1. Location and Ground Plan of the Building Τhe monumental complex of the Gymnasium of Τermessus stands at the northeast part of the city, to the north of the Αgora and the Theatre. The ground plan reveals a large building with an emphasized longitudinal axis, measuring 91.10 x 35.30 m and with a SW orientation. Along the southwest side, behind the facade, there are nine successive and quite long (14.50 m) rectangular rooms. The next two oblong halls are parallel to each other (50.84 m long, and a width of 12.80 m for space Β and 8 m for space C). Massive pillars supporting the vaulted ceiling rise at regular intervals along their long sides, while wide niches with arched crowns are formed between them. The successive rooms behind the facade were also roofed with barrel vaults. The spaces communicated through wide openings (doors). A large area (D), adjacent to the last southeast room and of almost the same width, though longer than the successive rectangular rooms, was added in the Roman years.1 2. Masonry The front of the building follows the pseudo-isodomic rectangular system of masonry and was made from limestone. Along the facade there are successive pillars, at intervals of approximately 2.50 m, with a richly decorated cornice. Niches and gates are formed between them at regular intervals. The niches are surrounded by semi-columns and have arched crowns. Access to the spaces of the Gymnasium was through wide gates. Shallow rectangular decorative niches opened above the cornice, at the tympana of the barrel vaults that roofed the halls of the Gymnasium. The axial arrangement observed at the front side corresponds to the layout of the rooms of only the south part of the building, including the three rooms of almost identical dimensions, while at the north part there is no correspondence between the arrangement of the front side and the separate rooms behind it.2 The rest of the building’s walls followed a less strict opus quadratum system, while some of them are a rather interesting and unusual example of masonry, where independent rows of opus quadratum alternate with rubble masonry. All walls were covered with mortar.3 3. Identification The monument was safely identified with the gymnasium by G. Lanckoronski and his associate Ε. Petersen, thanks to the dedicative and honorary inscriptions found in the area of the building.4 However, its architectural plan does not follow the usual type of the Greek gymnasium with palaestra, where the different spaces are arranged, whether neatly or not, around a central peristyle courtyard (e.g. palaestrae at Olympia and Delphi, Gymnasium of Delos, Upper Gymnasium of Pergamon).5 In Termessus, the arrangement of the separate spaces, the vaulted roof of the rooms and the large space with the hypocausts at the southeast corner of the building classify the monument into the category of the baths-gymnasiums of Asia Minor – monuments combining the principles of the Greek gymnasium with the new needs of the Roman world for thermae. Unlike the thermae of the West, the baths-gymnasiums of Asia Minor do not conform to any strict rules of architectural design. They have a wide range of ground plans and are classified according to the similarities noticed in the separate features of their architectural plans.6 Τhe plan of the Gymnasium of Termessus follows the same principle of composition as the Thermae of the Harbour in Ephesus and the complex of Bath-Gymnasium at the northeast corner of the Stadium of Laodicea in Phrygia,7 where the hot and cold rooms are arranged in two oblong parallel zones.8 More specifically, in Termessus the hot rooms, with the caldarium at the centre, are arranged on an outer zone (Α). The inner zone consists of the two large oblong rooms (Β and C), where the frigidarium might have been. Such rooms, characterized by oblong shape and a vaulted roof supported by pillars, with rectangular niches form between them, are a common feature of all Roman thermae.9 4. Decoration Works of art, such as statues of gods and heroes, Hermaic stelae and paintings, usually adorned the different areas of the gymnasiums and thermae of the ancient world.10 Statues of gymnasiarchs stood before the northeast wall of room C of the Gymnasium of Termessus, as evidenced by their inscribed bases preserved along the wall, while statues of notable citizens of the city possibly embellished the niches of the south facade.11 An inscription embedded in the front wall of the Gymnasium reports a statue of the god Eros, who, as Αthenaeus testifies,12 together with Hermes and Ηeracles, were the three patron gods of the palaestra. 