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47-473: Cybele's cult image was brought to Rome from Pessinus in 204 BC, along with the goddess's Gallae priestesses. As the "Great Mother of the Gods" and a purported ancestral Trojan goddess of Rome's ruling patrician caste, she was recruited to act on Rome's behalf in the war against Carthage . Her arrival was solemnized with a magnificent procession, sacred feasts ( lectisternia ), games, and offerings to her at

94-598: A number of meteor showers during the ongoing Second Punic War , the Romans, after consulting the Sibylline Books , decided to introduce the cult of the Great Mother of Ida ( Magna Mater Idaea , also known as Cybele) to the city. They sought the aid of their ally Attalus I (241-197 BC), and following his instructions, they went to Pessinus and removed the goddess' most important image, a large black stone that

141-537: A sign of the rise of Christianity in Pessinus, Emperor Julian the Apostate made a pilgrimage to Pessinus and wrote an angry letter concerning the disrespect shown to the sanctuary of Cybele. In ca. 398, Pessinus was established as the capital of the newly established province of Galatia Salutaris (in the civil Diocese of Pontus ), and became the seat of a Metropolitan Archbishop . The region later became part of

188-539: A statue of Magna Mater was permanently sited on the racetrack's dividing barrier, showing the goddess seated on a lion's back: the goddess could thus watch the festivities held in her honour. Roman bystanders seem to have perceived Megalesia as either characteristically " Greek "; or Phrygian. At the cusp of Rome's transition to Empire, the Greek Dionysius of Halicarnassus describes this procession as wild Phrygian "mummery" and "fabulous clap-trap", in contrast to

235-486: A tributary valley of the Sakarya River on the high Anatolian plateau at ca. 950 m above sea level, 13 km from the small town of Sivrihisar . Pessinus remains a Catholic (formerly double) titular see . As yet, the temple area, which was excavated between 1967 and 1972, is the only well-studied area of Pessinus. It was studied thoroughly by M. Waelkens (current director of Sagalassos excavations) in

282-473: A wine amphora from Thasos, probably dating from the first quarter of the 3rd century BC, is proof of this trade and is at the same time the earliest written document discovered at Pessinus. Very soon after 25 BC the urbanization and transformation of the Pessinuntian temple state into a Greek polis began. Constructions such as a Corinthian temple and a colonnaded street ( cardo maximus ) were erected with

329-464: Is said to have ruled a greater Phrygian realm from Pessinus, but archaeological research since 1967 showed that the city developed around 400 BC at the earliest, which contradicts any historical claim of early Phrygian roots. According to ancient tradition, Pessinus was the principal cult centre of the goddess Cybele , the Phrygian Meter ("Mother"). Tradition situates the cult of Cybele in

376-571: Is the third longest river in Turkey . It runs through the region known in ancient times as Phrygia . It was considered one of the principal rivers of Asia Minor ( Anatolia ) in classical antiquity , and is mentioned in the Iliad and in Theogony . Its name appears in different forms as Sagraphos , Sangaris , or Sagaris . In Geographica , Strabo wrote during classical antiquity that

423-487: Is unclear, but it included ludi scaenici (plays and other entertainments based on religious themes), probably performed on the deeply stepped approach to her temple; some of the plays were commissioned from well-known playwrights. On April 10, her image was taken in public procession to the Circus Maximus , and chariot races were held there in her honour. The racetrack could be seen from her temple's threshold, and

470-549: The Byzantine Anatolic Theme . In late 715 AD, the city of Pessinus was destroyed by an Arab raid, along with the neighboring city Orkistos . The area remained under Byzantine control until lost to the Seljuk Turks in the latter 11th century, after which Pessinus became an inconspicuous mountain village at 900m height, gradually getting depopulated since it was fully protected. Circa AD 398, Pessinus

517-614: The Ottoman Empire . From downstream to upstream, the Sakarya has four dams : Akçay , Yenice , Gökçekaya and Sarıyar . [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Smith, William , ed. (1854–1857). "Sangarius". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography . London: John Murray. 41°07′35″N 30°38′56″E  /  41.1264°N 30.6489°E  / 41.1264; 30.6489 This article related to

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564-457: The lex Pompeia . From the inscriptions it appears that Pessinus possessed several public buildings, including a gymnasium, a theatre, an archive, and baths. A system of water supply has been discovered through gutters and terracotta pipes. The most impressive public construction of the early Imperial period was the canalisation system, the earliest part of which dates from the Augustan age. It

