Cults and Cult Places of the Carian Chersonesos: The Archaeological Traces of Belief

Project no. 32983 · Status: Kapanmış (Yayın bekleniyor) · 2025

Summary

<p class="ql-align-justify">T<span style="color: black;">his&nbsp;project&nbsp;presents&nbsp;a&nbsp;comprehensive&nbsp;investigation&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;sanctuaries&nbsp;and&nbsp;cults&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Carian&nbsp;Chersonesos&nbsp;through&nbsp;the&nbsp;integrated&nbsp;analysis&nbsp;of&nbsp;archaeological,&nbsp;architectural,&nbsp;epigraphic,&nbsp;and&nbsp;topographical&nbsp;evidence.&nbsp;The&nbsp;primary&nbsp;objective&nbsp;was&nbsp;to&nbsp;identify&nbsp;the&nbsp;sacred&nbsp;centres&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;peninsula&nbsp;and&nbsp;to&nbsp;examine&nbsp;their&nbsp;architectural&nbsp;characteristics,&nbsp;cult&nbsp;practices,&nbsp;chronological&nbsp;development,&nbsp;and&nbsp;regional&nbsp;relationships&nbsp;within&nbsp;a&nbsp;broader&nbsp;sacred&nbsp;landscape.</span></p><p class="ql-align-justify"><span style="color: black;">The&nbsp;study&nbsp;focuses&nbsp;on&nbsp;the&nbsp;principal&nbsp;sanctuaries&nbsp;of&nbsp;Amos,&nbsp;Kastabos&nbsp;(Sanctuary&nbsp;of&nbsp;Hemitheia),&nbsp;Phoenix,&nbsp;Loryma,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Kıran&nbsp;Gölü,&nbsp;while&nbsp;also&nbsp;incorporating&nbsp;epigraphic&nbsp;evidence&nbsp;from&nbsp;Physkos,&nbsp;Tymnos,&nbsp;Hygassos,&nbsp;Syrna,&nbsp;and&nbsp;Hydas&nbsp;to&nbsp;reconstruct&nbsp;the&nbsp;wider&nbsp;religious&nbsp;geography&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;peninsula.&nbsp;Archaeological&nbsp;excavation&nbsp;reports,&nbsp;survey&nbsp;data,&nbsp;architectural&nbsp;remains,&nbsp;inscriptions,&nbsp;and&nbsp;recent&nbsp;scholarly&nbsp;studies&nbsp;were&nbsp;systematically&nbsp;evaluated&nbsp;within&nbsp;a&nbsp;comparative&nbsp;framework.&nbsp;The&nbsp;results&nbsp;demonstrate&nbsp;that&nbsp;the&nbsp;Carian&nbsp;Chersonesos&nbsp;should&nbsp;not&nbsp;be&nbsp;understood&nbsp;as&nbsp;a&nbsp;collection&nbsp;of&nbsp;isolated&nbsp;sanctuaries&nbsp;but&nbsp;rather&nbsp;as&nbsp;an&nbsp;interconnected&nbsp;religious&nbsp;network&nbsp;linking&nbsp;urban&nbsp;centres,&nbsp;harbour&nbsp;settlements,&nbsp;and&nbsp;rural&nbsp;sanctuaries.&nbsp;The&nbsp;cult&nbsp;of&nbsp;Apollo&nbsp;emerged&nbsp;as&nbsp;the&nbsp;principal&nbsp;religious&nbsp;tradition&nbsp;shared&nbsp;throughout&nbsp;the&nbsp;peninsula,&nbsp;whereas&nbsp;the&nbsp;cult&nbsp;of&nbsp;Hemitheia&nbsp;retained&nbsp;its&nbsp;regional&nbsp;character&nbsp;while&nbsp;functioning&nbsp;as&nbsp;the&nbsp;common&nbsp;sanctuary&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Chersonesian&nbsp;communities.&nbsp;The&nbsp;religious&nbsp;topography&nbsp;of&nbsp;Amos&nbsp;was&nbsp;reassessed&nbsp;through&nbsp;the&nbsp;combined&nbsp;evaluation&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;sanctuaries&nbsp;of&nbsp;Athena&nbsp;and&nbsp;Apollo&nbsp;Samnaios&nbsp;together&nbsp;with&nbsp;the&nbsp;altar&nbsp;of&nbsp;Artemis,&nbsp;the&nbsp;rock-cut&nbsp;niche,&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;cult&nbsp;stele.&nbsp;Likewise,&nbsp;the&nbsp;multi-cult&nbsp;structure&nbsp;of&nbsp;Phoenix,&nbsp;the&nbsp;harbour-oriented&nbsp;religious&nbsp;landscape&nbsp;of&nbsp;Loryma,&nbsp;and&nbsp;the&nbsp;rural&nbsp;sanctuary&nbsp;model&nbsp;represented&nbsp;by&nbsp;Kıran&nbsp;Gölü&nbsp;were&nbsp;analysed&nbsp;in&nbsp;detail.&nbsp;The&nbsp;project&nbsp;further&nbsp;demonstrates&nbsp;that&nbsp;Rhodian&nbsp;rule&nbsp;did&nbsp;not&nbsp;replace&nbsp;indigenous&nbsp;religious&nbsp;traditions&nbsp;but&nbsp;reorganised&nbsp;existing&nbsp;sanctuaries&nbsp;through&nbsp;new&nbsp;administrative,&nbsp;architectural,&nbsp;and&nbsp;epigraphic&nbsp;practices.&nbsp;Evidence&nbsp;concerning&nbsp;Cybele,&nbsp;Artemis&nbsp;Pergaia,&nbsp;and&nbsp;other&nbsp;Anatolian&nbsp;cults&nbsp;also&nbsp;indicates&nbsp;the&nbsp;continuity&nbsp;of&nbsp;local&nbsp;religious&nbsp;traditions&nbsp;throughout&nbsp;the&nbsp;Hellenistic&nbsp;period.&nbsp;By&nbsp;examining&nbsp;the&nbsp;sacred&nbsp;landscape&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;Carian&nbsp;Chersonesos&nbsp;as&nbsp;an&nbsp;integrated&nbsp;regional&nbsp;system&nbsp;for&nbsp;the&nbsp;first&nbsp;time,&nbsp;this&nbsp;project&nbsp;redefines&nbsp;the&nbsp;religious&nbsp;geography&nbsp;of&nbsp;the&nbsp;peninsula&nbsp;and&nbsp;provides&nbsp;a&nbsp;significant&nbsp;interdisciplinary&nbsp;contribution&nbsp;to&nbsp;the&nbsp;study&nbsp;of&nbsp;cults,&nbsp;sacred&nbsp;landscapes,&nbsp;and&nbsp;religious&nbsp;networks&nbsp;in&nbsp;southwestern&nbsp;Anatolia.</span></p><p class="ql-align-justify"></p><p class="ql-align-justify"><strong style="color: black;">Keywords:&nbsp;</strong><span style="color: black;">Carian&nbsp;Chersonesos,&nbsp;Rhodian&nbsp;Peraea,&nbsp;sanctuary,&nbsp;cult,&nbsp;Apollo,&nbsp;Hemitheia,&nbsp;Athena,&nbsp;Loryma,&nbsp;Phoenix,&nbsp;Amos.</span></p><p class="ql-align-justify"></p><p class="ql-align-justify"></p>

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