5. Life in the Gymnasium Αlthough our knowledge of the organization and operation of the gymnasiums in Antiquity generally remains very restricted,13 epigraphic evidence from the city of Termessus provides information about issues concerning life in the Gymnasium and the organisation of athletic games. The titles of paidonomos (supervisor of education), ephebarchus , gymnasiarch as well as the institution of the agonothetes are evidenced, while some of the names of the Gymnasium’s gymnasiarchs (superintendent of athletic training) and ephebarchi have been handed down. Furthermore, there are references to sport events intended for the young, such as wrestling, pankration, torch race, running, hoplite race, jumping and horse race.14 6. Chronology The exact date of the Gymnasium's foundation remains unknown. According to the masonry style, mainly of the front side, it should be dated to the Late Hellenistic or Early Imperial years.15 In Roman years, the type of baths-gymnasiums was very popular, as reported by scholars, in the east provinces from the late 1st c. AD onward and mainly in the 2nd c. AD.16 In Termessus, a large number of inscriptions from the Gymnasium are dated to the 2nd c. AD and the early 3rd c. AD.17 The date the monument was abandoned is still unidentified. It possibly followed the fate of Termessus, which thrived until the mid-3rd c. AD, while ancient testimonies and archaeological finds provide scant information about life in the city in later periods, before Termessus completely disappears from the written sources after the 5th c. AD. 7. Τhe So-called Gymnasium at the Agora A dedicative inscription including the word “gymnasium” in plural form, possibly suggesting the existence of more than one gymnasium in the city of Termessus, was found embedded in the wall of the monument’s facade.18 According to this evidence, G. Lanckoronski identified the remains of a building in the area of the Agora, to the west of the Theatre and to the north of the Odeum, with an earlier gymnasium. The building includes a central courtyard surrounded by stoas, with rooms behind them in an arrangement reminding of the already known palaestrae and gymnasiums of the Greek world.19 Additional evidence for the identification of the building with a gymnasium is provided by the fact that dedicative inscriptions recording the names of athletes and winners as well as lists of names of adolescents were found in the area of the building and around it.20 8. History of Research The architectural plan of the Gymnasium complex of Termessus was first studied and plotted towards the late 19th c. by the first and most important scholar of the culture of Pisidia, G. Lanckoronski,21 who, joined by G. Niemann and Ε. Petersen, recorded all the monuments of the city that were still visible and in impressively good condition. The area of the complex has never been excavated, as it happens with all the monuments of Termessus. 9. Actual State of Preservation The Gymnasium complex is the first monumental building visitors meet on their way to the centre of the city through the uphill Royal street. The area is densely vegetated and rather inaccessible. However, the walls, which have survived up to a great height, are very impressive. It is worth seeing the very well preserved front side of the building with the niches, as it has survived up to a height more than 3 m, the intact central gate as well as the remains of the Roman bath at the southeast corner of the complex.
1. Lanckoronski, K., Städte Pamphyliens und Pisidiens (Wien 1892), p. 60; Yegül, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity (New York 1992), p. 273, where space D is identified with a reservoir. 2. Lanckoronski, K., Städte Pamphyliens und Pisidiens (Wien 1892), p. 103. 3. Yegül, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity (New York 1992), p. 258. 4. Lanckoronski, K., Städte Pamphyliens und Pisidiens (Wien 1892), p. 60. 5. For the gymnasiums and palaestrae in Ancient Greece, see Delorme, J., Gymnasion. Etude sur les monuments consacrés a l’ éducation en Grèce (BEFAR 196, Paris 1960), while for later bibliography, see Wacker, Ch., Das Gymnasion in Olympia, Geschichte und Funktion (Wurzburg 1996). For details about the meaning of the ancient terms “gymnasium” and “palaestra” and their difference, see Glass, S.L., Palaistra and gymnasium in greek architecture (Diss. University of Pennsylvania, Ann Arbor 1981), from p. 69 onward; as above, “The Greek gymnasium, some problems”, in Raschke, W.J. (ed.), The archaeology of the Olympics. The Olympics and other festivals in antiquity (Madison 1988), pp. 155-173, esp. from p. 161 onward. 6. For this category of monuments, see Farrington, A., “Imperial Bath Buildings in South-West Asia Minor”, in Macready, S. – Thompson, F.H. (ed.), Roman Architecture in the Greek World (London 1987), pp. 50- 59; Yegül, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity (New York 1992), from p. 250 onward; Nielsen, I., Thermae et Balnea. The architecture and cultural history of Roman public Baths (Aarhus 1990), from p. 105 onward; for the Gymnasium of Termessus, see n. 73. 7. Yegül, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity (New York 1992), p. 273, fig. 258, p. 276, fig. 341. 8. Yegül, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity (New York 1992), from p. 272 onward. 9. This type of room in Roman baths is reported in bibliography as ambulacrum, -a (or basilica thermarum for Western thermae). Oblong hall of the Roman thermae, with a usually vaulted roof, supported by pilasters arranged at regular intervals along the long walls. Rectangular niches are formed between the pilasters. Ambulacra could have served widely vaying fuctions. Yegül, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity (New York 1992), pp. 414, 415, n. 1, 487; Nielsen, I., Thermae et Balnea. The architecture and cultural history of Roman public Baths (Aarhus 1990), p. 106. 