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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



ments belong to the best period of Greek 

 art, and their foundation dates back to 

 the time when the people of Asia Minor 

 divided their worship between the god- 

 dess Diana and the goddess Venus. 



It was in its reverence for Venus that 

 Aphrodisias was famous, and this wor- 

 ship lasted in all its pristine vigor until 

 the final overthrow of paganism. 



The city was situated in a fertile plain, 

 watered by numerous small streams, 

 some of which rose in the center of the 

 city. These springs today have degen- 

 erated into filthy swamps and are now 

 the home of turtles, mosquitoes, and 

 fever. Any future plan to excavate this 

 buried city which does not, first of all, 

 include some scheme to drain these 

 swamps is doomed to failure. 



People resorted to Aphrodisias for 

 sports and games, and the free cities of 

 Asia contributed to the erection and 

 adornment of these incomparable public 

 buildings, the remnants of which today 

 call for our deepest admiration. The 

 worship of Venus alone, in a temple the 

 gorgeousness of which sixteen massive 

 pillars still bear testimony, was sufficient 

 to secure for this city the good will of 

 the Roman emperors, for at that time it 

 was popularly supposed that Caesar was 

 directly descended from that goddess. 

 Perhaps no city in Asia ever enjoyed so 

 much prosperity or has been so much 

 spared from the contingencies of war. 

 So intact were these monuments epi- 

 graphically that, until a few years ago, 

 when many inscriptions and objects of 

 fine art were removed, the history of this 

 city and its leading citizens could be 

 traced upon the public buildings. 



The Temple of Venus at Aphrodisias 

 was one of the finest monuments of an- 

 tiquity, but nothing is known of the date 

 of its foundation. After Christianity 

 had forced paganism from the field, and 

 that mystic cult had been banished to the 

 realms of fable, this great sanctuary was 

 transformed into a Christian church and 

 assumed the character of a cathedral. As 

 has been said, sixteen columns are stand- 

 ing in their original positions, while the 

 bases of all the others are still in place. 



Some of these columns were donated by 

 citizens, who had their names inscribed 

 upon them, together with the purpose of 

 the offering. Many of these inscrip- 

 tions date to a period prior to Roman 

 domination. Surrounding the temple on 

 every side may be seen in the debris Co- 

 rinthian columns of the peribolos. It 

 really would not be a very difficult mat- 

 ter to reconstruct the temple and perib- 

 olos, so numerous are the fragments 

 that lie about. 



The ruins of Aphrodisias today lie em- 

 bedded in the foliage of the juniper and 

 Judas* trees. Poppies nod in the fields 

 and the honeysuckle droops from the 

 crumbling arches. Century-old olive 

 trees entwine their roots about the hid- 

 den tombs, while in the ivy-covered 

 nooks above, on massive pillars, one hears 

 the songs of birds — not such birds as 

 haunt the fissures in the sides of Sipylus 

 and prey upon their weaker comrades of 

 the air, but the little scolding wren or 

 bluebird, that welcome you and make 

 your stay delightful ; and then at even- 

 tide you hear the sweet farewell note of 

 the nightingale floating out upon the 

 stillness ! 



PDRGAMUS, FAMOUS FOR ITS LIBRARY 



About half way between Magnesia 

 and Pergamus lies the city of Thyatira, 

 which was the seat of one of the Seven 

 Churches. The environments abound in 

 ruins, but the inscriptions are few, and 

 it is doubtful if anything dates anterior 

 to the Roman conquest. 



Today Thyatira has assumed the 

 Turkish name of Ak-Hissar, and upon 

 the spot where a certain woman named 

 Lydia once sold her purple there has 

 since been reared a stately mosque, and 

 from the minaret of that same mosque, 

 at dawn and sunset, I have heard the 

 Moslem call to prayer : "God is most 

 great ! God is most great ! I testify 



* This is one of the prettiest trees in Asia 

 Minor. It is known as the Judas tree from 

 the popular belief that Judas hung himself 

 from one of them after the Crucifixion. This 

 popular belief is further strengthened by the 

 fact that the deep red blossoms return each 

 year at Easter time. 



