imitation and adaptation. two roman basilicas at ephesus and aphrodisias

7/30/2019 Imitation and Adaptation. Two Roman Basilicas at Ephesus and Aphrodisias

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Neue Zeiten – Neue Sitten

Zu Rezeption und Integration romischen

und italischen Kulturguts in Kleinasien

herausgegeben von

M arion Meyer

Sonderdruck

Phoibos V erlagß W ien 2007



Philip Stinson

Imitation and Adaptation in Architectural Design:

Two Roman Basilicas at Ephesus and Aphrodisias*

This paper deals with the development of an unusual type of basilical architecture in Asia Minor

during the Roman period. It explores the evidence for the transmission of architectural characteri-

stics between two similar but not identical buildings in western Asia Minor, the late Augustan ba-

silica at Ephesus and a similar but larger and more lavishly decorated basilica at Aphrodisias,

which was built in the Flavian period1. The scholarly fascination with ancient architectural »co-

pies« is warranted, as they make clear the professional roles that Greek and Roman architects

held in antiquity. Although similar but not identical buildings appear more frequently in the ar-

chaeological record, their generating processes have not been studied as much. Consideration of

such buildings holds the potential to illuminate the general working methods and practices of an-

cient architects, and clariWes the nature of innovation. Secondly, this paper contributes to the on-

going debate about the validity of the term »Romanization« when applied to the Greek-speaking

provinces of the Roman empire. It introduces mediating factors in the diV usion of Roman archi-

tecture to Asia Minor, such as the local building industry and the competition among towns to

imitate the monuments of larger cities. These factors give cause to reassess the traditional mea-

nings of Roman cultural markers, such as the basilica.

We will begin with some deWnitions and assumptions. The Roman basilica as a building

type can be deWned as an enclosed, rectangular building that functioned as a roofed extension of

the forum; its spacious, protected interior permitted activities to take place in any kind of wea-

ther. Vitruvius stipulated that basilicas should have rectangular proportions and consist of three

aisles divided by columns, the central nave being considerably wider and taller than the side

aisles2. Because of its utility and structural simplicity, the basilica was one of the most adaptable

building types of antiquity. Scholars have shown interest in various aspects of its architectural de-

velopment, particularly the origins of the building type. It is traditionally thought to be a Roman

invention, although the word »basilica« has Greek origins, and the architecture recalls Greek

stoas, peristyle courts, and Egyptian hypostyle halls. Conventional thinking has it that there were

two main varieties of basilical plans. There was a broad, short »Republican type« and a longer ver-

sion of this. Both were essentially the same building, one simply longer than the other. One or

the other variation was appropriate, depending on the shape of the proposed building site and

other practical considerations3.

* See the following abbreviations:

Alzi nger 1974 = W. Alzi nger , Auguste ische Arch itek tur in

Ephesos, SoSchrOAI 16 (1974)Balty 1991 = J. C. Balty, Curia Ordinis. Recherches d’ar-

chitecture et d’urbanisme antiques sur les curies provinci-

ales du monde romain (1991)

Coulton 1976 = J. J. Coulton, The Architectural Develop-

ment of the Greek Stoa (1976)

Fossel-Peschl 1982 = E. Fossel-Peschl, Die Basilika am

Staatsmarkt in Ephesos (1982)

von Hesberg 2002 = H. von Hesberg, Die Basilika von

Ephesos - die kulturelle Kompetenz der neuen Stifter, in:

Ch. Berns - H. von Hesberg - L. Vandeput - M. Wael-

kens (Hrsg.), Patris und Imperium. Kulturelle und politi-

sche Identitat in den Stadten der romischen Provinzen

Kleinasiens in der fruhen Kaiserzeit. Kolloquium Koln,

November 1998, BABesch Suppl. 8 (2002) 149V .

Gros 1996 = P. Gros, L’architecture romaine: du de but du

IIIe si ecle av. J.-C. a ` la Wn du Haut-Empire 1. Les monu-

ments publics (1996)Price 1984 = S. R. F. Price, Rituals and Power. The Roman

Imperial Cult in Asia Minor (1984)

1 Archaeological research on the civil basilica at Aph-

rodisias is the subject of the author’s doctoral dissertation

and is supported by New York University.

