Στρατoνικεια / Στρατoνικη / Στρατονίκεια(in Greek) | |
.jpg) The theatre in Stratonicea | |
  Stratonicea Shown within Turkey | |
| Alternative name | Stratonikeia, Stratoniceia, Stratoniki, Stratonike, Stratonice, Idrias, Chrysaoris, Hadrianopolis |
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| Location | Eskihisar,Muğla Province,Turkey |
| Region | Caria |
| Coordinates | 37°18′53″N28°03′57″E / 37.31472°N 28.06583°E /37.31472; 28.06583 |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Builder | Antiochus I Soter |
Stratonicea (Hittite: 𒀜𒊑𒅀Atriya,Ancient Greek:Στρατoνικεια or Στρατoνικη; or perStephanus of Byzantium: Στρατονίκεια) – alsotransliterated asStratonikeia,Stratoniceia,Stratoniki, andStratonike andStratonice; a successor settlement toChrysaoris;[1] and for a time namedHadrianopolis – was one of the most important towns in the interior ofancient Caria,Anatolia, situated on the east-southeast ofMylasa, and on the south of the riverMarsyas; its site is now located at the present village ofEskihisar,Muğla Province,Turkey. It is situated at a distance of 1 km (0.62 mi) from the intercity roadD.330 that connects the district center ofYatağan withBodrum andMilas, shortly beforeYatağan power station if one has taken departure from the latter towns.
Some scholars identified the city of Atriya from theHittite documents as Stratonicea.[2][3] Atriya played an important role during the conflict between theMycenean Greekcolonists (Ahhiyawa) and native Anatolians. During the reign of theHittite Great KingTudhaliya IV, Utima and Atriya were a part of the Hittite territory whileAwarna andPina were controlled by the king ofMilawata which was in turn controlled by the Ahhiyawans.[4][5] In the historical document called theMilawata Letter, Hittite Great King Tudhaliya IV makes a complaint about the attitude of the King of Milawata. He mentions that he sent the hostages from Utima and Atriya to Milawata while the King of Milawata did not send him the hostages from Awarna and Pina, therefore not honoring his part of the hostage exchange deal.[6][7]
According toStrabo, the city was founded by theSeleucid kingAntiochus I Soter (281–261 BC), who named it after his wifeStratonice.[8] Or at least this is what has been generally told; some historians have contested this date as too early, and proposed to consider the city's founder Stratonice's son,Antiochus II Theos, or, later still,Antiochus III the Great.
What seems certain is that the city was founded on the site of an old Carian town, Idrias, anciently called Chrysaoris,[9] said to be the first town founded by theLycians. Later it passed under the control of theAchaemenid Empire. According to Athens' tribute "assessment" of 425 BC Idrias was supposed to be responsible for the payment of the considerable sum of sixtalents. Like many other non-Greek cities on the 425 BC assessment Idrias is never recorded actually paying any tribute to Athens[10] and was never a member of theDelian League. In early Seleucid times, Stratonikeia was a member of theChrysaorian League, a confederation of Carian towns. The Stratonikeians, though of Macedonian rather than Carian origin, were admitted into the confederacy because of the Carian towns and villages within their territory.[11] The league is attested by an inscription already in 267 BC, but was probably older still. Near the town was the temple ofZeus Chrysaoreus, at which the League's assembly met; at these meetings several city-states had votes in proportion to the number of towns they possessed.
The rural sanctuaries ofHekate atLagina andZeus atPanamara were absorbed into the territory of Stratonicea when the city was founded, receiving monumental temples at which the Stratoniceans would process to and worship every year.[12]
Under the succeeding Seleucid kings, Stratonikeia was adorned with splendid and costly buildings. At a later time in the 3rd century BC it was ceded to theRhodians.[13] Rhodes seems to have then temporarily lost it, possibly during kingPhilip V of Macedon's Carian campaign (201–198 BC), but it retook control of the place in 197 BC, keeping it until 167 BC when the whole of Caria was declared free by theRoman Republic. From this point starts the city's independent coinage, which was to last until the times of the emperorGallienus (253–268).[14] In 130 BC the city had a central role in the revolt led against the Romans, since here the self-proclaimed kingAristonicus made a last stand before falling into the hands of his enemies with the fall of the city.
