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Gaia
Gaea is Mother Earth. She is from whom everything comes, and she is not only a divinity, she is Earth. She bore the Titans as well as creatures like the 100 armed men, and some of the Cyclopes – others were sons of Poseidon. She was the daughter of Chaos. She was a primeval goddess, born along with creation itself, and had a large role in the populace of the world. She was principally spoken of as a Mother of other Gods, rather than having her own myths. Still, she’s a major player in the myths of the sucession of the King of Kings. Read full story…

Hestia
Hestia was the oldest of the 12 Olympian Gods and the oldest daughter of Rhea & Cronus. When she began her role as a Goddess, she had a throne of her own in Olympus, but when Dionysus grew into Godhood, she voluntarily gave up her throne to him, selecting the hearth as an alternative. She is the Goddess of Hearth and House she is also one of the Three Virgin Goddesses. Her symbol was kept in every house, and whenever a child was born the mother and father had to bring the child around the symbolic representation before he or she could be accepted in the family. She is genuinely fascinating to me, which is why I wrote a whole essay on her. But if you want to skip the academic style and stick with the few myths and such. All about Hestia…

Demeter
Demeter was another daughter of Rhea and Cronus. She was the Goddess of the Harvest or the Goddess of the Fields. Hundreds of years ago Greeks used to break bread in the name of Demeter as well as drink wine to Dionysus. Sound familiar? Demeter was the mother of Persephone and that was one mother-daughter team you shouldn’t try to mess around with. When Hades did, Demeter threw the earth into an eternal winter season and let nothing grow until somebody helped her find her child. Together, Demeter and Persephone were central to the Eleusian Mysteries. (Check out Eleusis by Carl Kerenyi for more on that.)Later, ideas and myths about Demeter were coopted into the Roman Ceres and maybe even the Magna Mater. Read More…

Hera
Hera is most well known for being the wife of Zeus and the Queen of the Gods. She was also the youngest little girl of Rhea and Cronus. Her bird is the peacock, and in almost every myth she is described as being maliciously jealous. But it must also be remembered that she was the Protector of Marriage. It is believed by some scholars that she earned her bad reputation by being combined with a similar Phoenecian goddess. This scholar, however, thinks that the role of the shrewish wife was one has been pretty institutionalized in patriarchal cultures. Construct a culture so that women’s just access to legitimate power is through a faithful relationship to a powerful husband, and you’ll get a culture full of women who guard their only assets fiercely. Of course, there’s a lot more to it than that. More…

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Athena
I could talk about Athena forever, but I’ll attmept to be simple. Athena was the Patron Goddess of Athens, the Goddess of Wisdom, and the Goddess of Weaving. She was the Goddess of lots of other things, too, but I’m not gonna list ‘em. She was a warrior – which is why she’s so often shown with a spear and a shield with Medusa’s head on it and armor) and another of the three virgin goddesses (in supplement to Hestia and Artemis). Her father was Zeus. Technically her mother was Metis (Goddess of Prudence), but it is usually approved that she had no mother. Basically, it is an awesome story and I took the time to write it out here. Athena’s got a contributing role in a whole bunch of great myths, like the Odyssey for example. All in all, she’s just fantastic.

Read More articles about Athena:

• Athena Goddess 
• Athena

Artemis
Artemis is the Goddess of the Hunt. She had fifty hounds and fifty Draiads (wood nymphs) and a quiver full of painless silver arrows. Along with her twin brother Apollo, she was the daughter of Zeus and Leto as well as being “littlest” of the 3 maiden goddesses (in addition to Hestia and Athena). Artemis did not carry the moon across the sky, but being a moon goddess was undoubtedly part of her individuality. Stunningly beautiful, she swore never to marry – this is not a coincidence! She was the Protector of Young Women as well as a midwife. She was extremely cool for a lot of reasons, but my favorite is that her praise ranged from very dark (human compromise) to individual (virgins committed her their nighties on the night time they wedded) to just fun (women dressing up like a bear and dancing). See the pictures and read full story about Artemis

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Aphrodite
Aphrodite was the Goddess of Love and Beauty. Oh, and the patron of prostitutes. The myth of her birth has a couple of versions. The most well known today has her springing from the blood of Uranus after Cronus castrated him, and floating on the sea to Greece, where she was met by the Three Graces (who will be described later). You know, the whole clamshell thing. She was married to Hephaestus, the Smith God, but she slept with Ares the War God. Her “no work” insurance policy may make her seem like a ditz, but this lady had power in plenty. Like all the best goddesses, there is a bunch of ways of understanding her. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to identify with her more than any other. Plus, she’s got one of the most intriguing “biographies” of any Greek deity I can think about.

Aphrodite Photos and Articles

• Aphrodite
• Goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite

Persephone
Persephone was special. She was the daughter of Demeter, and called Kore which simply means Maiden. As such, she was the Goddess of Spring. One day, as she was out selecting flowers, Hades, the God of the Underworld, abducted her, raped her, and made her Queen of the Underworld. In that role she has often been described as a cold and unhappy goddess. Some have discussed her as the Light link between the Underworld and Earth as opposed to Hecate. Demeter fought hard to get her daughter back and eventually rescued her from the Underworld, but Persephone must always return to the underworld every year. It involves pomegranate seeds. There’s a major mystery cult dealing with this, but I can’t tell you about ‘cuz it’s a mystery Read full Article about Persephone

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OTHERS :

Phoebe
Phoebe was a Titan, one of the original (that is, pre-classical) 14. She and Atlas were given dominion over the Moon, whose planetary power is that of Enchantment, and the second day of the week was their’s. So, Phoebe is another Moon Goddess, her name means Bright Moon. She was the mother of Leto and Asteria through her brother Coeus(Intelligence). There was another Phoebe, a human priestess, who figures briefly in the story of Castor and Pollux. Anyway, it’s Phoebe who was the grandma of Artemis and Apollo, and her name became surnames for both twins.