2 Vitr. 5, 1.

3 For recent overviews of the Roman basilica, s. Gros

1996, 238-259; A. Nunnerich- Asmus, Bas ilika und Po rti-

kus. Die Architektur der S aulenhallen als Ausdruck gewan-

delter Urbanitat in spater Republik and fruher Kaiserz eit

(1994). For a recent reassessment of the origins of the

Roman basilica, s. K. Welch, A New View of the Origins

of the Basilica. The Atrium Regium, Graecostasis, and

Roman Diplomacy, JRA 16, 2003, 5-

33.

91



Many scholars interested in the archaeology and architectural history of Graeco-Roman

Asia Minor are no-doubt familiar with the basilica on the north side of the upper agora, or

»Staatsmarkt« at Ephesus, which was built in the late Augustan period by C. Sextilius Pollio and

his family (Abb. 1)4. This building is usually touted as being the earliest structure in Asia Minor

to show the inXuence of the Roman basilica building type; a more accurate assessment of its sig-

niWcance would be that it reXects the earlier architectural traditions of both Hellenistic Greeceand Rome5. Like typical western Roman basilicas, it had a two-story nave and side aisles, but un-

like them, it had extremely long and narrow proportions, ca. 180 m long and only 20 m wide, a

9:1 ratio (Abb. 1. 3). The basilica at Ephesus was monumental in length, but not in width or

height. The rectangular halls attached to both short ends of the nave also distinguished the buil-

ding from its western counterparts. In general, the design of the basilica did not depart strikingly

from the portico that it replaced6, nor from typical large two-aisled stoas of the Hellenistic pe-

riod, such as the Stoa of Attalos in the Athenian Agora, or others in Asia Minor, such as the

North Stoa of Priene7. The innovation of the basilica at Ephesus could be said to be its combina-

tion of a two-story nave with the colonnades and elongated plan of a stoa. Scholars often call it a

stoa-basilica or basilica-stoa for this reason, but also because of the unique dedicatory inscription

that refers to the building as both a basilica in Latin and basilike stoa in Greek 8. That the mixing

of Greek and Roman language in the dedicatory inscription is echoed in the building’s architectu-

ral language makes the basilica of Ephesus uniquely relevant for the current debate on the Roma-

nization of the Greek-speaking provinces.

The elongated proportions of the basilica at Ephesus have been noted and analyzed by scho-

lars. There are other aspects of the architecture that have not been discussed as much, and they

oV er additional insights into the underlying processes that generated the building’s design: the

structural conWguration of the interior colonnades, and the large rooms at each end of the nave

(Abb. 1. 3). We will begin with the colonnades. It is conventionally understood, after the work

of Wilhelm Alzinger and Elisabeth Fossel-Peschl, that the interior colonnades’ interaxial spacing

was originally 4,8 m, or double that of the outer front colonnade (Abb. 3. 4)9. This aspect of

the basilica’s design is consistent with that of Hellenistic stoas. The inner span was typically

double that of the outer span, and the typical inner span usually fell in the range of 4,40-

5,00 m10. The reasons for the wider inner span seem clear enough; a more spacious interior was

pleasing, and the additional area between the columns could be used for diV erent purposes.

Wood beams provided enough tensile strength to allow for the extended span. For structural sta-

bility the two-story inner colonnades of Roman basilicas required a relatively narrow interaxial

column spacing, usually in the range of 2,5-3,5 m. What we Wnd in the lower story of the nave

at Ephesus respected longstanding local traditions in the planning and construction of Greek

stoas.

4 Alzinger 1974, 26-37. 49-51; Fossel-Peschl 1982;

von Hesberg 2002, 149-

158. – I thank Georg Plattner andthe Ephesus Museum of Vienna for allowing the photo-

graph in Abb. 1 to be published.

5 There is little archaeological evidence further east

for precedents for the late Augustan basilica at Ephesus,

although Josephus describes a three-aisled basilical hall

that Herod built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem; s.

von Hesberg 2002; vgl. Balty 1991, 289f.

6 W. Alzinger, Die Lokalisierung des hellenistischen

Rathauses von Ephesos, in: H. Busing - F. Hiller (Hrsg.),

Bathron. Beitrage zur Architektur und verwandten Kun-

sten fur Heinrich Drerup zu seinem 80. Geburtstag, Saar-

brucker Studien zur Archaologie und Alten Geschichte 3

(1988) 27 Abb. 10; Fossel-Peschl 1982, 55.

