not known yet, existed between the 9^th and the 7^th centuries BC. Its capital was probably located near Turkmen-Karahöyük, less than 20 kilometers from the UNESCO site of Çatalhöyük. 

Imagine, this was 300-500 years before Alexander! Maybe he had the answers we hope to find in future research?

[Pictures from Archaeology World]

The gold myth surrounding King Midas

The legend of how Dionysus granted King Midas’ wish to turn everything he touched into gold is well-known and almost proverbial, highlighting the immense wealth of this Phrygian king who lived in the late 8^th century BC.

Strangely enough, archaeologists never were able to find much of that gold when excavating the site of Gordion and the surrounding area. So, was it all a myth?

Recently, scholars may have found a plausible answer when they investigated the clothes of Gordion’s elite population. Some of the fabrics used were coated with goethite, an iron-bearing hydroxide mineral found in the soil. A definite proof was found in the royal tomb attributed to Gordias, the father of King Midas. His shroud had been dyed with goethite, giving the impression that it was woven from gold.

Goethite was known as a paint pigment long before King Midas’ days and was used as early as the paintings of the Paleolithic Caves of Lascaux in France. Applied to the fabrics, it produces a golden shine.

Rather than referring to the production of gold artifacts, Midas’ golden touch may very well refer to this clothing fashion instead.

Gordion, a name with a resonance

The very name Gordion, the capital of ancient Phrygia, automatically raises images of King Midas’ Tomb and of Alexander cutting the famous knot, making him the king of the world according to the legend.

Today, Gordion (approximately 58 miles southwest of modern Ankara) makes the headlines because a wooden tomb has been unearthed in a new tumulus where treasure hunters had started illegal digging. This is the second wooden tomb ever found, the first being the one attributed to King Midas, but both date back to the 8^th century BC. Serious excavations started here by the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, and hopes are high to find the remains of an eminent personality.

Fieldwork carried out in 2014 and 2015 has revealed the presence of 21 new tumuli in the area, bringing their total number to 124. I find this not really surprising, for when I drove up to Gordion a few years ago, I had been wondering about the many man-made hills in the otherwise flat landscape. A recent article in the Hurriyet Daily News discloses sites at the following locations: Yassihöyük, 87 tumuli; Şabanözü, 12 tumuli and 2 mounds; Çekirdeksiz, 4 tumuli, and 2 mounds; Kiranharmani, 7 tumuli, and 1 mound; Beylikköprü, 10 tumuli; Ömerler, 2 tumuli; Sazilar, 1 tumulus; and Beyceğiz, 1 tumulus. Enough work for future generations, I’d say.

Gordion was the capital city of the land of the Phrygians, who settled here in the early 9^th century BC and reached their peak a century later. Yet the country remained under constant enemy threat, and it has been reported that the Cimmerians destroyed Gordion in 690 BC. When the Lydians in turn arrived, they rebuilt the city, but it was destroyed once again by the invading army of Cyrus the Great in 547-546 BC. From then onward, Gordion once again became a commercial and military center, this time as a satrapy in the Achaemenid Empire. The Persians even installed a garrison at Gordion, which was eventually overthrown by Parmenion, one of Alexander’s generals, who spent the winter of 333/334 BC here with part of the army.  At the same time, Alexander marched through Lycia in the south to regroup with Parmenion the next spring. In 278 BC, however, the city was destroyed by the Gauls and totally abandoned by 200 AD.

The most famous king of Phrygia is, beyond any doubt, King Midas, best known in Greek mythology and famous for his ability to change everything he touched into gold. The story goes that one night, he met the satyr Silenus and hoped to learn from his wisdom. He gave him food and drink and returned him to his companion Dionysus. To thank the king for his kindness, Dionysus granted him a wish. Although he was already famous for his wealth, King Midas obviously wanted more and received the ability to turn any object he touched into gold. The wish worked to perfection, and consequently, all trees, flowers, fruits, and even the soil the king touched turned into gold. When trying to mount his horse, it too turned into gold. The worst happened when he sat down for dinner, and all the tasty food instantly was transformed into gold. He realized his fate too late and suffered from hunger and thirst; his bed became hard as stone, now it was made of gold. Sick with misery, he sought out Dionysus again, asking him to reverse the gift. Luckily, Dionysus was very understanding and told him to wash in the Pactolus River in Lydia. As soon as he arrived, he jumped into the water, washing away his curse. Part of the legend lives on as gold is still being retrieved from the river bed of the Pactolus.

On my tour In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great with Peter Sommer, I visited the tomb of King Midas in Gordion, although some sources say that it is too old to belong to this king, as he might have built it for his predecessor, maybe his father. It is housed inside a huge tumulus, 53 meters high and approximately 300 meters in diameter. I didn’t know what to expect here, but once inside, I saw walls made of wooden beams in the style of a log cabin in which an opening had been cut to access the burial room. The beams were heavily studded on all sides shortly after being discovered, originally because the tomb was flooded and later because the wood was being attacked by fungi and insects. In fact, the visitor can only see the thick wooden beams and is sadly not allowed inside the actual burial chamber.