Pandrosos
She was worshipped as a Goddess of Agriculture and was paid by some for the introduction of weaving. She was one of the Agraulides. Basically, she was one of the daughters of Cecrops and Agraulos who wiped out herself – yet started out being worshipped in a sort of heroine cult. If you want to know the story behind her suicide, check out the story of Erichthonius in the Myth pages. I’m not basically sure if it’s there yet. It’s a cool story, though!

 

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Metis
Metis was another Titaness. She was the Goddess of Prudence, but there is a rather unprudent story about her that tells about the birth of Athena. Metis ends up living inside Zeus’ head and giving him advice from there. Her name meant Cunning and she was the personification of it as well as its Goddess. She was also the one who discovered (created) the concoction that caused Cronos to vomit up the six OGs, (to all y’all who understand the joke, thank you for not being either too old or too young). Anyway, her daughter eventually burst from Zeus’ head completely formed – and fully clothed in the armor her that Metis made for her – but Metis apparently had gotten comfortable in her new pad and stayed there. That painting is of Athena because I can’t seem to track one of Metis down. If you are interested in learning more about Metis, I propose you skip her myths and go straight to the heroes most famous for employing her: Odysseus and Penelope.

Kale
She was, according to some random dead bishop (!) named Eustathius who was writing about the Odyssey, one of the Charites (I don’t list her because no one else seems to come up with her name). But this guy told a cool story, so why not keep it for posterity’s sake? Aphrodite and the Charites were all having moments of extremely feminine girl self deprecation and arguing about who was the hottest of the hotties. This super wise dude named Teiresias (who really deserves to be on this site) was brought in to make the decision. Now, he’d already had some extensive experience (that involved him getting turned into a chick, check it out)with the fickle nature of the deities, but it’s not like you can just say no thanks … So he said Kale. Interesting choice, since any good self-preservation instincts would say pick the one with the most power, but maybe he’d heard about what Aphrodite gives as a reward (check it out) and didn’t want Thebes going the way of Troy. Anyway, Aphrodite rotated him into an old woman, but Kale gave him nice hair and a vacation to Crete. I’m with Mr. Bell (from whom I got this info since I’m not basically intimately familiar with the works of 12th century bishops) in that Kale’s reward doesn’t quite make up for Aphrodite’s pissed off punishment, but I guess it’s better than the destruction of one’s country. Ahh … the incredible destructive power of sexual women. Take note, dear reader, the root of this negative thoughts is no coincidence! 

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The Horae
They were the goddesses organised things like Seasons, and because of their orderly aspect eventually became goddesses of justice. They measured out the weather as it seemed appropriate and guarded Olympus from any overambitious mortals. They had a few cameos in the Big Myths: the Hora of Spring went with Persephone when she went down with Hades every year, and some of the Horae helped dress Aphrodite as she emerged from the ocean. They got different names (and numbers) from diverse authors, but I like Hesiod’s breakdown:

Eunomia, Good Custom
Dike, Justice
Eirene, Peace

Homer basically tended to keep them strictly with the seasons, and they only worshipped two in Athens, but Hyginus lists at least twenty one Horae (including Horae of the Hours)! Generally they were happy small goddesses. Lots of cavorting, much like the Muses and the Graces (Charites) who they liked to hang out with when they weren’t doing their day job of keeping track of orderly traditions and justice.

Hecate
Hecate is the Third and final one of the Triple Goddess. She is the Goddess of the New Moon. She was also the Goddess of the Crossroads and the Witch Goddess. She was Thracian in origin, and she dwelt in the Underworld with Hades and Persephone. She was the daughter of the Titans Perses and Asteria(daughter of Phoebe and Coeus), both were symbols of shining light. Later she was said to be of Zeus and Hera. There were a couple other people thrown in there, too, cuz everyone had a theory but no one agreed. She was the Dark Link between the Underworld and Earth. Her children were Medea, Apsyrtus (a ghost) (but more often they were said to have other moms). Of course, this all sounds well and good, but it doesn’t get to the meat of her. Hecate was super. She was very respected on Olympus and recognized by everyone as having a lot of power. She tended towards beneficence (helping the gods against the giants, helping Galinthias after she got turned into a cat by Hera, helping out when Demeter was looking for Persephone), but people were pretty afraid of that power (which certainly included wealth, victory and wisdom, not to mention sailing and hunting) and the fact that she could choose to withhold her “luck”. So much coolness! Forget about her being the queen of witches and a boogieman for kids who liked to sneak out, she was everything that fits those of us captivated by the idea of a fierce, if underground, women’s power. Scary, yes, but they used to set up figurines of her to keep away baddies, too. And the sacrifices of food to her were left at the crossroads at the end of the month where they were eaten by the poor. See? So perfect! 

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Circe
Circe was the daughter of Hecate (or Perse) and Helios (the Sun-God). She was a union of opposites. Just look at her parents: one is the Dark Moon and the other is the Sun. The sorcery bit goes hand in hand with the celestial powers, so that’s alright, but just referencing that she was witchy does not begin to encompass her. Her biggest part is played in the Odyssey (you don’t remember? I’m so ashamed …), and she had her own island (near her dad’s, actually) off the coast of Italy where she liked to catch sailors and other random men and turn them into things (like pigs). Apparently, she was also pretty good in the sack, because Odysseus delayed his “urgent” return to Penelope at least a year and contributed his sperm towards at least two kids (Telegonus and Cassiphone). Although she wasn’t thrilled to see him go (like her predecessor Calypso she gave him super good advice that he really adopted (always listen to witches!). There’s some funky endings to that marriage including that Penelope brought Odysseus’ body to be buried on Circe’s island after he died (what?) and that Odysseus’ son wiped out Circe and then that Cassiphone wiped out him. Another story that made it to the myth pages about Circe and Scylla (and Glaucus) can be found here.