611-584: The temple of Victory on the Palatine Hill , where her image was temporarily housed. In 203 Cybele was promised a temple of her own. Games in her honour were celebrated in 193. Regular annual celebration of the Megalesia began in 191, with the temple's completion and dedication by Marcus Junius Brutus. The Megalesia commenced on April 4, the anniversary of Cybele's arrival in Rome. The festival structure

658-532: The 13th century, the valley of the Sakarya was part of the border between the Eastern Roman Empire and the home of the Söğüt tribe. By 1280, Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos had constructed a series of fortifications along the river to control the area, but a flood in 1302 changed the course of the river and made the fortifications useless. The Söğüt tribe migrated across the river and later established

705-534: The 1980s and between 2006 and 2012 by Verlinde (Ghent University), who built on the findings of the former to analyze and reconstruct the architecture of the Corinthian peripteral temple, of which only the massive foundations remain. Investigations led to several observations, such as the Tiberian date (25-35 AD) of the cult building and its identification as a temple of the imperial cult (Sebasteion). As such, it

752-965: The Alander, the Bathys, the Thymbres and the Gallus. The source of the river is the Bayat Yaylası (Bayat Plateau ), which northeast of Afyon . Joined by the Porsuk Çayı (Porsuk Creek), close to the town of Polatlı , the river runs through the Adapazarı Ovası (Adapazarı Plains) before it reaches the Black Sea . The Sakarya is crossed by the Sangarius Bridge which was constructed by Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565). In

799-682: The Celts settled in the north-central region of Anatolia which became known as Galatia. The tribe of the Tolistobogii occupied the Phrygian territory between Gordium and Pessinus. It is doubtful that the temple state actually stood under Galatian control at this early stage. According to Cicero (Har. Resp. 8.28) the Seleucid kings held deep devotion for the shrine. Roman involvement in Pessinus however has early roots. In 205/204 BC, alarmed by

846-424: The Gods , frequently deriding her priests. She struck him with madness, and he flung himself into the river Xerobates, which from then on was called Sagaris. Part of its course formed the boundary between Phrygia and Bithynia, which in early times was bounded on the east by the river. The Bithynian part of the river was navigable and was celebrated for the abundance of fish found in it. Its principal tributaries were

893-700: The Megalesian sacrifices and games, carried out in what he admires as a dignified "traditional Roman" manner; Dionysius also applauds the wisdom of Roman religious law, which forbids the participation of any Roman citizen in the procession, and in the goddess's mysteries ; Slaves are forbidden to witness any of this. In the late republican era, Lucretius vividly describes the procession's armed "war dancers" in their three-plumed helmets, clashing their shields together, bronze on bronze, "delighted by blood"; yellow-robed, long-haired, perfumed Galli waving their knives, wild music of thrumming tympanons and shrill flutes. Along

940-479: The back of a theatre, which combined a central staircase with two cavea wings for spectators. It was claimed by Verlinde that this theatrical area was ritual and used for gladiatorial fights, as the theatre contained raised seats with a protective parapet, which was typical for gladiatorial theatres in the Greek east. Given that such gladiatorial combat was as a rule intertwined with the imperial cult, Verlinde argued that

987-482: The cavea where the spectators were seated, was constructed, but it was repaired or embellished by Hadrian. Other monumental buildings, erected under the reign of Tiberius, included the marble peripteros temple of the provincial Imperial cult, a Sebasteion, on a hill at the north-western end of the canal, a stairway combined with a theatre in front (with an orchestra where religious and other performances such as gladiator fights took place). The colonnaded square lower down

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1034-653: The death of the monarch, under Emperor Augustus the kingdom of the Galatians was annexed by the Roman Empire as the province of Galatia . Pessinus became the administrative capital of the Galatian tribe of the Tolistobogii and soon developed into a genuinely Graeco-Roman polis with a large number of monumental buildings, such as a colonnaded street and a Temple of the Imperial Cult. The priest list on

1081-403: The early Phrygian period (8th century BC) and associates the erection of her first "costly" temple and even the founding of the city with king Midas (738-696 BC?). However, the Phrygian past of Pessinus is still obscure, both historically as archaeologically. For example, the geographer Strabo (12.5.3) writes that the priests were potentates in "ancient times", but it is unclear whether Pessinus

1128-461: The epigraphically attested cult of the emperor, was once again confirmed. He also observed that there is a consistency of such theatre-temples, which were influenced by late Republican sanctuaries in Italy (e.g. the sanctuary of Hercules Victor at Tivoli), being associated with the imperial cult. The sanctuary of Augustus at Stratonicea, which was a theatre-temple as well, may have served as a model for

