Listed 6 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "MYLASSA Ancient city TURKEY" .
Mylassa or Mylasa (ta Mulassa, or Mulasa: Eth. Mulaseus), the most important town of Caria, was situated in a fertile plain, in the west of the country, at the foot of a mountain, abounding in beautiful white marble, of which its buildings and temples were constructed. Hence the city was exceedingly beautiful on account of its white marble temples and porticoes, and many wondered that so fine a city was built at the foot of a steep overhanging mountain. The two most splendid temples in the city were those of Zeus Osogos and Zeus Labrandenus, the latter of which stood in the neighbouring village of Labranda, on a hill, and was connected with the city by a road called the sacred, 60 stadia in length, along which the processions used to go to the temple. The principal citizens of Mylassa were invested with the office of priests of Zeus for life. The city was very ancient, and is said to have been the birthplace and residence of the Carian kings before Halicarnassus was raised to the rank of a capital. Its nearest point on the coast was Physcus, at a distance of 80 stadia, which was the port of Mylassa; though Stephanus B. calls Passala its port-town. (Strab. xiv. p. 658, &c.; Aeschyl. Fragm. 48, where it is called Mylas; Steph. B. s. v. ; Herod. i. 171. Ptol. v. 2. § 20; Plin. v. 29; Paus. viii. 10. § 3.) The splendour of Mylassa is attested by an anecdote preserved in Athenaeus (viii. p. 348) of the witty musician Stratonicus, who, on coming to Mylassa, and observing its many temples, but few inhabitants, placed himself in the middle of the market-place, and exclaimed, Hear me, oh ye temples. As to the history of this city, we know that Philip of Macedonia, the son of Demetrius, endeavoured in vain to obtain possession of it; and it was probably to reward the place for its opposition to him that the Romans, after the war with Antiochus, declared its citizens free (Polyb. xvi. 24, xxii. 27; Liv. xxxviii. 39). In a petty war with the neighbouring Euromians, the Mylassans were victorious, and took some of their towns; but were afterwards compelled to submit to the Rhodians (Polyb. xxx. 5; Liv. xlv. 25.) In the time of Strabo, the town appears to have been still flourishing, and two eminent orators, Euthydemus and Hybreas, exercised considerable influence over their fellowcitizens. Hybreas, however, incurred the enmity of Labienus, his political adversary, whose pretensions he tried to resist. But he was obliged to take refuge in Rhodes; whereupon Labienus marched with an army against Mylassa, and did great damage to the town. (Strab. xiv. p. 660.) It is mentioned, however, as late as the time of Hierocles. It is generally admitted that the site of the ancient Mylassa is marked by the modern Melasso or Melassa, where considerable ancient remains have been observed by travellers. A temple, erected by the people of Mylassa in honour of Augustus and Roma, considerable ruins of which had existed until modern times, was destroyed about the middle of last century by the Turks, who built a new mosque with the materials (Pococke, Travels, tom. ii. p. 2. c. 6.) Chandler (Asia Minor, p. 234) saw beneath the hill, on the east side of the town, an arch or gateway of marble, of the Corinthian order; a broad marble pavement, with vestiges of a theatre; and round the town ranges of columns, the remains of porticoes. (Comp. Leake, Asia Minor, p. 230; Fellows, Journal of an Exc. p. 260, Discoveries in Lycia, p. 67, who saw many ancient remains scattered about the place; Rasche, Lex. Num. iii. 1. p. 999. &c.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
(ta Mulasa) or Mylassa. A flourishing inland city of Caria, in a fertile plain.