Amphitrite
Amphitrite was a Nereid (or possibly an Oceanid, depending on who like better) and she married Poseidon. She was the Goddess of the Mediterranean Sea. Her symbol is the dolphin. The stories say that she was not a jealous wife, and didn’t care if her husband slept with anyone else (except for Scylla, who she poisoned and turned into a sea-monster, unless of course that was Circe). Her children were Triton, Benthesicyme, and Rhode. Her name means, “the third one who encircles,” how mysterious. She and her sister, Thetis, shared the surname Halosydne, which means “sea-born.” Okay, this description blows. She sounds totally boring, and the thing is that I don’t think she was. In fact, I find her a lot closer to how a “normal woman” would be than in fact many of the human women listed here. She didn’t immediately go for her husband, but fell for him after he tried really hard. She generally put up with his shenanigans, but got pissed every once in a while (like when she turned Scylla into a monster). She had a job, she did it, but didn’t get that much worship for it (Poseidon tended to get that), however people did like recognizing her for her beauty and image. A virtual paradigm of womanhood in a patriarchal world this goddess! You could even claim to see the self-perpetuating cycle of women in patriarchal power in her demand for a sacrifice of virgin girls from the first settlers of Lesbos. Heh.

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Thetis

Thetis was the primary of the Nereids. She was such a hot number that Poseidon, while he was looking for a wife, courted her. Zeus too, courted her, but she rejected him for the sake of Hera, her foster-mother. Then Themis prophesied that Thetis was to bear a son stronger than its father, so Zeus decreed that she must marry a mortal. Hera, remembering Thetis’ rejection of Zeus, set her up with “the best of mortals.” Thetis married Peleus and bore Achilles. But there was more to it than that. She saved her father once; when all the other Gods got pissed and tied him up she went and got the Hundred-Handed Briareus. She also played a large part in the birth of Hephaestus. Like Tethys (see above) the name Thetis indicates Disposer.

Themis
Themis was one of the origninal Titans, and shared dominion of Jupiter with Eurymedon (fifth day). Their power was that of Law and her name means Order. The Titaness Themis was the mother of the the Seasons (and some say the three Fates) with Zeus. The Goddess of Divine Justice and Law, Themis was the constant associate of the god Zeus and sat beside him on Olympus. In ancient art she is displayed holding aloft a pair of scales on which she weighs the claims of opposition parties. Before and throughout this, however, she was also the Great Goddess who ordered the 13 month year, divided into two seasons. She was the prophet who declared that Thetis’s son would be greater than his father (ever heard of Achilles). It was Themis who appeared before Deucalion and Pyrrha (see above) and told them how to keep their race from dying out after the flood (click here for more). There was a altar dedicated to her by Pittheus in Troezen. She was very important and with Zeus plotted to create the Trojan War. That’s all about her for now.

Selene
Selene was the Goddess of the Moon. She was the child of the two Titans Hyperion and Theia (see below). She married mortal Endymion (a shepherd who she caused to sleep forever so that he wouldn’t get old and gross) and had 50 daughters (I don’t know what happened to them). If you want to read the longer version of the story, read it here. She is a part of the Triple Goddess (there will be a section on the Myth pages detailing the sensation of Triple Goddesses, so keep looking). She rode across heaven in a chariot with milk-white horses. In Roman (puh-tooey) mythology she was called Luna.

Rhea
Rhea was far more effective in the days before classical (ie, patriarchal) mythology came around. In Orphic she was the “inescapable mother Rhea” who sat outside the house of Nyx defeating a bronze drum and making sure all humans were paying attention the oracle of the goddess. In Pelasgian Myth (soon before classical myth took hold) she was one of the 14 original Titans, paired, of course, with Cronus. They held dominion over the last day of the week, and the planet Saturn. In pre-Hellenic Greece the planetary power of Saturn was peace. Rhea loses a lot of her importance in the Olympian creation myth, but still holds some power. She causes her husband Cronus to stop eating his children, saves Zeus and (indirectly ) brings the Olympian Gods into power. That’s a great story, check it out here. She is raped by her son Zeus when she tells him he may not wed , despite her change to a snake. She also had a big function in her grand son Dionysus’ life. She is also often termed Cybele.

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Cybele

Cybele wasn’t officially a Greek goddess in that she came from Phrygia, but she was worshipped in Greece and Rome and a whole rack of other places, too so I think she should be here. It is interesting (at least to me) that she was never appropriated as completely Greek, but always seen as exotic (kinda like Dionysus that way). Well, maybe that’s not absolutely fair since she was super strongly identified with Rhea. Anyway, she, like a bunch of the big names, isn’t just a personification. She’s all up in fertility and nature and had some crazy mysteries like Demeter, but Demeter isn’t known for orgies, sadomasochism, or gender queer priests like Cybele is. Interested? Check out her most important myth in the Myth Pages. You can see her in a very typical representation in the photo at right.

Iris
Iris is the Messenger Goddess.daughter of the Titan Thaumas and Electra. Although she was a sister of the winged monsters, the Harpies, Iris was manifested as a beautiful maiden, with wings and robes of bright colors and a halo of light on her head, looking across the sky with the rainbow she journeyed on in her wake. She was also called the Goddess of the Rainbow.