7 Alzinger 1974, 32; Gros 1996, 246; P. Gros, Les

nouveaux espaces civiques du debut de l’Empire en AsieMineure : les exemples d’E phese, Ias os et Aphrodi sias, in : C.

Roueche - R. R. R. Smith (Hrsg.), Aphrodisias Papers 3,

JRA Supp l. 20 (199 6) 111-116; von Hesberg 2002, 150-

155.

8 Alzinger 1974, 26-28; D. Knibbe u. a., Neue In-

schriften aus Ephesos VII, OJh 62, 1993, 148f.; R. A.

Kearsley (Hrsg.), Greeks and Romans in Imperial Asia.

Mixed Language Inscriptions and Linguistic Evidence for

Cultural Interaction until the End of AD III (2001) 127–

129 Nr. 154.

9 Alzinger 1974, 29-31; Fossel-Peschl 1982, 14.

10 Coulton 1976, 76-78.

Philip Stinson

92



The architect of the basilica at Ephesus, however, took an exceptional course in daring to

respect local tradition while at the same time attempting to innovate. By insisting on a wide inter-

axial spacing for the lower story and halving this spacing in the upper story, he placed the struc-

tural integrity of the whole building in jeopardy (Abb. 3. 4). Needless to say, Greek and Roman

architects typically aligned superimposed colonnades for practical reasons, so that the upper loads

could be transmitted directly to the lower columns. Alternatively, a single colossal order of unbro-ken height could be used, as Vitruvius recommended for his basilica at Fanum and which may

have been done at Pompeii11. Furthermore, it is possible to hypothesize that the architect was

aware that structural failure could occur, because there is telling physical evidence. Special pains

were taken to redistribute the dead loads of the intermediate upper columns to the lower stor y

columns. These eV orts included the widening of each Ionic capital’s abacus, with a sculpted

bull’s head protruding from the pulvinus, to increase each capital’s load-bearing surface area 12.

Also, each free-spanning segment of frieze was special ly designed to function stat ically as a kind

of »Xat arch«, or piattabanda, whereby relieving the central section of free-spanning architrave be-

low from loading (Abb. 4)13. Unfortunately though, unplanned major structural adjustments

were also required. At an unknown point, either later (which would have required signiWcant eV-

orts) or perhaps during the original construction process, Corinthian columns were placed bet-

ween the original Ionic ones (Abb. 3. 4)14.

Other signiWcant features of the basilica at Ephesus are the rectangular halls at both short

ends of the nave (Abb. 1. 3)15. We will be primarily concerned with the east hall. Measuring

20 m614, 5 m, this space was entered from the nave through a wide archway and from the side

aisles through trabeated openings. The view of the archway from the nave was not impeded by a

colonnade or ambulatory passing in front16. The hall’s function is unknown, but it could have

been used for multiple purposes, such as for meetings of various kinds, or for tribunals, that is, if

the basilica had a governmental function, which is often assumed to be the case17. The remark-

able discovery of enthroned statues of Augustus and Livia in the remains of the east hall may

also indicate an imperial cult function of some kind. All that can be said for certain though is

that the east hall was probably used for the public display of honoriWc dedications to the impe-

rial family, as well as to elite private citizens such as the building’s patron, Pollio18.

The tribunal of the Republican Roman basilica does not provide an unambiguous or incon-

trovertible precedent for the east hall. In contrast to the tribunals of contemporary Roman basili-

cas, the east hall at Ephesus is not attached to the middle of the back wall, as recommended by

Vitruvius, but rather to the short end of the nave’s longitudinal axis (Abb. 3). The tribunal of

the basilica at Pompeii invites comparison, but, unlike the east hall at Ephesus, the tribunal was

not an independent space per se, and the colonnade and ambulatory that passed in front of it par-

tially obscured its view from the nave19.

1 1 Vitr. 5, 1, 6. 10.

