Ephesus (Turkey) - Ancient Prytaneion, Odeon, and State Agora

5/20/2012
Partially excavated, this entranceway resembles the entrance to the Odeon (Theater) in the same area.

The stairs are the "Odeon".  More details on this are below.

 This is an overview of the area that we could see from the bus.

The tall columns are part of the "Prytaneion".  This was one of the most important public buildings as it contained the flame of the city that was never allowed to go out.


The Prytaneion was a large temple-like hall fronted by a Doric courtyard surrounded on three sides by a colonnade. The courtyard was paved with a mosaic depicting the shields of Amazons against a decorative background.

Two of the pillars that have been re-erected bear inscriptions with the names of the Curetes. Scholastica took columns and other materials from the Prytaneion for the construction of her baths on Curetes Street in the 4th century.

Two statues of the Ephesian Artemis were discovered in the Prytaneion and are now displayed in the Ephesus Museum. The larger statue, dating from the 1st century AD, was in the hall. The other, dating from about 50 years later, had been carefully buried in a small room in the sanctuary.  (We see these statues later and I will put the link here once the post is written.)


http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/ephesus-prytaneion.htm

Odeon
Vedius Antonius and his wife had the Ephesus Odeon (an Odeon is a small roofed theatre) constructed around 150 A.D. It was a small salon for plays and concerts, seating about 1,500 people. There were 22 stairs in the theater. The upper part of the theatre was decorated with red granite pillars in the Corinthian style. The entrances were at both sides of the stage and reached by a few steps. (Source)

 This area is now called the "State Agora" indicating that the market place was in this area.  You can see the work being done on the reconstruction.

 The State Agora is the lower section and the top of the area is the Odeon, with the entranceways.

 I liked the look of this area with the purple flowers.

A moped. Where is the owner?

A convenient stop for the tourists leaving the Ephesus area.  Well, this is all that we were able to see of Ephesus on this bus trip.  It is not the full view of the area. I understand that it is all about 25% uncovered. K visited a few years ago and said that much progress has been made with the restoration.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/ephesus-map

We are now heading towards the museum where we will be able to see the wonders that have been found at the site.