Nike
Nike was similar to Eris because she was the continuous companion to Athena. Nike was the Goddess of Victory. She was the daughter of the Titan Pallas and the River/Nymph Styx. She doesn’t possess a distinct individuality in any myths I’ve seen. Further, Nike was sort of an epithet of Athena. But Nike, as the personification of Victory was also worshipped as her own Goddess, and generally showed with wings, besides in Athens where she was called “Apteros” (“wingless”), with the idea that she would never leave Athens. Read More about nike goddess… 

Hermaphroditos

Hermaphroditos (or Hermaphroditus in Latin) was the god of hermaphrodites and of effeminate men. He was numbered amongst the winged love-gods known as Erotes. Hermaphroditos was a son of Hermes and Aphrodite, the gods of male and female sexuality. Read More…

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Milas tomb, history of mylasa, mosque, mylasa

Stephanos Byzantinos writes in his Ethica that Mylasa was named after Mylasus, son of Chrysaor, the grandchild of Sisyphus and Aelos. The ancient Greeks regarded the Carians as the oldest habitants in the Aegean region, together with the Lelegs and Plasgs.

In the epics of Homeros, thStephanos Byzantinos writes in his Ethica that Mylasa was named after Mylasus, son of Chrysaor, the grandchild of Sisyphus and Aelos. The ancient Greeks regarded the Carians as the oldest habitants in the Aegean region, together with the Lelegs and Plasgs. In the epics of Homeros, the Carians and the Lelegs are mentioned as being of Asian origin, having fought in alliance with Priamos, the Trojan king.

Herodotus, the historian from Halicarnassus, mentions three novelties in the outfits of battle attires. First of all, the shields which hitherto were wrapped around the neck and the left shoulder with leather straps, were slipped to the arm to allow for freedom of movement. Secondly, the exterior of the shields was ornamented with paintings, and, thirdly, the helmets had plumes. The name Caria is derived from the plume on the helmet worn in battles. Strabon states that the root of the word Caria lies in describing a plumed helmet.

Mylasa took part in the Ionian rebellion and the Persian Wars in the fifth century B.C. In 446 B.C., following the Berymidon Battle, Mylasa joined the Attica-Delos Naval Confederacy. In 334 B.C. Alexander the Great, in his campaign in Asia, conquered south-western Anatolia, as well as Mylasa, but later gave this territory to Ada, the Carian queen. In 189 B.C. Antiochus III, the King of Syria, was defeated by the Romans and had to leave many of the Carian cities, excepting Mylasa, to Rhodians.

In 143 B.C. Mylasa was appointed by the Roman Emperor Macmilius to act as adjudicator in a dispute and thus became the seat of conventus, where the Roman governors presided the assizes. The last king of Pergamum, Attalos III, donated Mylasa to Rome in 129 B.C., and the city was reigned by Roman rulers. In Byzantine times, Mylasa was a bishopric centre. In the 13th century it was dominated by the Turks and became the administrative centre of Menteşe Gulları in 1392.

With the proclamation of the Turkish Republic, it became a township of Muğla.

GÜMÜŞKESEN MONUMENTAL TOMB

This monument is estimated to have been founded in the second century A.D. It has a rectangular grave chamber with a wall of broad-and-narrow masonry, containing four pillars supporting the floor of the upper story. The upper story is supported by an open colonnade, with a square pilaster at each corner and two partially fluted oval columns on each of the four sides.

The monument is erected on a crepis with two steps. The roof is formed of five layers of blocks, with each block placed diagonally across the angles of the one below, to form a shallow pyramid. There is a hole on the floor of the upper story, presumably to pour wine down to the deceased lying below.

GATE WITH AXE

This was built towards the end of the first century A.D. The decoration of the piers consist of a row of flutes surmounting a row of palmets. It takes its name from the double axe relief on the keystone of the arch on the outer side.

ZEUS CARIUS TEMPLE

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The temple is on a podium, 3.5 m. in height, on the hill to the west of Hisarbaşı district. It has a single column called Uzunyuva.

AQUEDUCTS

The aqueducts in two levels along the plains in the east of Mylasa are dated to the early Byzantine period. In their construction, antique architectural pieces were reused.

BUILDINGS AS SPECIMENS OF CIVILIAN ARCHITECTURE

Entrance to the Milas houses is generally through a small or large interior courtyard. The gate to the courtyard is either on the side or below the houses lining the street. The houses are in two stories with the upper rooms overhanging the street. The wooden supports of these overhangings are plain in modest houses. In buildings from the second half of the 19th century, these supports were connected with lath and plaster workmanship known as the Baghdad technique. Most of the houses face an open hall or courtyard named “önlük”. The first floor is usually for storage. The stone paved space in front called “taşlık” is below the hall.

The kitchen, toilette and stables are in a separate corner of the courtyard. Generally an antique marble stairway leads to the second story. There are also stairways with wooden steps laid on marble blocks. On the other hand, some houses are built with the influence of European architects who came to the region shortly after the proclamation of the Turkish Republic. The latter, in contrast to typical Milas houses, were built as enclosures. They are generally on two levels where there is a living room in the centre which opens to the other rooms on the sides. The kitchen and toilette in these are within the houses.

ÇÖLLÜOGLU CARAVANSERAI

It is at Hisarbaşı district, built in 1719-1720 (H.1132). It was donated in 1738 to the medresse (theological school) built near the Agha Mosque by Abdülaziz Agha. The caravanserai is in two stories and rectangular in shape. The lower floor has arches supporting the upper story, which are somewhat broken. In the construction, plenty of stone and rubbles from previous buildings were reused. The lower floor consists of open spaces to tie up animals, which is typical of the Ottoman inns. This space is supported by columns on which the porch of the upper floor is erected. The roof is covered with grooved tiles. The building reflects the original architectural pattern on a large scale.