12 Alzinger 1974, 36 Abb. 86-91; Fossel-Peschl 1982,

31 Abb. 6. 7; F. Rumscheid, Untersuchungen zur klein-asiatischen Bauornamentik des Hellenismus (1994) Taf.

40, 7; 41, 1. Although their sacriWcial symbolism is often

emphasized in modern scholarship, the boukranion occurs

consistently in the Hellenistic period on nearly every type

of building in Asia Minor and the Aegean islands, sacred or

civic, on temples, altars, stoas, propylons, theaters, and

houses. P. Webb, Hellenistic Architectural Sculpture. Figu-

ral Motifs in Western Anatolia and the Aegean Islands

(1996) 29f. Abb. 62. 63; vgl. Rumscheid a. O. Taf. 2, 3;

91, 5; 92, 3.

13 Fossel-Peschl 1982, 31 Abb. 9. 12; vgl. C. Giuliani,

L’edilizia nell’antichita ` (1998) 85-88. The origins of this

technique remains obscure, but this instance of it in the

basilica at Ephesus is the earliest known to this author in

Asia Mino r.

14 I thank Hilke Thur and Georg Plattner for discus-

sing with me this perplexing problem.1 5 Fossel-Peschl 1982, 42-45.

16 Fossel-Peschl 1982, 29f. 57 emphasizes the harmo-

nious views set oV by the arches at each end of the nave and

the »perspektivische Wirkung« of the seemingly endless

colonnades.

17 Fossel-Peschl 1982, 55; von Hesberg 2002, 152.

18 Alzinger 1974, 30. 32f.; Fossel-Peschl 1982, 55; B.

Rose, Dynastic Commemoration and Imperial Portraiture

in the Julio-Claudian Period (1997) 175 Taf. 214. 215.

For possible association of the upper agora with a sebasteion

at Ephesus, s. Price 1984, 140; P. Scherrer, Augustus, die

Mission des Vedius Pollio und die Artemis Ephesia, O Jh

60, 1990, 99-101.

19 K. Ohr, Die Basilika in Pompeji (1991) Taf. 56. 61.

Imitation and Adaptation in Architectural Design

93



To understand the east hall better one should consider the architectural history of the

Greek stoa in the late Hellenistic period. The east hall may be speciWcally related to the practice

of building wall returns at one or both ends of a stoa, which occurred quite frequently in Asia

Minor; examples include the north stoa at Assos, the Marktbau of Aigai, or the south stoa at

Magnesia on the Maeander. This created a shallow »space« on the inside, whose degree of utility

in any case is uncertain

20

, but what we Wnd at Ephesus can be interpreted as the dramatic enlarge-ment of such a space to create a more useful and architecturally prominent entity. A veritable si-

mulacrum of contemporary date for the east hall at Ephesus was discovered recently at

Aphrodisias ; excavations uncovered a hall, measuring 10617 m, at the east end of the south

double-aisled stoa of the North Agora (Abb. 2)21. Both the basilica of Ephesus and the south

stoa at Aphrodisias are testaments to the process of the gradual interiorization of Greek civic

space that began during the Hellenistic period and intensiWed after the coming of Rome22.

In light of this analysis, one can reconsider whether the east hall of the basilica at Ephesus

should be referred to as a Roman chalcidicum, as some of my colleagues do. The chalcidicum that

the Roman architect Vitruvius mentions does not seem to match the evidence from Ephesus. Vi-

truvius writes that a chalcidicum can be built at the end of a basilica if the site is too long 23. The

term as Vitruvius uses it suggests that a chalcidicum was used to solve a purely practical problem.

The east hall at Ephesus, however, was not a porch or a vestibule; the space was clearly a major

destination point. Moreover, as argued above, the architectural design evolved primarily from

Hellenistic traditions. If the east hall had a name at all, it was probably referred to as an oikos of

some kind, perhaps with a qualifying attribute, like countless other rooms, halls, and buildings

in Asia Minor.

