Aphrodite, first translated as "Aphrodite", Roman mythology calls her "Venus", Greek mythology respects her as the goddess of love, in charge of human love, marriage, fertility and harvest , hunting and other matters, boundless magical power and extraordinary beauty. Regarding her appearance and love story, there are numerous vivid descriptions in Western countries. But not many people know about the city named after her.
This holy city dedicated to the God of Love, named Aphroditis, is located in the western part of the Asia Minor Peninsula in Turkey, in the narrow valley of the Western Taurus Mountains. Ephesus, 160 kilometers west of it, is the starting point of the ancient Persian royal road and the location of the temple of the chastity goddess Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the West. There is a little-known small town of Colosa 50 kilometers east of it. As early as the first century BC, Aphroditis was already a quite prosperous Roman city, with a population of 50,000 at its peak. Later she disappeared without a trace, probably destroyed by a major earthquake in the fourth century AD. Due to the remoteness of the place, the ruins were buried under the sand and have long been forgotten. Large-scale excavations began in 1961, and the dust on the surface was finally wiped away, allowing the City of Cupid to be revealed again.
From 1904 to 1905, Western scholars conducted the first excavation of the site based on the location of Aphroditis mentioned in historical books, and found a bathhouse from the ancient Roman era. Another excavation was carried out in 1937, and a marble lintel from the first century AD was unearthed, with an exquisite head carved with a garland on it. After that, the excavation work was interrupted due to the outbreak of World War II.
In 1959, Turkish archaeologist Kenan Elim, who had studied in the United States, came to Aphroditis. He learned that when the locals were digging irrigation canals a few years ago, their shovels kept hitting marble fragments, so they diverted the excavation elsewhere. He and the archaeological team broke ground from an abandoned construction site. Fortunately, a marble head was excavated soon, which matched the remains of the stone body excavated during the previous trench excavation.
This incomplete stone statue is the goddess Aphrodite, but its shape is vague. It is difficult to determine whether it is the main statue enshrined in the city. Later, a set of marble reliefs were found, in which the form of the goddess was very clear. She wears a crown decorated with city walls on her head, her face is charming, her whole body is covered with transparent gauze, her breasts and abdomen are swollen, and she is very feminine in beauty. It is quite different from the Venus statue collected in the National Museum of Paris. The Venus was carved from a single piece of translucent dolomite in the shape of a bath, with its upper body exposed, its lower body shawled, and its arms broken. She is 215cm tall, has a bust of 121cm, a waist of 97cm and a hip of 129cm. She is a plump beauty. It was painted in the second century BC and was hidden in a small cave temple on the Greek island of Milos. It was purchased by a French officer in 1820. All kinds of nude statues of Venus in the modern world are based on this.
People love Aphrodite because of her loyalty to love. There is a famous story in Greek mythology: the God of Love fell in love with the beautiful young Adonis, and the two were passionately in love. Unfortunately, Adonis was injured and died while hunting. The goddess was heartbroken, deeply moved the gods in the sky, and finally agreed. Adonis was resurrected for six months every year to reunite with the god of love. Therefore, the day when the god of love and his lover gather together is the beginning of spring rejuvenation for the earth. Everywhere vegetation flourishes and flowers bloom, making the world full of joy and hope.
A synagogue, a concert hall, a large theater, a small bathhouse, the emperor's temple, a ceremonial rain channel, legal inscriptions, a document wall, etc. have been successively discovered in the ruins of the City of Love.
The large theater was excavated from a small hill. It is shaped like a semicircular stone step and is the same as the ancient Roman theaters elsewhere. It can accommodate 8,000 spectators. A 9.1-meter-long and 3-meter-high "document wall" remains on the front of the theater, which is like a screen in front of government offices and temples in my country. The walls are covered with very beautiful Greek characters, which are sacred edicts and edicts issued by emperors of all dynasties. It is an extremely precious "archive". The date recorded in the inscription ranges from the time of Augustus the Great in the first century BC to the time of Gordian III in the third century AD. Among them was the edict of the ancient Roman ruler Caesar (100 BC to 44 BC) approving the city of Aphrodites to enjoy local autonomy and exemption from taxes, and the temple of the God of Love to enjoy the right of refuge.
Many inscriptions were erected in the synagogue, including the famous price edict promulgated in 301 AD. This edict set limits on the prices of watermelons, livestock, marbles, peas, wheels, etc. Violators will be "punished with death." . Some other inscriptions indicate the wealth of the city's nobles. For example, the priests of the temple of Hercules (the son of Zeus, the main god in Greek mythology, with infinite strength) donated money to build a main hall and a banquet hall during his lifetime, and also built a full-scale palace as his legacy after his death. The sports ground is 270 meters long and can accommodate 30,000 people.
The ceremonial south path leading to the temple of the two emperors of the Claudian dynasty is 13.7 meters wide and 64 meters long, with three-story-high walls on both sides. The back of the wall is supported by shops and civil buildings, so it will not collapse for a long time. There are many marble reliefs embedded in the walls, most of which praise the heroic deeds of Hercules and the emperors.
Aphroditis was a privileged civilian city protected by Roman nobles. It became an international city because of its worship of the God of Love. It has received countless pilgrims from all over the world for hundreds of years. Augustus the Great (63 BC to AD 14, adopted son of Julius Caesar) once wrote: “I chose this city as my city from all the cities in Asia.
"Iros, the priest of the Temple of Aphrodite at that time, was also the ex-officio administrator of the city. He obtained permanent freedom and tax-free rights from the Roman emperor for the city of Aphrodite. Therefore, the residents also regarded Iros as In order to worship the gods, many reliefs show his achievements.
In addition to its sacrificial industry and developed agriculture, Aphrodite's wealth also lies in the production of marble. The city is surrounded by mountains. The quality is the best in the world. After being mined, it is first transported to Mandlis on the Aegean coast, and then shipped to Jordan, Libya, Egypt, Rome and other places.