10. Delorme, J., Gymnasion. Etude sur les monuments consacrés a l’ éducation en Grèce (BEFAR 196, Paris 1960), pp. 362-373; Manderscheid, H., Die Skulpturenaustattung der kaiserzeitlichen Thermenanlagen (Berlin 1981); Ruckert, C., Die Herme im öffentlichen und privaten Leben der Griechen (Regensburg 1998), from p. 126 onward. 11. Lanckoronski, K., Städte Pamphyliens und Pisidiens (Wien 1892), p. 60, inscriptions no. 3, 10, 11. 13. For the institution and the fuction of the gymnasium in the Greek world, see Nilsson, M., Die hellenistische Schule (München 1955) and the article Gautier, P., “Notes sur le rôle du gymnase dans les cités. hellénistiques”, in Wörrle, M. – Zanker, P. (ed.), Standbild und Bürgerbild im Hellenismus. Kolloquium, München 24. bis 26. Juni 1993 (München 1995), pp. 1- 12. A comprehensive text, serving as an introduction to architecture and the fuction of the baths and the thermae of the ancient world, is Weber, M., Antike Badekultur (München 1996). All relevant bibliography is found in Manderscheid, H., Bibliographie zum römischen Badewesen (München 1988). 14. Lanckoronski, K., Städte Pamphyliens und Pisidiens (Wien 1892), from p. 33 onward, inscriptions no. 8, 9, 10, 11; Heberdey, R., “Gymnische und andere Agone in Termessus Pisidiae”, in Buckler, W.H. – Calder, W.M. (ed.), Anatolian Studies presented to Sir William Mitchell Ramsey (Manchester 1923), pp. 195-206; Heberdey, R., Termessischen Studien (Wien – Leipzig 1929), pp. 39- 58; Iplikcioglu, B. – Celgin, G. – Vedat Celgin, A., Epigraphische Forschungen in Termessos und seinem Territorium 1. Mit einem Beitrag zu den epichorishen Namen (Wien 1991), pp. 11-14; Iplikcioglu, B. – Celgin, G. – Vedat Celgin, A., Epigraphische Forschungen in Termessos und seinem Territorium 2. Mit einem Beitrag zu den epichorishen Namen (Wien 1992), pp. 11-13; Iplikcioglu, B., “Epigraphische Forschungen im antiken Termessos und seinem Territorium”, in Dobesch, G. – Rehrenbock, G. (ed.), Die epigraphische und altertumskundliche Erforschung Kleinasiens. Hundert Jahre Kleinasiatische Kommission der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Akten des Symposiums Wien 23.- 25. Oktober 1990 (Wien 1993), pp. 255-263, esp. from p. 258 onward. For the Pisidian hero Solymos, in honour of whom athletic games were held in Termessus, see Κosmetatou, E., “The Hero Solymos on the coinage of Termessos Major”, Schweizerische Numismatische Rundschau 76 (1997), pp. 41-64, pl. 6-9. 15. See Rumscheid, F., Untersuchungen zur Kleinasiatischen Bauornamentik des Hellenismus (Mainz 1994), p. 140, n. 417 and p. 327, n. 357, where architectural components of the Gymnasium are dated to the Late Hellenistic or Early Imperial years. 16. Nielsen, I., Thermae et Balnea. The architecture and cultural history of Roman public Baths (Aarhus 1990), from p. 105 onward; Yegül, F., Baths and Bathing in Classical Antiquity (New York 1992), p. 304. 17. Heberdey, R., Termessischen Studien (Wien – Leipzig 1929), pp. 39-58; Ablasoglu H., “Yili Termessos Yuzey Arastirmalari”, Arastirma Sonuclari Toplantisi 5:1 (1987), pp. 213-230; Iplikcioglu, B. – Celgin, G. – Vedat Celgin, A., Epigraphische Forschungen in Termessos und seinem Territorium 2. Mit einem Beitrag zu den epichorishen Namen (Wien 1992), pp. 11-13; Iplikcioglu, B., “Epigraphische Forschungen im antiken Termessos und seinem Territorium”, in Dobesch, G. – Rehrenbock, G. (ed.), Die epigraphische und altertumskundliche Erforschung Kleinasiens. Hundert Jahre Keinasiatische Kommission der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Akten des Symposiums Wien 23.- 25. Oktober 1990 (Wien 1993), pp. 255-263, esp. from p. 258 onward. 18. Lanckoronski, K., Städte Pamphyliens und Pisidiens (Wien 1892), inscription no. 5. 19. For the gymnasia and palaestrae in Ancient Greece, see Delorme, J., Gymnasion. Etude sur les monuments consacrés à l’ éducation en Grèce (BEFAR 196, Paris 1960), while for later bibliography, see Wacker, Ch., Das Gymnasion in Olympia, Geschichte und Funktion (Würzburg 1996). For details about the meaning of the ancient terms “gymnasium” and “palaestra” and their difference, see Glass, S.L., Palaistra and gymnasium in greek architecture (Diss. University of Pennsylvania, Ann Arbor 1981), from p. 69 onward; as above, “The Greek gymnasium, some problems”, in Raschke, W.J. (ed.), The archaeology of the Olympics. The Olympics and other festivals in antiquity (Madison 1988), pp. 155-173, esp. from p. 161 onward. 20. Lanckoronski, K., Städte Pamphyliens und Pisidiens (Wien 1892), p. 34, inscriptions no. 52, 53, 56, 58, 65- 72. The ruins of the entire west stoa and parts of the north and south stoas, which surrounded a central courtyard, have survived, as it happens with the remains of a temple-like building in the courtyard. 21. Lanckoronski, K., Städte Pamphyliens und Pisidiens (Wien 1892), pp. 41-42, 60-61, 103-104, pl. XV, XVI. |