SAMPLES OF RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE HACI ILYAS MOSQUE

The mosque was built in 1330 (H.730) in the central Hacı Ilyas district of Milas during the Menteşeoğulları regime, by Şucaaddin Orhan Beg. There is a single praying room with three sections in front for congregation. The dome and the roof are covered with grooved tiles. ULU MOSQUE It was built in 1378 (H.780) in the Hocabedreddin district. It is the largest mosque in Milas. The side walls are supported with huge pillars. A lot of the material is reused. The mosque is divided into three courtyards in the south by two rows of pillars. The first pillar on the left is octagonal while the rest are suare-shaped. The courtyards on the right and at the centre have gables and the left one has a diagonal vault. The vaults are connected to the walls by arches while the gable on the right is erected on short supports. In the middle one, in front of the praying niche, there is a dome covered with lead on the outside.

The way the vaults are tied in to the dome is a good example of transition from roofs to vaults and from vaults to domes. The roof is covered with pleated tiles.

FIRUZBEY MOSQUE

It is in the central Firuzpaşa district and was built in 1394 (H.787) by Hodja Firuz Beg. It is in reverse “T” shape and has a courtyard for congregation. There are medresse rooms in the garden. Its popular name is Kurşunlu Mosque as the dome is covered with lead. The entrance portal, the courtyard for congregation, the arches, and the space between the arches, the praying niche and the pulpit all exhibit very refined stone masonry.

Red and white stones are used at the entrance portal and above the windows. The pulpit is ornamented with decoration and prayers from the Koran, written in refined calligraphy in Arabic alphabet. On both sides there are revolving columns. The dome is decorated with chisel work.

BELEN MOSQUE

Assumed to be built in the 14th century, it is on the Hısarbaşı hill in the centre of the town. It resembles the Ulu Mosque. Two rows of three pillars each divide the three courtyards. the main entrance is from the north and there is a smaller entrance in the west. The walls are made of bricks and stone, and it has a wooden roof. The minaret was built in 1811 by Ömer Agha, son of Abdülfettah. AGHA MOSQUE It was built in 1737 in Hacıaptı district by Abdulaziz Agha.

It is rectangular in shape. With the courtyard for congregation and pleated roof, it is simple in design. The minaret was built in 1885, by order of Lady Refia, mother of Mehmet Beg, descendant of Abdulaziz Agha. The medresse, built at the same time, is no longer in existence.

THE MUSEUM OF MILAS

The Museum of Milas was originally inaugurated in 1983 by the transfer of some objects from the Underwater Archaeological Museum of Bodrum, with the approval of the Ministry, as well as by compilation of works of art unearthed in excavations in the vicinity. It was opened for public on 4 April, 1987. In the garden, marble objects found in salvage and foundation excavations and during surface researches are exhibited. In the interior exhibition hall, potteries, glassware, brass and golden objects, marble heads and busts, in chronological order, dating from the Bronze Age to the Byzantine period are presented for public view.

BEÇIN

Beçin is a medieval city situated on the slope of a plateau, rising steeply to a height of 200 meters, 5 km. to the south of Milas. It was founded during the Menteşeoğulları reign and was not a significant centre in the ancient and the Byzantine periods. However, the walls of the Beçin fortress were constructed with reused material from ruins dating back to antique ages. The wall on the right of the interior gate of the fortress is erected on the marble crepis with six steps of a temple. The name of the city is recorded as “Pezona” in medieval Italian sources, as “Barçın” in Turkish and Islamic texts and as “Peçin” in later scriptures. The present-day pronunciation is Beçin. In Evliya Çelebi’s travels during the 17th century, Bevin was a town under the jurisdiction of Milas, with 20 houses built within the fortress. There were warden and 20 guards at the fortress which was then used as a prison.

The Beçin site is comprised of a fortress over a round, steep rock on the slope of the plateau and of a settlement surrounded by a 1.5 m. thick city wall at the south of the fortress. There is a single entrance in the south to the fortress which is surrounded by steep rocky slopes on all the other three sides. The entrance is defended by a high tower and double walls which are partially demolished. Evliya Çelebi mentions a trench of 10 fathoms, which is now filled with earth, and a bridge over the trench with springs.

The hidden stairway leading to the caves in the west of the fortress is also buried underground today. The region was under Turkish jurisdiction in the second half of the 13th century. Menteşe oğulları made Milas their capital at first and then moved the government offices to Beçin which was easier to defend. Beçin remained the capital throughout the rule of Tacettin Ahmet Ghazi. Upon his death, the region was conquered by Beyazid I (the Thunderbolt) when the principal was moved to Balat (Milet). Of the city, the remains of the interior fortress facing the Milas plains, the city walls of the outer fortress and of the buildings at Kepez and Siğmen have persevered to our day.

AHMET GHAZI MEDRESSE AND GRAVE

The medresse, which was built by Ahmet Ghazi in 1375 (H.777), according to the inscription above the gate, is the best preserved building in the city. There is a courtyard, 9.10 x 12.50 m. in dimension, surrounded by ten rooms. Entrance is through the monumental gate in the south of an exedra built in Gothic style. Opposite the gate is the grave of AHMET Ghazi, covered with a high dome. The grave opens to the courtyard of the medresse by a pointed arch, recalling Gothic architecture. On the outer corners of the arch, there are two reliefs of lions holding flags. The name of Ahmet Ghazi appears on the right-hand flag.

The small, arched gate in the north opens to the exterior of the medresse. The identity of the second grave, resembling that of Ahmet Ghazi, has not yet been certified. The rooms of the medresse are covered with cradled vaults. They are dark and small.