Some time after, in 88 BC,Mithridates VI of Pontus (120–63 BC), after imposing a fine and a garrison on the city, resided for some time at Stratonikeia, and marriedMonime, the daughter of Philopoemen, one of its principal citizens.[15] Then came in 40 BC the siege sustained againstQuintus Labienus and hisParthian troops, and the brave resistance it offered to him entitled it to the gratitude ofAugustus and theSenate.[16] The alleged divine intervention against Quintus Labienus by Zeus atPanamara led to the elevation of that sanctuary, in the hinterland of Stratonikeia, to one favoured by the city.[17][18] The emperorHadrian is said to have taken this town under his special protection, and to have changed its name intoHadrianopolis, a name, however, which may (also) refer to another town also called Stratonikeia.Pliny[19] enumerates it among free cities inAnatolia.Menippus, according toCicero[20] one of the most distinguished orators of his time, was a native of Stratonikeia.
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Although human habitation in the region extends back to the early Bronze Age,[21] and the existence of an Archaic and Classical settlement at the site is attested by the remains of earlier fortifications at Kadıkulesi hill,[22]: 289 almost all of the visible remains date to the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
The theater, with a capacity of c. 12,000, was located south of the center of the city at the northern foot of Kadıkulesi hill. Originally constructed in the Hellenistic period, it was remodeled in the early Imperial period (1st century AD), when the scene building was entirely rebuilt. Additional changes were made in the 2nd century AD, and the theater continued to function until the 4th century.[22]: 290
On a terrace on the hillside south of the theater was a smallperipteral temple in the Ionic order, measuring ca. 12.5 x 18.5 m, with the entrance facing north toward the theater. The style of the building and its decoration point to a date in the early Imperial period (1st century AD), and an inscription suggests that it was dedicated to theImperial cult.[11][22]: 290
In the northwestern part of the city is a large structure identified as agymnasium. The estimated overall dimensions are 105 x 267 m, which would make it the largest known gymnasium in the classical world. Only the north side of the complex has been excavated; it is divided into a series of five rooms, the central one semicircular, those on either side rectangular, separated from the open courtyard to the south by columns. Originally constructed in the second quarter of the 2nd century BC, it was remodeled in theAugustan andAntonine periods.[22]: 291
Southeast of the gymnasium stands a well-preservedbouleuterion (previously thought to be a temple ofSerapis), measuring c. 25 x 30 m, with semicircular rows of seats and a courtyard to the east. It has been variously dated to the 1st or 2nd century AD.[11][22]: 291-292 The north wall of the building is covered with Greek and Latin inscriptions, including a partial Latin text ofDiocletian'sprice edict,[23][24] and a Greek mnemonic poem listing the months of the year and attributed toMenippus, the orator from Stratoniceia praised by Cicero.[11][22]: 291-292
In the center of the north side of the circuit wall surrounding the Hellenistic and Roman city was a monumental gate, which marked the point at which the road from the sanctuary ofHekate atLagina entered the city. It consisted of a pair of arched gateways with a total width of c. 42.5 m. Between the two gateways on the side facing the city was a semicircularnymphaeum decorated with two tiers of Corinthian columns and niches for statues. It has been dated to the lateAntonine or earlySeveran period, with many later repairs.[22]: 293 In front of the nymphaeum was an open square from which a broad colonnaded street, c. 8.70 m wide, continued south to the center of the city. During repairs in the 4th and 5th centuries AD the original Corinthian columns flanking the road were replaced with Doric, and mosaic floors were added in the eastern portico.[22]: 295
The remains of one Roman bath, dated to the 2nd century AD, have been excavated in the western part of the city. Two other baths are attested by inscriptions.[22]: 292-293 Near the western bath is a Roman public latrine with a capacity of c. 60 people.[22]: 295
n 2021, archaeologists excavated a church which was built after the earthquake of 365 AD and continued in use until the 7th century, after which the area was used as a cemetery.[25]
TheNotitiae Episcopatuum mention thesee of Stratonicea up to the13th century among thesuffragans ofStauropolis. Only three of itsbishops are known, by their signatures at councils:
The ancientbishopric of Stratonicea in Caria is included in theCatholic Church's list oftitular sees.[26] No furthertitular bishop of this eastern see has been appointed since theSecond Vatican Council.[27]
The site of Stratonicea is partly occupied by theTurkish village of Eskihisar. Much of the surrounding area, including part of the site'snecropolis, was destroyed by the opening of a pit to extract thelignite reserves that feed the nearby Yatağan power plant. The pit is proposed to be transformed into a lake in the coming years, once the reserves there are exhausted. The village has a local museum, which contains mostly Roman remains, but also some earlier material, including anEarly Bronze Age spouted jug of the 3rd millennium BC and twoSubmycenaean vases dated to the 12th or 11th century BC.[28]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Stratoniceia".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Stratonicea".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
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