One of the three inland Carian cities reckoned noteworthy by Strabo
(658). The city was in existence in the 7th c. B.C. (Plut., Quaest. Graec. 45),
and between 500 and 480 was ruled by the tyrants Oliatos and his brother Herakleides
(Hdt. 5.37.121). In the Delian Confederacy Mylasa paid a tribute of one talent
or rather less, and in the 4th c. was the seat of the Hekatomnid satraps, until
Mausolos transferred his capital to Halikarnassos. In the 3d c. Mylasa was claimed
first by the Ptolemies, then taken and declared free by Antiochos II. Friendly
relations with Antigonos Doson and Philip V ended in 200 B.C., and Mylasa reverted
to the Seleucid Antiochos III. When Caria was given to Rhodes after Magnesia in
189, Mylasa was exempted from payment of tribute. Rhodian control ended in 167
and Caria was left free. During the 2d c. Mylasa entered into sympolity with the
smaller cities in the neighborhood as the dominant partner. In the 1st c. the
city was led by two demagogues, Euthydemos and Hybreas; the latter offered resistance
to Labienus in 40 B.C., and the city was sacked by the Parthians (Strab. 659-60).
Prosperity was restored with the help of Augustus.
It has recently been suggested, with considerable probability, that
the original seat of the Hekatomnid satraps was not at Milas itself but on the
hill of Pec;in some 5 km to the S, where there are remains of a temple which may
be that of Zeus Karios mentioned by Herodotos (1.171) and Strabo (659).
Little remains at Milas of the ancient city. The city wall has disappeared,
though one of its gates survives intact. It is now called Baltali Kapi, and is
a handsome arched gateway with broad-and-narrow masonry; the piers supporting
the arch are decorated with a row of palmettes under a row of flutes. On the keystone
of the arch on the outer side is a double axe in relief. This gate dates perhaps
from the reconstruction of the city after the sack by Labienus, or it may be later.
Subsequently an aqueduct was carried upon it.
In the middle of the town is one column and part of the foundation
of a Corinthian temple. The column stands on a podium 3.5 m high, and has a panel
for an inscription which seems never to have been written. The temenos is extensive;
its E wall stands for 100 m and has 11 courses in regular ashlar. A fragmentary
inscription indicates that the temple was dedicated to Zeus, probably Zeus Karios.
The temple of Zeus Osogos, which contained a spring of salt water,
stood outside the city on the SW. Nothing remains of the temple itself, but a
part of the temenos wall is standing, in massive polygonal style, up to 3 m high.
Formerly a row of columns could be seen, belonging to a stoa of Roman date which
ran around the temenos; in some cases they were inscribed to Zeus Osogos Zeus
Zenoposeidon, but these too have now disappeared. A temple of Rome and Augustus,
still standing in the 17th c., was described as of marble; it had six Ionic columns
on the front with leaf moldings at top and bottom, and the dedication on the architrave.
The hollow of a theater is visible on a low hill NE of the city, outside
the wall, but nothing of the building survives. On the same hill excavation has
revealed remains of a shrine of Nemesis.
There are numerous tombs of Hellenistic and Roman date W of the city,
one of which still stands complete at a spot called Gumuskesen. It has two stories,
with masonry and decoration similar to that of the Baltali Kapi and probably of
similar date. The upper story carries an open colonnade, with partially fluted
double half-columns and a square pilaster at each corner. The roof consists of
five layers of blocks in pyramidal form, with each layer placed diagonally across
the corners of the layer below; the underside is carved and was originally painted.
The grave chamber is in the lower story, with four pillars supporting the floor
of the upper one; in this floor is a small funnel-shaped hole, apparently for
the pouring of libations.
On the Hidirlik hill W of the town is a separate fortification, compensating
for the weak situation of the city on the plain (Strab. 659). The greater part
of an oval enclosure, with a wall of rough and irregular ashlar 2.5 m thick, still
stands up to 2.5 m high. No buildings are visible in the interior.
At Suleyman Kavagi, 3 km S of Milas, is a handsome architectural rock
tomb cut in the face of a hill looking E. The facade has two Doric half-columns
between pilasters, with a false door surmounted by a pediment; below this, and
separately entered, is the actual grave chamber, with stone benches on right and
left, and a recess at the back. The suggestion has been made that this may be
the tomb either of Hekatomnos, father of Mausolos, or of his father Hyssaldomos.
G. E. Bean, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 3 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Receive our daily Newsletter with all the latest updates on the Greek Travel industry.
Subscribe now!