Each room has a fireplace, with two or three cupboards. The roofs are covered with earth and made into porches. On both sides, corridors and stairways lead up to the porches. Above the large rooms both on the left and on the right, there were rooms on the second floor which are now extinct. The dome of the grave is covered with tiles. The façade of the medresse, the eastern wall, 6 meters of the western wall, the interior walls facing the courtyard, the corridors and the interior of the gates are paved with sandstones.

Half of the western wall on the north and the rooms are neither paved nor plastered. At a later date, next to the outer door of the room in the east, a small, arched fountain was constructed with two lion reliefs on the panel. The square marble in the middle of the courtyard indicates the presence of a fountain for ablution.

Labranda, Zeus, history of mylasa, zeus temple

OTHER BUILDINGS WITHIN THE CITY

The city walls, enforced with two round towers on the east and the west, surround quite a wide terrain. The second preserved building within the walls is the large Public Bath located between the fortress and the Ahmet Ghazi Mosque. Evliya Çelebi mentions having witnessed the construction of Orhan Beg Mosque, built by Ibni Batuta in the 14th century. The mosque is completely demolished, but the foundations and the marble gate are standing. Of the two square tombs to the east of this mosque, the dome of one has collapsed. Further east, there is a building in quite good shape called Kızılhan, with a cradle vault on the first floor, the upper story covered with three domes and the stairway on the outside facing west.

BUILDINGS OUTSIDE THE CITY WALLS

Outside the city walls, in the south, there is a large courtyard (Emir Havlusu) used as a market place at the time; the Karapaşa Caravanserai covered with three cradle vaults, and a smaller vaulted building which is thought to be another caravanserai. The necropolis is immediately to the east of the city walls and extends through the maquis to the Kepez district which is separated from the city by a small river called Kara Ahmet. The marble grave stones, some of which were carted to the Ahmet Ghazi Medresse, represent distinguished samples of the Turkish art of the 14th and 15th centuries. At the Kepez district, 15 minutes to the east of the city walls, there is a group of buildings. Of these, the Yelli Mosque is a small one with a single dome whose courtyard for congregation is covered with two diagonal vaults. To the west, a public bath with a collapsed roof, and, in the east, a demolished medresse resembling that of Ahmet Ghazi, and, at a little distance a marble pond, 7.75×10.30 m. in size, catch the eye.

The Beçin excavations were started by Prof. Dr. Oluş ARIK in the 1970 and since 1995 are carried out by the Directorate of the Milas Museum in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Rahmi Hüseyin ÜNAL and his team. EUROMOS Euromos is located on the Izmir highway, 10 km. from Milas, and was the most important city in the ancient times after Mylasa. The name of the city was ‘Cyramos’ or ‘Hyramos’ in the 5th century B.C. The Greek form “Euromos” meaning “strong” is likely to be adopted as the policy of Hellenization by Mausolus. From an inscription we learn that Euromus had a disagreement with its northern neighbour Heracleia, which raided the territory of Euromus and carried off sacred and private property.

A Euroman citizen who had suffered in this way applied to the authorities in Mylasa, who thereupon sent an ambassador to Herecleia to solve the dispute. Although the city is in ruins, the Temple of Zeus at Euromus is among the half dozen best preserved monuments in Asia. It is in the Corinthian order and dates from the second century A.D. It has 6 columns on architrave and 9 columns on the sides.

The three columns on the north side and the one at the south-western corner are unfluted, probably because the decoration work was left unfinished. Most of the columns facing north and west have panels with a dedicatory inscription. Five were presented by physican and magistrate Menecrates and his daughter Tryphaena, and seven by Leo Quintos, another magistrate. The large but quite demolished theatre is in a recess in the hillside a little above the plain. Five rows of seats are best preserved in the north.

The agora on the flat ground is surrounded by a stoa with some of the columns still standing. Further west there is another stoa.On one of its pillars there is a long inscription recording the financial assistance of a certain Callisthenes to the city and his alliance with Iassos. At and around the Temple of Zeus, excavation and restoration work was started by Prof. Dr. Ümit SERDAR OĞLU in the 1970s but were not continued.

LABRANDA

Labranda, which was the sanctuary for Zeus Labrandos, is 14 km. north-west of Milas. The earliest ruins are from the 6th century B.C. In 6th and 5th centuries, the sanctuary was a small, artificially levelled plain used as the terrace of the temple. In 497 a battle took place in the sanctuary and the Carian army, together with its Miletian allies, was defeated by the Persians. The 4th century B.C. is when the temple gained prominence. During the reign of Mausolus (377-352) and Idrieus (351-344) as satraps, its appearance was enhanced. In 355, during an annual sacrificial feast, Mausolus was saved from an assassination attempt at the last minute.

To celebrate his narrow escape, a number of artificial terraces, a small Doric Building, a monumental stairway and two large halls of feast (Androns), a building with a porch (Oikoi), a stoa and a colonnated Temple of Zeus were erected. Upon the death of Idrieus in 344, all the constructional work ceased. Following a great fire in the 4th century B.C., the sanctuary was no longer used as a centre of cult. From Mylasa, an 8 m. wide Sacred Way leads to the sanctuary in Labranda. The pavements of this road are still discernible. There are two entrance gates to the courtyard. The one named the Doric building is an irregular rectangle and is immediately to the east of the southern propylon.