1175-412: The festival, wealthy Roman nobles played host to each other, in rotation, in honour of the goddess; these were lavish, costly and competitive occasions in which the wealthy sought to impress their inferiors and peers; or in the latter case, to outdo them in extravagance. In direct response to this, the senate issued a decree in 161 BC, limiting expenditure on meat, wine and silverware for such feasts. In

1222-475: The festival. The attempt was a failure, and Clodius was prosecuted for this and other outrages against Rome's traditional and social proprieties. Pessinus Pessinus ( Greek : Πεσσινούς or Πισσινούς ) was an Ancient city and archbishopric in Asia Minor , a geographical area roughly covering modern Anatolia (Asian Turkey ). The site of the city is now the modern Turkish village of Ballıhisar , in

1269-641: The following incumbents, so far of the Metropolitan (highest) rank: It has since been vacant. In 1905 Pessinus of the Armenians was established as the Armenian Catholic Metropolitan Titular archbishopric of Pessinus (Italian: Pessinonte (Curiate Italiano), Latin: Pessinuntin(us) Armenorum). In 1915 it was suppressed, having had a singular incumbent, of the Metropolitan (highest) rank: The temple area at Pessinus

1316-422: The gladiatorial fights of the temple. In the 3rd century AD, the area was monumentalized with a new ellipse-shaped theatre and a vast marble square with a monumental funerary crypt (a funerary Heroon). This coincided with the further monumentalization of the cardo maximus , which received monumental city gates in the form of arches at its southern and northern extremity. The mythological King Midas (738-696 BC?)

1363-445: The late republican era, Cicero attacked his political opponent Clodius for sacrilegious disruption of the casti, sollemnes, religiosi (pure, traditional, religious) rites of Megalesia. Clodius had sought popular support by defecting from a patrician to a plebeian gens. The Megalesia was a predominantly patrician affair; and in an apparent attempt to undermine patrician privilege, Clodius had hired slave-gangs to forcibly take control of

1410-476: The latter complex, the Pessinuntian square was reconstructed by Verlinde as a 'quadriporticus' with a Rhodian peristyle, that is with a high (Ionic) colonnade to the north, and three lower wings with Doric columns. The quadriporticus was an annex of the Hellenistic citadel on the promontory to the east, which preceded the early imperial temple. The combination of a Hellenistic palace and a gymnasium (school)

1457-744: The left hand anta of the temple of Augustus and Roma in Ankara reveals that by the end of Tiberius' principate two citizens of Pessinus held the chief priesthood of the provincial imperial cult in Ancyra: M. Lollius in AD 31/32 and Q. Gallius Pulcher in AD 35/36. Strabo called Pessinus an 'emporion,' a trading centre, the largest west of the Halys river . It may be assumed that products from the Anatolian highlands were traded, especially grain and wool. A stamped handle of

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1504-548: The marble from the quarries located at İstiklalbağı, ca. 6 km north of the city. The boundaries of Pessinus must have been fixed, as were those of the newly founded colony of Germakoloneia (near Babadat), which received part of the area inhabited by the Tolistobogioi. It has been argued that Pessinus and the other Galatian cities received a constitution based on that of the cities in Pontus-Bithynia, imposed by

1551-485: The priests gradually lost their privileges. The Mithridatic Wars (89-85 BC; 83-81 BC; 73-63 BC) caused political and economic turmoil throughout the region. When Deiotaros , tetrarch of the Tolistobogii and loyal vassal of Rome, became king of Galatia in 67/66 BC or 63 BC, Pessinus lost its status as an independent sacred principality. In 36 BC, rule over Galatia was transferred to king Amyntas by Mark Antony . At

1598-558: The river had its sources on Mount Adoreus, near the town of Sangia in Phrygia , not far from the border with Galatia , and flowed in a very tortuous course: first in an eastern, then toward the north, next the north-west and finally the north through Bithynia into the Euxine ( Black Sea ). Pseudo-Plutarch wrote that a man named Sagaris often disdained the mysteries of the Mother of

1645-471: The route, rose petals are scattered, and clouds of incense arise. The goddess's image, wearing the Mural Crown and seated within a sculpted, lion-drawn chariot, is carried high on a bier. The Roman display of Cybele's Megalesia procession as an exotic, privileged public pageant offers signal contrast to what is known of the private, socially inclusive Phrygian-Greek mysteries on which it was based. During

1692-496: The sanctuary in Pessinus. The colonnaded square in front of the stairway-theatre was thought to have been part of the imperial complex. However, this was rejected by Verlinde who dated the complex to the late 2nd century BC. The architecture of the limestone complex (covered with stucco lustro ) emanates the style of Hellenistic palaestrae such as the Gymnasion of Eudemos at Miletus (late 3rd century BC). Being quite similar to

