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The cult of Aphrodite in Miletos and its colonies1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 December 2013

Alan M. Greaves
Alan M. Greaves
Affiliation:
University of Liverpool
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Abstract

In 1989, the discovery and subsequent excavation of a sanctuary of Aphrodite at Zeytintepe, a low hill immediately adjacent to the metropolis of Miletos, confirmed what some scholars had long suspected — that worship of this goddess at the city dated back to the Archaic period. This article presents a brief outline of the evidence from these excavations together with a survey of the available evidence for the existence of cults of Aphrodite in Miletos' many colonies. Three conclusions are drawn: that Aphrodite was an important cult both in Miletos and in many of its colonies; that Aphrodite was worshipped as a sea goddess; and that there were local variations in the cult in these places.

Özet

1989 yılında Miletos Metropolü'nün hemen yakınındakı alçak bir tepe olan Zeytin Tepe'de bulunan bir Afrodit tapınaǧı ve hemen ardından yapılan kazılar bilim adamlarının uzun zamandır tahmin ettiǧi gibi, şehirdeki bu tanrıçaya tapınma geleneǧinin arkaik döneme kadar gittiǧini kanıtlamıştır. Bu makalede bu kazılardan elde edilen kanıtların bir özeti ile birlikte, Miletos'un birçok kolonisinde Afrodit'e baǧlı tarikatların varlıǧını kanıtlayan veriler sunulmuştur. Ortaya üç sonuç çıkmaktadır; Afrodit hem Miletos'da hem de onun birçok kolonisinde önemli bir Kült'tü; Afrodit'e bir deniz tanrıçası olarak tapınıldı ve bu yerleşimlerdeki ibadetlerde yöresel farklılıklar vardı.

Type
Research Article
Information
Anatolian Studies , Volume 54 , December 2004 , pp. 27 - 33
Copyright
Copyright © The British Institute at Ankara 2004

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