Zeus, Zeus Temple, Milas, Mylasa, History of Mylasa, Labranda

It faces north; has four columns with a front yard and a marble façade, and is Doric in style. During the Roman period, this building was added to the bath complex. The propylon displays refined masonry and is surrounded by a wall opening to long rooms by four wide passageways. The rooms are either for storage of goods or for treasury. It is part of a large complex. This building joins another one which is higher in the east, with four square rooms and a porch used for sacred feasts. A stairway, 12 m. wide, reaches the terrace in the centre. Here the Andron of Mausolus (Andron B) stands. This is the first building constructed by the descendants of Hecatomnos. With the square cella and the wide, rectangular niche, it resembles a temple.

In this niche, the statues of Mausolos, his wife and sister Artemisia and perhaps Zeus may have been standing. The Temple of Zeus on the uppermost terrace faces east. Its first phase is dated to the 4th century B.C. In the second phase, a row of columns, 6 in front and 8 on the sides, as well as a second building behind the cella (Opisthodomos) were added to align with the dimensions of the cella. The colonnaded temple was sanctified by Idrieus. Its details and general appearance resemble the Temple of Athena in Priene, which indicates that both were built by architect Pytheos. The Andron of Idrieus (Andron A) is in the south-west of this temple.

It is the best preserved building in the settlement. The south wall is 7.9 m. high from the ground. Its plan is similar to that of the Andron of Mausolus. Within the cella, traces are visible of low, plastered stone seats which were used during the sacred feasts. In the niche on the back wall, statues of Idrieus, his sister and wife Ada and Zeus stood. Oikoi is made up of two rectangular rooms of varying sizes behind the porch with four Doric columns, between the antes.

The roof of this building is a combination of Doric and Ionian styles. It may have been used both as an archive building of the sanctuary and as offices for the priests and for sacred feasts. There is a steep climb to the north of sanctuary. On the southern slope there is a tomb, 15 m. in length above the temple. The grave chamber and the entrance are vaulted. The granite roof is in Doric style. Two hundred meters to the west of the sanctuary, there is a stadium with a supporting wall on the back. At each end, the departure and the arrival signposts in stone are still discernible.

During the five-day festivals at the sanctuary, races must have been organized at this spot. The excavations at Labranda were started in 1948 by A.W. Persson from the Uppsala University in Sweden and are still under way, presided by P. Hellström.

Temples, Asia Minor, Roman Temple of Zeus Lepsynos, history of mylasa

HERACLEIA

The antique city of Heracleia may be reached by a road branching off at Çamiçi district on the Milas-Söke highway.The city is in the Kapkırı village and is 39 km. from Milas. In the antique period the city reached out to the Latmos Bay which was an extension of the Aegean Sea. However, due to alluvions from the Meander River, the bay is the Bafa Lake today. The city is named after the famous epic hero, Heraclitos. It was called Latmos in the 8th century B.C. and was seized by the Carian satrap Mausolus, during the Persian reign. It fell into the hands of Alexander during his Asian campaign and was later dominated by Seleucos.

Being cut off from the sea in the first century B.C., Heracleia lost some of its prominence. However, due to its inaccessibility, it became a hiding place for Christian hermits. The antique city, situated on a very rough and rocky terrain, was surrounded by city walls 6.5 km. long, supported by 65 towers. The walls, made of smooth rectangular and square stones, were built during the Hellenistic period. Heracleia, based on the city plan of Hippodoamos, is a good example of gridiron patches and streets vertically cris-crossing one another.

The Temple of Athena on the bluff behind the harbour is one of the best preserved buildings on the site. It is in Antis style with two Hellenistic columns. The agora to the east of the temple is on two levels, with only the first level still standing. The shops and the inns in the agora are still discernible. The walls on the south are in good masonry. They are rectangular, surrounded by porticos. The U-shaped building on the east of the agora is the bouleterion. The north-eastern walls are quite intact. The theatre is in the north-east of the city. The walls of the stagebuilding and the seats in the first cavea are discernible. Along the road to the shore and to the island, the apsidal cella and the pronao of the Endymion sanctuary can be viewed. According to mythology, Selene, the Moon Goddess, fell in love with the handsome shepherd on the Latmos Mountain and put him to eternal sleep.

On the islands in the Bafa Lake and among the rocks on Latmos Mountain, there are various monasteries. The priests arriving from the Sina peninsula and Greece founded the first monastery here in the 7th century A.D. Thirteen monasteries have been built in this area, the most famous ones being Yediler, Stylos, Soteros, Menet Island, İkizce Islands, Kahve Asar Island. During the Byzantine period, a tower was built along the Bafa Lake to protect the monasteries. In addition to the monasteries, there are numerous caves or trial units around where the monks led their solitary lives. Those closer to the monasteries are decorated with rich frescos. The designs on the walls and the ceilings depict scenes from the life of Christ, Virgin Mary and various saintsThe surface research on the Heracleia antique city is carried out annually by German scientist Annelisa Pesclow.

IASSOS

Iassos is located on a peninsula, surrounded by sea on three sides, within the Kıyıkışlacık village, 28 km. from Milas. According to mythology, it was set up by Pelopolonnesians arriving from Argos, in the 5th century B.C. and was named after Iassos, heading the colonizers. The city’s name does not appear in the records prior to the beginning of this century. The city was originally founded or an island which, with the filling up of the isthmus, became a peninsula. The major buildings of the city are located on the peninsula. The large city walls, aqueducts, necropolis and the building called the fish market are outside the walls.

The excavations revealed that the earliest settlement in Iassos date back to the end of 3000 B.C. Once a musician visiting the city gave a recital at the theatre. During the concert, a bell rang, announcing the opening of the fish market. Everybody rose up and departed except for an old man cupping his ear with his hand. The musician approached him and said, “Thank you for appreciating me and my music; for everyone else rushed out when they heard the bell “. ” what?” shouted the old man, ” Did the bell ring ?” ” Yes, why?”. ” By your leave, sir” said the old man and ran out. Strabo relates this story to emphasize how essential the sea food was in Iassos, as the soil was barren and bore no fruit.