1739-631: The temple area (sector B) is the only thoroughly investigated area of the city, with the exception of the so-called Acropolis (sector I) near the northern entrance of the Ballıhisar valley. Since 2009, the city has been investigated by a team from the University of Melbourne , led by Gocha Tsetskhladze. Sangarios The Sakarya ( Turkish : Sakarya Nehri ; Hittite : 𒀀𒇉𒊭𒄭𒊑𒅀 , romanized:  Šaḫiriya ; Greek : Σαγγάριος , romanized :  Sangarios ; Latin : Sangarius )

1786-420: The valley was reconstructed by Verlinde. In the past, this structure was wrongly situated in the Tiberian era, but it was shown that it was a monument of the Hellenistic age (late 2nd-early 1st century BC), and contemporary with the citadel that preceded the temple complex. Christianity reached the area in the 3rd century, and at the end of the 4th century, the temple of Augustus was decommissioned. Perhaps as

1833-436: Was a typical phenomenon of the Greek world during the Hellenistic age. Carbon dating and ceramological analysis indicates that the palaestra (sports gym) was destroyed by a fire during the late Hellenistic age, suggesting that the colonnaded square as a functional entity was short-lived. After the quadriporticus was destroyed, it was not rebuilt during the early Roman period, as the area may have been used as an unpaved arena for

1880-601: Was already a temple state ruled by dynastai ("lords") in the Phrygian period. By the 3rd century BC at the latest, Pessinus had become a temple state ruled by a clerical oligarchy consisting of Galloi , eunuch priests of the Mother Goddess. After the arrival of Celtic tribes in Asia Minor in 278/277 BC, and their defeat at the hand of Antiochus I during the so-called 'Battle of the Elephants' (likely 268 BC),

1927-442: Was equal to two modules (1.52 m), which designates the temple as a 'systyle.' Furthermore, the extraordinarily large stepped podium seems to have been influenced by Hellenistic and early Imperial pseudodipteroi. Although the temple was Tiberian, the decorative sculpture was fashioned in a conservative Augustan manner, which suggests that the building may have been design in the late Augustan period (ca. 15 AD). The temple towered over

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1974-569: Was established as the capital of the newly established Roman province of Galatia Salutaris (=Secunda), and became the seat of a Metropolitan Archdiocese , under the sway of the Patriarchate of Constantinople . Despite the Arab sack of the city in the 7th century, it had archbishops at least until the 11th century, but ultimately the see was suppressed, being truly in partibus infidelium under Turkish (Seljuk, later Ottoman) Muslim rule. It

2021-489: Was finally established that the excavated temple could not be identified as the Temple of Cybele, as explorer Charles Texier had done when he 'discovered' the foundations of the temple in 1834. Verlinde discovered that the building was designed on the basis of a grid, and that the governing module, determining the intervals and height of the columns, was equal to the lower diameter of the columns (0.76 m). Each intercolumnar space

2068-469: Was meant to retain and carry away the waters of the Gallos, the seasonal river which traverses Pessinus and which was the main north-south artery ( cardo maximus ) of the city. From the 1st to the 3rd century AD the canal was continuously expanded until it finally reached a length of ca. 500 m and a width of 11 to 13 m. It is not known when exactly the large theatre, of which is preserved only the emplacement of

2115-587: Was nominally revived in the early 20th century, both in a Latin (extant) and in an Armenian Catholic (short-lived) line of apostolic succession . The following incumbents are historically known : The Roman Catholic archdiocese was nominally restored no later than 1901, when Pessinus of the Latins was recorded as Latin Metropolitan Titular archbishopric of Pessinus (Italian: Pessinonte (Curiate); Latin: Pessinuntin(us)). The titular see had

2162-452: Was rediscovered in 1834 by the French architect and archaeologist Charles Texier in the south of the village along the Gallos river, and was excavated under the auspices of Ghent University in 1967–1973 under the directorship of Pieter Lambrechts and in 1987–2008 under the directorship of John Devreker. Angelo Verlinde's 2012 PhD dissertation, published in 2015, is on the temple. As yet,

2209-481: Was said to have fallen from the sky, to Rome (Livy 10.4-11.18). Pergamum seems to have gained some control over Pessinus by the end of the third century BC. Pessinus was bequeathed a sanctuary by the Attalid kings, perhaps after 183 BC, when Galatia was subject to Pergamene rule. The first century BC was a very unstable period for Pessinus with many rulers reigning over central Anatolia. According to Strabo (12.5.3)

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