If archaeological preservation can be a guide, it was 50-75 years later before another struc-

ture like the basilica at Ephesus was built in Asia Minor. Our focus changes from the metropolis

of Ephesus to the medium-sized town of Aphrodisias in Caria, where a basilica was erected in the

late Wrst century A.D. (Abb. 2. 3). Since its discovery and excavation in the 1970s, this buil-

ding, conventionally known as the »Civil Basilica«, has been of interest to scholars because of the

sculptural decoration of the nave, which portrayed to visitors the legendary and mythological hi-

story of Aphrodisias, and also because of two imperial edicts of the emperor Diocletian, the fa-

mous price edict and a lesser-known currency edict, which were inscribed across the north facade

of the building in the early fourth century A.D. Only recently have the architecture, sculpture,

and inscriptions been considered in concert as a spatial and historical unit 24. The basilica’s con-

struction followed a course of development already underway in the early Wrst century A.D. to

create a second large public square in the center of the town, the South Agora, and was the se-

cond major public building to be built there after the Portico of Tiberius. The long, narrow basi-

20 Coulton 1976, 81 Abb. 25. 254; vgl. Abb. 21.

21 Ch. Ratte, Aphrodisias, Byzas 3, 2006, 37–48. The

east hall of the north stoa shown in Abb. 2 is hypothetical.

s. also the similar, later halls at Thera and Iasos. The former is discussed in Balty 1991, 391-393 Abb. 194; vgl. Price

1984, 141f. A western parallel is the honoriWc room of the

north portico in the forum of Augustus, s. P. Zanker, Il

foro di Augusto (1984) 8 Abb. 8. 9.

22 Coulton 1976, 74. 168–180; P. Gros, Les nou-

veaux espaces civiques du debut de l’Empire en Asie Mi-

neure: les exemples d’Ephese, Iasos et Aphrodisias, in: C.

Roueche - R. R. R. Smith (Hrsg.), Aphrodisias Papers 3,

JRA Supp l. 20 (1996 ). Other rela ted deve lopme nts in this

regard include the creation during the Hellenistic period of

a range of special meeting halls usually positioned at the

side or back of a peristyle court, such as the ephebeum of

the Gymnasium of Miletus, or the rooms that honored

Hellenistic rulers, such as at Pergamon or Kalydon.

23 Vitr. 5, 1, 4. Vgl. P. Gros u. a., Vitruvio, De Archi-

tectura I (1997) 627.

24 For a preliminary report on the ongoing research by this author on the Civil Basilica of Aphrodisias, s. P. Stin-

son, The Civil Basilica of Aphrodisias in its Local and

Historical Settings, in: Aphrodisias Papers 4, JRA Suppl.

(forthcoming); on the sculpted reliefs, s. B. Yildirim, Iden-

tities and Empire. Local Mythology and the Self-Represen-

tation of Aphrodisias, in: B. Borg (Hrsg.), Paideia: The

World of the Seco nd Soph ist ic (200 4) 23-52; for the

Diocletianic inscriptions that were inscribed into the north

facade of the building, s. J. Reynolds, The Regulations of

Diocletian, in: C. Roueche, Aphrodisias in Late Antiquity

(1989) 252-318 doc. 231; for the currency edict 254-264

doc. 230.

Philip Stinson

94



lica, measuring 146629 m, had an unusual perpendicular orientation to the South Agora, which

was perhaps necessitated because of space limitations and the Theater hil l (Abb. 2). Later in the

second century the South Agora Wlled up with additional public buildings: a large bath complex

at the west end, a vast two-story columnar facade at the east end, and a long pool in the shape of

a hippodrome. The South Agora’s mixed composition suggests that it was used for both business

and leisure activities

25

. Analysis of the basi lica’s architectural design reveals again a generating process of imitation

and adaptation, and not the act of replicating or »copying« a model. The architect and patron of

the basilica at Aphrodisias clearly took inspiration for their new building from the earlier basilica

at Ephesus. Like Ephesus, the scheme featured an elongated covered hall of basilical cross-section

with a broader hall attached to the south end of the nave’s longitudinal axis (Abb. 3). Also, no

ambulatory crossed in front of the entrance to the south hall from the nave; the nave simply ter-

minated. These two basilicas had remarkably similar cross-sections as well, having no second

story galleries, and sharing construction details, such as a faux upper story balustrade, and the

use of the Ionic order for the colonnades (Abb. 3). Although the basilica at Aphrodisias was

much larger (discussed below), its nave had nearly the same proportional width to one side aisle

as at Ephesus, a ratio of ca. 1,5:1 in both cases.

