GREEK City of Elaiussa (a short distance north-east of Korykos,
Elaiussa was
originally an island but is now joined to the mainland.)
Bronze 17mm (2.9 grams) Struck 100-15 B.C.
Sandan standing right on winged and horned lion right; he carries bow-case and
sword, raises right hand and holds axe in left.
Bull standing right, ΕΛΑIΟΥ above.
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Sandan was the
Anatolian
(Hittite)
lion god during the Classical period. He used to be represented in association
with a horned lion, and often resided inside a pyre surmounted by an eagle.
Sandan was often associated to the Greek god
Herakles. In ceremonies, an image of the god was placed inside a pyre and
was set on fire.
Sandan appears in the coins of the
Seleucids, as well as on other coins of
Tarsus (Cilicia)
during the time of the Roman emperors.
Elaiussa Sebaste or Elaeousa Sebaste (Greek:
Ελαιούσα Σεβαστή) was an ancient
Roman
town located 55 km (34 mi) from
Mersin in the
direction of
Silifke in
Cilicia on the southern coast of
Anatolia
(in modern-day
Turkey). Elaiussa, meaning
olive, was
founded in the 2nd century
B.C.
on a tiny island attached to the mainland by a narrow isthmus in
Mediterranean Sea.
Besides the cultivation of olives, the settlement here of the
Cappadocian
king
Archelaus during the reign of the Roman Emperor
Augustus
played a role in the development of the city. Founding a new city on the
isthmus, Archelaus called it Sebaste, which is the
Greek equivalent word of the
Latin "Augusta".
The city entered a golden age when the Roman Emperor
Vespasian
purged Cilicia
of pirates in 74
A.D.
Towards the end of the 3rd century A.D. however its importance began to wane,
owing in large part to incursions by the
Sassanian King
Shapur I in
260 and later by the
Isaurians.
The ancient sources tell the history of city’s existence and how the churches
and basilicas survived into in the late Roman and early
Byzantine periods. When its neighbor
Corycus began
to flourish in the 6th century A.D., Elaiussa Sebaste was slowly obliterated
from the stage of history.
The island that was the site of the first settlement here,
where excavations have been underway since 1995 headed by
Italian
archeologist Eugenia Equini Schneider, is almost completely buried under
sand. The original settlement, at a location that provided security for the
harbors on either side, is a peninsula today. The ruins of a bath, a
cistern, a
defense wall and a breakwater can be seen on the side overlooking the western
bay of the peninsula. But the most important remains unearthed in the city are a
bath whose floor is paved with mosaics and a small basilica on a circular base.
On the opposite side of the highway that divides Elaiussa and
Sebaste today stands a theater dating to the 2nd century A.D., an extremely
small structure with only 23 rows of seats, whose steps and decorations
unfortunately succumbed to centuries of plunder. Next to the theater is the
agora, built in
all great probability during the imperial period. At the entrance of the agora,
which is surrounded by a semi-destroyed defense wall once rose two monumental
fountains in the shape of lions. Inside the agora stands a large church, its
floor is covered by sand to protect the mosaic pavement. Elaiussa’s only temple
stands outside the city on a hill overlooking the sea. Only two of the
Corinthian columns of this temple, which had 12 on the long and 6 on the
short side originally, are standing today. A large bath complex among the lemon
groves between the temple and the agora was built by a technique characteristic
of the ancient Roman period and little used in
Anatolia.
The ruins of Elaiussa Sebaste also harbor the richest and
most impressive
necropolis among the cities of ancient Cilicia. The "Avenue of Graves",
located on a hill to the north of the city, preserves close to a hundred graves
of various shapes and sizes scattered among the lemon trees. The aesthetic forms
of these monumental graves of Cilicia Tracheia are remarkable.
The ancient aqueducts that carried water to the ruins from
the Lamos ("Lemon") river also adorn the city’s two entrances. The aqueduct to
the west of the city in particular is in relatively good condition. Centuries
ago these aqueduct, as delicate as necklaces, actually formed a canal system
that ran all the way to Corycus.
A lidded
sarcophagus lies on a small rise exactly opposite the aqueduct. Known as
"the Grave of the Princess", this sarcophagus is a prime example of the
Anatolian tomb tradition.
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