When Alexander besieged Miletos in 334, Iassos donated a ship to the Persian navy which came to their aid. Ten years later, in Ecbatana, an Iasian named Gorgos was the armoury commander of Alexander. Another Iasian favoured by Alexander was a boy who had the curious fortune of being loved by a dolphin. It was a tradition in Iassos to bathe in the sea after exercising at the gymnasium. A dolphin would wade ashore, carry this boy away on its back and then return him safely. Alexander, hearing of this, summoned the boy to Babylon and made him a priest to Poseidon, the Sea God. The Iasians were highly influenced by this tale and in their mints of the third century B.C., the coinage shows a boy swimming beside a dolphin, with an arm over its back. Since 1960, an Italian archaeological team has been running regular excavations at the Iassos antique city.

Numerous objects have been unearthed in the course of this work. An arched gate opens up to the agora. On all four sides of the agora are porticos built during the Roman period. The bouleterion is in the south-west of the agora. The building used by the city council is circular, with an orchestra and the rows of seats are divided into three sections with four stairways. Six vaults support the seats. At the eastern corner, there is a rectangular building, 17×13 m. in dimension, with columns in the front, which has been identified as Caesareon. The ruins unearthed within the agora date back to the middle of the Bronze Age.

The stoas around the agora were built in 130 B.C. according to inscriptions. On the vast plain in the south-western corner of the agora, there is the Temple of Artemis Astias. The theatre is on the north-eastern slope of an elevation in the centre of the city. The façade of the state building is approximately 61 m. long. The original theatre was built during the Hellenistic times and the repairs and additions made during the Roman period are discernible. The medieval tower is on the highest point in the centre of the town.

It is almost a square with walls of about 2 meters in thickness. There is also a water cistern within. The harbour is between the peninsula and the mainland, approximately 850 meters in length. The tower at the mouth of the harbour is part of the wave breakers built in medieval times. The tower facing this is demolished. A chain was stretched across these two towers to prevent entrance into the harbour of undesirable vessels. There are two city walls in Iassos, the first one protecting the city and known as the big city wall, and the other in the north-west. The second wall was for regional defence. It is approximately 3.5 km. long and made of local blocks. Its height is variable at places, at an average of 3.5 m., supported by regular columns.Tombs are everywhere in the city. The agora was used as a necropolis in the Archaic age. To the west of the Roman necropolis, on the slopes, there are rock and house tombs. The most famous tomb is the monument from the Roman period in the fish market.

In the middle of a square courtyard, surrounded by porticos, on a high podium, a Corinthian mausoleum with four columns in the front rises up. It has a wide pronaos in the front. The outside walls are decorated with triflutes and plastered antes. A step on the east leads to a shallow cella. The grave chamber is supported by low columns. A small bench for the bones and niches are carved into the rocky walls. The long portico is made up of plastered columns. The vaulted roof on the western part is still standing.

The restoration of the mausoleum in the Fish Market was started towards the end of 1993, by funds allocated by the General Directorate of Rotating Capital Operations of the Ministry of Culture, as a result of which the architectural objects and other works of art unearthed by the Italian team in Iassos were catalogued and the galleries within the mausoleum were opened to the public on 11 August, 1995, as the Fish Market Open-Air Museum. The excavations at Iassos were started in 1960 by an Italian archaeological team headed by Prof. Dr. Doro Levi, and are presently carried out by Dr. Fede Berti.

ANTIQUE SETTLEMENTS NOT YET CATALOGUED AT MILAS

Within the boundaries of the Milas town, there are numerous antique settlements which have been established and recorded but, as yet, not catalogued.

THE TEMPLE OF SINURI

There is a temple on the mountains at Yukarı KalınaGıl village, 14 km. south of Milas. It was dedicated to a Carian deity, Sinuri. As in Labranda, there is a monumental tomb near the temple, probably belonging to the family of a priest.

HYDAI

It is a small city within the DamlıboGaz village, at the foot of  Karaoğlan Mountain. The name of the city is derived from the Greek word “Hydro”, meaning water. There is a little information about the history of Heyday. On a coin from the 2nd century B.C., a bearded river deity, representing the Sark Stream, is depicted, leaning against a pitcher, holding a reed in his hand, with three fish floating in the water flowing from the pitcher.

ARGYLE

Argyle is on top of a hill with double summits, at the eastern tip of the peninsula on the narrow and deep bay of the Gollum harbour. According to the epic related in Byzantines by Stephanos, Argyle was founded by the Greek mythological hero, Bellerophon. When his famous winged-horse Pegasus kicked and killed Bargylos, the hero named the city Bargylia to commemorate his friend. The hero of this epic are depicted on the coins minted here during the first century B.C., with Pegasus in flight and Bellerophon riding him.

HYDISOS

The city is on the hill with double summits, covered with pine trees, at Karacahisar village, 29 km. south of Milas. The principal deity of the city, Zeus Areios, the War God, is illustrated on the coins as a bust with a beard and a helmet, or standing, armed to the teeth.

CERAMOS

The city is located within the Ören district, 45 km. south of Milas. The deity of Ceramos was a youngster holding a double-faced axe in his hand. On the coins, he is presented standing half naked. In some coins of the Roman Empire, he is depicted with Zeus Chrysaoreus of neighbouring cities of Stratoniceia and Coinon Chrysaoris . The Arceological Museum of Marmaris is located at the Fortress. Therefore, in connection with the museum, the history of the fortress must take precedence.

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