The main diV erences involve urban setting and a dramatic increase in scale. Roman basili-

cas and Greek stoas were typically oriented with one long side facing a forum or agora, but as

mentioned above, because the Theater hill put limitations on the available space, the basilica of

Aphrodisias was oriented perpendicularly to the South Agora (Abb. 2). This unusual urban set-

ting directly inXuenced the building’s design and how it was used. Unlike the basilica of Ephe-

sus, the major entrance and exit points for the basilica of Aphrodisias were located on both of its

short ends (Abb. 2. 3); it was possible to enter one end of the building and go out the other.

Therefore, the basilica’s interior may have served as a grand entrance sequence to the Agora from

the southwest quadrant of the town. The presence of townspeople passing through the building

would not have precluded other activities and events from occurring inside, but it would have ad-

ded another layer of activity to what must have been a bustling public gathering place.

The basilica’s unusual orientation also dictated the need for an elaborate north facade

(Abb. 5). Recent research has shown that the north facade was characterized by a highly articula-

ted wall with a tall central door framed by Corinthian engaged columns, projecting corner piers,

and a pedimented attic story. In addition, nearly all of the spaces and gaps between the columns

and doorframes below the main entablature were Wlled in with an intricately molded screen wall,

which was constructed of thin marble panels arranged in three registers above a dado course.

Around A. D. 301 two imperial edicts of the emperor Diocletian were inscribed into the panels

of the screen wall: the edict of maximum prices and another edict concerning the currency. The

decision to place the edicts on the north facade of the basilica was probably related to its high vi-

sibility from the South Agora.

The primary diV erence though was a dramatic change in scale. The basilica at Aphrodisias

was half again as wide and tall as well as being much more sumptuously decorated with lavishly carved moldings, with the Ionic, Corinthian and composite orders, and 76 sculpted relief panels

in the nave (Abb. 4). Notable diV erences in the details include the taller proportions of the inte-

rior colonnades, the additional plinth of the lower order, and the socle course with pedestals un-

derneath the upper order – all enhancements designed to increase the height and sense of

verticality. The south hall of the basilica resembled a greatly enlarged and embellished version of

25 For the urban development of Aphrodisias, s. Ch.

Ratte, The Urban Development of Aphrodisias in the Late

Hellenistic and Early Imperial Periods, in: Ch. Berns u. a.

(Hrsg.), Patris und Imperium. Kulturelle und politische

Identitat in den Stadten der rom ischen Provinz en Klein-

asiens in der fruhen Kai serzeit. Kolloqui um Kol n, Nove m-

ber 1998, BABesch Suppl. 8 (2002) 5-32.


95



the east hall of the basilica at Ephesus, having three »stories« of wall decoration and standing ca.

20 m in height. In general, the grandeur of the interior of the basilica at Aphrodisias was in kee-

ping more, however, with contemporary trends of the Flavian period.

On the one hand, there is a clear indebtedness to the prototypical Asiatic basilica of Ephe-

sus apparent in the design of the basilica at Aphrodisias, but a striking departure from this prece-

dent is also observable, and indeed from the long tradition of the Greek stoa with a new kind of majestic and luxurious civic interior space26. In summary, the architect of the basilica at Aphro-

disias adapted a concept – spatial envelope and planning typology – to a unique site and also to

prevailing expectations in western Asia Minor for large scale public building.

The basilica of Aphrodisias also reXects the new state of wealth and prosperity that towns

like Aphrodisias experienced during the height of the pax romana. In competition with one an-

other, towns surely wanted to imitate the monuments of larger cities in the region, such as

Smyrna, Sardis, Pergamon, and especially Ephesus, the cosmopolitan capital of the province of

Asia 27. At Aphrodisias, the basilica would have been a source of awe and local pride simply be-

cause of its fully enclosed, roofed interior. The Stadium and Theater at Aphrodisias had recently

been rebuilt in marble, and the imperial cult complex known as the Sebasteion was Wnished, but

until this point in the town’s development, there had been no other building with an interior

space of this magnitude28. It is fascinating how the messages conveyed by the basilica’s architec-

ture and sculpted reliefs complemented one another in this regard: the reliefs made claims of a le-

gendary history for Aphrodisias; older, larger cities in Asia Minor had made such claims for

centuries29. Likewise, Aphrodisias was not a great metropolis like Ephesus, but the magniWcent

urban scale of the new basilica attempted to place Aphrodisias on a par with such cities.

