An Ancient Greek City for Sale in Turkey: The History and Plight of Bargylia

One of the archetypal adverts for the merchantability of the ancient Greek City successful Asia Minor. Public Domain

The past Greek metropolis of Bargylia, dating backmost to the 5th period BC and located successful Asia Minor adjacent Gulluk Bay connected the bluish seashore of the Bodrum Peninsula, has been connected the marketplace for astatine slightest 10 years with nary buyers emerging.

“A archetypal grade archaeological site, facing the Bird Heaven water adjacent the Bogazici village, with afloat oversea and water view,” the archetypal advertisement successful 2015 explained.

Since then, the past metropolis has remained successful limbo, arsenic it has neither been successfully sold to a backstage purchaser nor officially expropriated by the state.

The archetypal terms of 22 cardinal Turkish Liras (approximately €8 cardinal oregon $10 cardinal USD astatine the time) did not pull an acceptable buyer. The metropolis remained connected the backstage marketplace and was re-listed aggregate times successful the pursuing years with a importantly reduced price.

Remains of the past protective wall. Credit: Hwhorwood, CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikipedia

The past Greek metropolis of Bargylia is successful backstage hands

The land, which encompasses the past metropolis ruins (including the theatre, necropolis, and fortification walls), remains privately owned by aggregate shareholders, arsenic it has been since 1927. This backstage presumption is the halfway issue, arsenic it prevents the Turkish authorities from launching a large-scale, authoritative archaeological excavation and extortion effort.

On their behalf, Turkish archaeologists person repeatedly called the country’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism to expropriate galore archaeological sites, specified arsenic the 1 successful Bargylia successful bid to guarantee their protection, owed to the state’s inability to warrant their security.

“Unfortunately, owed to an insufficient budget, archaeological sites are lone expropriated during excavations oregon municipality projects,” Binnur Celebi, a elder subordinate of the Archaeologists Association, underlined, informing astatine the aforesaid clip that immoderate owners whitethorn question to downgrade their site’s status, aiming to unfastened it for construction.

“Private ownership of specified sites is obstructing archaeological work. However, the idiosyncratic oregon persons who get those sites tin perfectly not behaviour immoderate operation activities,” helium added.

The past Greek metropolis of Bargylia

Ancient Greek columns astatine the site. Credit: Hwhorwood, CC BY-SA 4.0/Wikipedia

The metropolis is said to person been founded by the Greek leader Bellerophon. According to the myth, helium named it aft his companion, Bargylos, who was killed by a footwear from Bellerophon’s winged horse, Pegasus.

Bargylia was an important spiritual center. It was celebrated for the Temple of Artemis Kindyàs, the city’s patron goddess. Ancient sources, notably the geographer Strabo, grounds a section content that “neither rainfall nor snow” ever fell upon the statue of the goddess. Artemis Kindyàs and Pegasus often appeared connected the city’s coinage.

The metropolis served arsenic a cardinal naval base. King Philip V of Macedon famously wintered his fleet astatine Bargylia aft being blockaded by the combined Pergamene and Rhodian fleets.

After the Roman triumph implicit Macedon, Bargylia was 1 of the cities liberated and granted state by the Romans, a important lawsuit astatine the time.

Since the tract has not been officially excavated owed to its backstage status, the ruins disposable contiguous are what remains connected the surface. Despite the deficiency of nonrecreational excavation, the surviving monuments are extensive:

• Defensive Walls: Substantial remnants of the fortification walls from the 4th period B.C. and Hellenistic play are intelligibly visible.
• The Theatre: The remains of a theatre oregon odeon (a smaller, roofed theatre) are present, carved into the hillside.
• Acropolis: The highest portion of the city, which would person held its cardinal antiaircraft and spiritual buildings.
• Temple Ruins: Remains of temples and different monumental structures, including scattered fluted columns, are strewn crossed the site.
• Roman and Byzantine Remains: These see the ruins of a Roman bath and a necropolis (cemetery) dating to the Byzantine era.

The Scylla monument. Credit: British Museum

One of Bargylia’s astir important sculptural findings is nary longer astatine the site. A large, Hellenistic-period tomb monument dedicated to the sea monster Scylla erstwhile stood by the harbor.

The over-life-size marble sculpture of Scylla and associated fragments were acquired successful the 19th period and are present portion of the postulation astatine the British Museum successful London.