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ASPENDOS
According to ancient tradition the
town was founded, like Perge and Side in Pamphylia, by the famous seers Mopsus
and Calchas. The Lydian king Croesus also took Aspendos in the early 6C BC.
After Cyrus victory over Croesus in 546 BC the city became Persian. In the
early 5th century BC, Aspendos struck its own silver coins. In 333 BC
Alexander the Great took over from the Persians. Ambassadors from Aspendos
went out to meet him, offered to submit. They agreed for the payment of 50
gold talents and horses. When Alexander heard that Aspendos did not intend to
keep to the agreement, he immediately attacked the city and took the town,
along with fifty talents, distinguished hostages and an annual tribute.
Under Roman rule Aspendos became
much more extensive and prosperous. The town owed its commercial prosperity to
salt from the lake of Crepia, mentioned by Strabo. It dried up in the summer,
leaving the salt available for mining. The town finally went into decline
because of the silting up of the harbour, the rise of Antalya and later,
Byzantine centralism.
Main edifice in Aspendos is its
theatre which is considered as the best preserved theatre of antiquity. Ac
cording to an inscription, we learn from an inscription that the Aspendos
theatre was designed by the architect Zeno, son of Theodorus during the reign
of Marcus Aurelius (AD 161-180). Greek and Latin inscriptions carved over the
entrances on either side of the stage building further disclose that two
brothers, namely Curtius Crispinus and Curtius Auspicatus dedicated it
"to the gods of the country and to the Imperial house".
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Priene
Perge
Aspendos
Side
Antalya
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