Regarding Ephesus, even if the basilica made no great addition to the skyline of the upper

agora (Abb. 1), its interior space must have at least seemed diV erent30. But, did the architecture

communicate to passersby any sense of alterity, or were the Roman elements fully muted by their

subtle integration with Greek ones? The dedicatory inscription of the facade is illuminating in

this regard. The content of the inscription referred to the building as both a basilica in Latin and

basilike stoa in Greek 31. The meaning of basilike stoa in the Greek remains contentious32, but

there seems to be little doubt about the intended meaning of the Latin; the building carried the

prestige power of a Roman basilica 33.

26 There is also a general resemblance between the

basilica’s interior sequence of spaces and colonnades to

typical colonnaded avenues and streets in the Roman East,

a topic that is discussed elsewhere; s. Stinson (n. 24), forth-

coming. I thank Andreas Schmidt-Colinet for his interest

in this topic.

27 On competition among elites for public building

patronage: C. P. Jones, The Roman World of Dio Chryso-

stom (1978) 110V .; Price 1984, 126-132 Nr. 140; Ratte

a. O. 19f.28 J. Delaine, The Temple of Hadrian at Cyzicus and

Roman Attitudes to Exceptional Construction, Papers of

the British School at Rome 70, 2002, 205–230 who em-

phasizes the positive attributes of scale.

29 The fragmentary dedicatory inscription provides

little evidence to evaluate, other than the references it

seems to make to a Flavian emperor, although by this time

public building dedications mentioning the emperor an the

imperial family had become standard fare. On the inscrip-

tions from the Civil Basilica of Aphrodisias , s. the article

by J. Reynolds, Aphrodisias Papers 4, JRA Suppl. (forth-

coming).

30 Alzinger 1974, 34 emphasizes that the interior was

designed to impress visitors.

3 1 s. oben Anm. 8.

32 Coulton 1976, 180 warns against interpreting basi-

like stoa as referring to a building type, such as the Greek

version of what the Romans would have called a basilica or

a combination of basilica and stoa, a basilica-stoa or stoa-

basilica, citing evidence that basilike, or variations on

»royal« or »kingly«, as well as stoa could be loosely em-

ployed in Greek usage, even after the Roman development

of a building type called basilica in Latin; s. also G. Dow-ney, The Architectural SigniWcance of the Use of the Words

Stoa and Basilike in Classical Literature, AJA 41, 1937,

194–211; for related analyses, Balty 1991, 281–293; K.

Welch, A New View of the Origins of the Basi lica . The

Atri um Regium, Graecostasis, and Roman Diplo macy , J RA

16, 2003, 8V .

33 Even perhaps to the illiterate portion of the popula-

tion, since the Latin portion of the inscription was in-

scribed in larger letters than the Greek portion. s. D.

Knibbe – M. Buyukkolancı , Zur Bauinsch rift de r Basi lica

auf dem sog. Staatsmarkt von Ephesos, OJh 59, 1989, 44.

s. also comments by von Hesberg 2002, 153–154; Gros

1996, 246.

Philip Stinson

96



We may also consider how the basi lica of Aphrodisias may have been received in this re-

gard. If it is correct to posit that the basilica’s conWgurative concept resulted from contacts with

Ephesus or with other larger cities within the regional sphere of Aphrodisias, then the logical

question is, did the prestige of the Roman basilica of western type weigh at all on the decision at

Aphrodisias to build a basi lica? In considering this question, we can contemplate the following

points. The basilica of Aphrodisias can be interpreted as an example of how the building indus-try and the competition among towns and cities mediated the adoption of Roman architecture in

Asia Minor. We should also consider that the perceived traits of indigenous and foreign cultures

change over time. Cultural markers that may have once been perceived as Roman, such as baths,

basilicas, aqueducts, and concrete vaulting may have held no new signiWcance by the high impe-

rial period34. The conspicuously displayed basilica of Aphrodisias might have been perceived in

more »modern« ways as a status symbol for its benefactor, or the community. Therefore, in con-

clusion, the basilica of Aphrodisias should not be considered a sign of Romanization, at least not

in the traditional sense.

