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The Augustus Temple of Ankara
This temple is of great importance with the inscriptions referring to the acts of Augustus. The inscriptions relate to the same acts written in latin are found on psidia an tiochia in Yalvaç while the Greek version was on the Phrygian Apollonin in Uluborlu. The inscriptions on this temple are the best preserved bilingual texts quoting from the ruler's speeches. The speeches delivered by Augustus himself are known as "Index rerum gestarum" and have been inscribed bilingually, in Greek and Latin, on the walls known to be "Monumentum Ankyranum". The inscriptions in Latin aprear on the internal surface of the Pronaos while the Greek versions are placed on the southwest external surface of the Naos. Just after the disappearance of the rulet in the early christian era, the temple was changed into a basilica and three windows were annexed on the south wall of the cella with a cryptos beyond the Naos. In ensuing years, when Ankara was conquered by the Seljuks in the 2 nd Millenium A.D., the mosque called "Hacı Bayram" was built nearby the northwest complex of the temple. The Cella, pronaos and the temple have survived, though the north west wall of the Cella was destroyed in 1834. The first systematical studies were carried out by Ch Texier. G. Perrot, M. Schede, D. Krencker and the complementary excavations were continued by Dr. Hamit Z. Koşay in 1930. |
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This
temple is supposed to have been built over an earlier temple dedicated
to Kybele and Men between 25-20. BC. The Marble Temple measuring
36x54.82 m used to stand on a pediment of several steps about 2.m high.
It faces the west, is planned in pseudodipteros with 8 ionic pillars on
the short side and 15 on the long side. Internal complexes (Naos)
consisted of three parts with two chorinthian pillars at the pear
section (Antea) and four more in the antea on the gateway (Aronaos).