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| Athena relief of Sömek | |
|---|---|
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| Created | c. 2nd century AD |
| Present location | Mersin Province,Turkey |
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TheAthena relief of Sömek is a Greco-Romanrock relief, located some two kilometres north of the village ofSömek inSilifke district ofMersin province inTurkey, near the valley of theLimonlu river, the ancient Lamos. In antiquity, the river formed the border between "RuggedCilicia" (Kilikia Tracheia) in the west and "Flat Cilicia" (Kilikia Pedias) in the east.
The relief is carved in the living rock at a height of some 1.5 metres above the ground. It has a total height of 1.3 metres. In a niche finished with a conch-shaped top, the image of a woman is found, who can be identified as the goddessAthena thanks to the inscription, among other things. On both sides the niche is formed from blockypilasters, topped by wide capitals. The goddess is dressed in apeplos, theapoptygma, or upper layer, of which is bound by a girdle at the waist. On the lower part, the robe is tightly fitted to her body, such that her calves are clearly visible underneath. The material covers up her ankles and feet, at the sides of it wrinkle lines go from it to the ground.
The right arm of the figure is raised and holds a lance. Her left, pointing down to the ground, holds a shield on edge. The lance rests on a column, which connects directly to the left pilaster. A snake winds around the lance and column, with its lower end reaching along the ground to Athena's feet. The head and mane of a bridled horse can be seen above the shield and left arm of the goddess and its hindquarters disappear behind her right arm. On the right pilaster there is a star, a crescent moon and a thunderbolt to be seen. Between the moon and the thunderbolt, traces of a servered head can be made out. Similar traces are found to the left of the left pilaster, which is itself undecorated. To the right of the righthand limit of the image, a symbol has been engraved, consisting of a stand with two crescent moons on top and a ball with star. Serra Durugönül, who investigated the Cilician rock reliefs in the 1980s, thought this was a candelabrum, that is a cult object, to be interpreted as a simplified depiction of aJewishmenorah.
Between the lance on the left and the female figure an inscription of 13 lines is engraved in a narrow field. In it the goddess is referred to as ΑΘΗΝΑ ΚΡΙΣΟΑ (Athena Krisoa);. Theepithet ΚΡΙΣΟΑ, derived from a place name, indicates a local variant of the divinity, but the place connected with the epithet cannot yet be located. It would certainly have been found in the north of Rough Cilica, however. The same epithet shows up in another inscription in the area and in both inscriptions Athena is also referred to as ΟΡΕΙΑ (Oreia, meaning "mountaindweller")[1]
The depiction of the goddess corresponds to theAthena Parthenos type, modelled onPhidias' free-standing statue in theParthenon on theAthenianAcropolis. Numerous imitations of this statue were made even in ancient times – another one has also been found in Cilicia. Similarities with Phidias' original include, above all, the clothing, the shield and the column standing on the left. In the original statue, this was a support of the right hand, in which Athena heldNike. Even though this no longer has a function, since this statue is carved in relief and does not hold Nike, the artist was unwilling to omit this characteristic attribute.
Particularly on account of the type of clam-shell vault of the relief, Durugönül identified two possible dates for the creation of the relief. The first would be the time of the EmperorsClaudius andNero in the 1st century, the second would be the period afterHadrian in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. She inclines to the second, dating the relief to the 2nd century, on the basis of comparison with other rock reliefs ofAsia Minor, among which is that of a moongod atSumatar Harabesi inOsrhoene, which an inscription dates after 165.
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36°36′16″N34°04′51″E / 36.60444°N 34.08083°E /36.60444; 34.08083