Abbildungsnachweis Abb. 1. Ephesos-Museum, Wien

Abb. 2. H. Mark

Abb. 3. Ephesos: P. Stinson, nach E. Fossel-Peschl 1982; Aphrodisias: P. Stinson

Abb. 4. Ephesos: P. Stinson, nach E. Fossel-Peschl 1982; Aphrodisias: P. Stinson

Abb. 5. P. Stinson

34 s. the comments by F. Yegul, ›Roman ‹ Architec ture

in the Greek World, JRA 4, 1991, 345-355; S. Alcock,

Arch aeol ogies of the Greek Past . Land scap e, Monu ments,

and Memories (2002) 36V .

Abb. 1: Model of the »Staatsmarkt« at Ephesos


97



Abb. 2: Aphrodisias, restored plan of town center

Philip Stinson

98



Abb. 3: Above: restored transverse building sections of the basilical halls at Ephesos and Aphrodisias; below: partially restored plans of the basilical halls at Ephesos and Aphrodisias

Abb. 4: Comparative interior colonnade elevations. Left: Ephesos; right: Aphrodisias


99



Abb. 5: Basilical hall at Aphrodisias, reconstructed elevation of north facade

Philip Stinson

100



Inhalt

Vorwort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Abkurzungen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Einfuhrung

Marion Meyer

Akkulturationsprozesse - Versuch einer DiV erenzierung . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Kontaktsituationen

Francois K irbihler

Die Italiker in Kleinasien, mit besonderer Berucksichtigung von Ephesos

(133 v. Chr. – 1. Jh. n. Chr.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Dieter S alzmann

Zur Selbstdarstellung von Klientelherrschern im griechischen Osten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Stadtische Initiativen und o V entlicher Raum

Friedmund Hueber

Romischer EinXuss auf die Bautechnik, Bauwirtschaft und Architekturkonzepte in Kleinasien . . . 45

Anton B ammer

Zum Monument des C. Memmius in Ephesos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Peter Scherrer

Der conventus civium Romanorum und kaiserliche Freigelassene als Bauherren in Ephesos in

augusteischer Zeit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Hilke Thu¤r

Wie romisch ist der sog. Staatsmarkt in Ephesos? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Philip Stinson

Imitation and Adaptation in Architectural Design: Two Roman Basilicas at

Ephesus and Aphrodisias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Ursula Q uatember

Neue Zeiten - Alte Sitten? Ti. Claudius Aristion und seine Bauten in Ephesos . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Martin Steskal

Griechische Gymnasien und romische Thermen. Rezeption romischer Lebensart im griechischen

Osten, dargestellt am Beispiel der ephesischen Bad-Gymnasium-Komplexe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115Georg Plattner

Elemente stadtromischer Bautypen und Ornamentformen in der kleinasiatischen Architektur . . 125

Lutgarde V andeput

Kontinuitat und Wandel in der urbanen Architektur Pisidiens in spathellenistischer Zeit und

in der fruhen Kaiserzeit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

5



Privates Ambiente

Norbert Zimmermann

Eine ›romische‹ Malerei in Ephesos. Westlicher EinXuss auf lokale Dekorationssysteme

im Hanghaus 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

Veronika Scheibelreiter

Romische Mosaiken in Westkleinasien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Anita Giuliani

Innovationen im Beleuchtungswesen in Kleinasien . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Christine R ogl

Spathellenistische Keramik im Osten des Reiches. Ephesos – Delos - Samos - Pergamon

im Vergleich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Michael Zelle

Spathellenistische und fruhkaiserzeitliche Keramik in Pednelissos und ihre Aussagekraft zu

kulturellem Wandel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195

Sabine L adsta ¤tter

Mode oder politisches Manifest? Uberlegungen zur Ubernahme romischen Formenguts in der fruhkaiserzeitlichen Keramik von Ephesos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

Jeroen Poblome - Philip Bes - Veerle L auwers

Winning Hearts, Minds, and Stomachs? Artefactual or ArtiWcial Evidence for Romanization . . . 221

Religion, Kulte, Heiligtumer

Peter T alloen

One Question, Several Answers: The Introduction of the Imperial Cult in Pisidia . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Ulrike Muss

Republik und Kaiser im Artemision von Ephesos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Zusammenfassung

Marion Meyer

Kulturwandel im westlichen Kleinasien, eine Skizze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Programm des Kolloquiums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Adressen der Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

6

imitation and adaptation. two roman basilicas at ephesus and aphrodisias

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