That burial chamber measures 5.15x6.2 meters and is 3.25 meters high. Thanks to an analysis of the timber, the tomb has been dated to about 740 BC. Beside the bed on which the skeleton of a man of about 60 years was resting, the room was filled with bronze and brass vessels varying from huge cauldrons to smaller plates and beakers, ladders, fibulae, and exquisite inlaid wooden tables and stands. Of typical Phrygian origin are bronze belts, wooden and bronze animal figures, and geometric pottery. All the artifacts have been moved to the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara and the Archaeological Museum in Istanbul.

So far, no traces of the city have been dug up. Strabo describes Gordion’s location as close to a river, but over the centuries, the nearby river has shifted, and today’s level is about eleven meters higher. Yet, I do visit a site that might be Gordion – if not, evidently another important Phrygian settlement. There was a big outer city here, something in the style of Troy. The city gate had timber walls on the inside, which should help in dating it. The city’s ramparts, on the other hand, were made of two parallel stone walls, and the inside space was filled with wood. The Cimmerians destroyed Gordion in 696 BC, and the ensuing fire preserved these walls, which were later covered with mud up to four meters deep. A new city was built by the Lydians in the same pattern on top of the existing remains. Otherwise, it’s difficult to figure out what has been excavated in spite that one of the large buildings could be the royal palace. The only recognizable features are the grinding stones that are nicely lined up for the occasion.

At the small local museum, I marvel at the Phrygian pebble mosaics from the 9^th century BC, tiny pebbles skillfully arranged in geometric patterns. There is also a collection of Phrygian terracotta roof tiles, gutters, and decorative plaques. It seems that the technique was invented in Greece around the middle of the 7^th century BC and that the idea had spread in Anatolia in the early 6^th century BC – an interesting way to date these architectural elements.

Upon his arrival at Gordion, Alexander joined up with Parmenion, who had spent the winter in this area. Also, the newly married men from Macedonia who had been sent home last winter arrived with extra fresh troops to increase Alexander’s forces.

There is no trace of the place where Alexander cut the Gordian knot, of course. It just could be anywhere in the region. Why didn’t the ancient writer mention King Midas’ Tomb in connection with the knot that would have made things so much easier for us? 

I find myself in one of the strangest landscapes of Turkey, so flat, so barren, yet dotted with so many perfectly shaped cones, i.e., the tumuli that are still under investigation. It is hard to picture Strabo’s description of this being a naturally fertile land with many woods of pine trees and juniper.

Whether Alexander stopped purposely at Gordion to cut the knot is not certain, but he certainly could not have resisted taking up the challenge! According to the legend, Phrygia in ancient times was without a king, and an oracle had predicted that the first man entering the city with an ox-cart would become their king. It turned out to be a peasant farmer named Gordias. Out of gratitude, his son Midas decided to dedicate the ox cart to their main god, Sabazios. He tied the cart to a post using an intricate knot of cornel bark, and it stood there at the palace for the next four centuries till Alexander arrived in 333 BC. Sources from antiquity do not agree with the way he “untied” this knot. 

Alexander must have had a very close look at it, but since the ends of the ropes were hidden, he could not figure this out. Well, he was not going to give up and certainly didn’t want to lose face in front of his men and the newly conquered citizens. Some claim that Alexander simply pulled the pin securing the yoke to the pole of the cart, thus exposing both ends. A less plausible (but more theatrical) theory is that he simply sliced the knot with a stroke of his sword. It seems that the prophecy announcing that whoever untied the knot would become the king of Asia was born at that time. True or not, it does not really matter. At any rate, that very night a violent thunderstorm rumbled over Gordion, and Aristander, Alexander’s soothsayer, said this was a sign that Zeus (generally accepted as the counterpart of Phrygian Sabazios) was blessing the king with many victories.

Ancient Turkey. A Travellers’ History by Seton Lloyd

Seton Lloyd is one of those rare authors able to tell a lot in a few words while not giving the impression of bombarding his readers with facts and figures.

Ancient Turkey. A Travellers’ History (ISBN 9780520220423) gives a lively overview of Turkey’s rich history from prehistoric times up to Christianity, covering the country's occupation by the Hittites, Phrygians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans.

This book is handily divided into concise chapters sharing just enough details about each ruling power to keep you reading. You’ll find good basic information about the enigmatic Hittites in Central Anatolia; the mysterious Trojans; the power of King Midas and the wealth of King Croesus; the occupation by the Persians including Xenophon's journey of the Ten Thousand; the rise of Macedonia leading to the conquests of Alexander the Great and the spreading of Hellenism; the Roman Power and the legacy of Augustus; concluding with early Christianity in the footsteps of St Paul. Quite a chunk of history is presented in a very comprehensible way.

Seton Lloyd has added several unique pictures, many of them from the days of early excavations, which make them interesting to those who are more familiar with these major archaeological sites.

This is an excellent reference book that can be consulted for any time period of the rich history of Turkey.

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.