Lagina

See also:Lagyna

Lagina

Λάγινα(in Ancient Greek)
Shown within Turkey Lagina (Turkey Aegean)
Location	Kapraklar,Muğla Province,Turkey
Region	Caria
Coordinates	37.378333°N 28.039167°E/37.378333; 28.039167
History
Periods	Hellenistic,Roman
Satellite of	Stratonicea (Caria)

Lagina(Ancient Greek:τὰ Λάγινα) orLaginia(Λαγινία)was a town and religious centre inancient Caria.It contained an important monumental temple ofHecate,at which great festivals were celebrated every year.For most of antiquity, it was a part of the territory ofStratonicea.

Its site is located nearTurgut,Anatolia,in southwesternTurkey.

History

Recent studies have revealed the site to have been inhabited and/or employed in an uninterrupted manner during a time span stretching back to theBronze Age.

Little is known about the early history of Lagina as a town and religious sanctuary, although it existed as early as the 4th century BCE.At that time, Lagina was ademeof nearbyKoranza.Unlike the sanctuaries atSinuriorLabraunda,Lagina does not appear to have been favoured by theHecatomnids.

Lagina became one of the major rural cult centres of thepolisofStratonicea.Stratonicea was a largeSeleucidcolony inCaria,settled byMacedoniansand local Carians, in the mid-3rd century BCE. Every year, Stratoniceans would go on pilgrimage to the temple ofHecateat Lagina and of Zeus atPanamara.WhenTacitusspoke of the worship ofTriviaamong the Stratoniceans, he evidently meant Hecate.The goddess Hecate was so important to Stratonicea that her likeness appeared on coins of the independent city after 167/166 BCE.

Seleucidkings conducted a considerable construction effort in the sacred ground of Lagina and transformed it into a foremost religious center of its time. Lagina and Stratonicea were connected to each other by a 'sacred path' 11 kilometers long, along which pilgrims could process.

The close association between Lagina and Stratonicea continued after the Seleucids lost control of Caria. In 188 BCE, theTreaty of Apameagave governance of Caria toRhodes,an ally of theRoman Republicduring theRoman–Seleucid war.An inscription from this time shows that the head priest of Hecate was also appointed local priest of the Rhodian sun-godHelios,by decree of Stratonicea.

Alongside the rest of Caria, Lagina and Stratonicea became part of theRoman province of Asiaby the end of the 2nd century BCE. The Roman period saw the most elaborate temple of Hekate build at Lagina. Although it was previously thought that the temple was constructed in the aftermath of theFirst Mithridatic War(i.e. late 80s BCE), it is now understood to have been built earlier, before the war againstEumenes III Aristonikosin 133 BCE.The temple is considered the last great monument of the so-called 'Ionian Renaissance', which began inHecatomnid Cariawith monuments like theMausoleum of Halicarnassus.

Monumental construction continued under theRoman Empire.The emperorAugustushimself donated a significant amount to help the site recover from damage after Lagina was attacked byQuintus Labienus,a rebel withParthiansupport, in 40 BCE. In particular, a new altar was built.

Lagina continued to thrive until a catastrophic earthquake in 365 BCE. After that date, allstoaifell out of use and the central altar was cracked. A largebasilicawas subsequently built between the altar and the temple, and used from the 4th to the 6th centuries CE.

Lagina was Christianised at an early date and was the seat of a bishop; no longer a residential see, it remains atitular seeof theRoman Catholic Church.

Worship of Hecate

Lagina was the largest site of a monumental temple toHecate.The rituals carried out at Lagina were therefore unique.Hecate was a goddess ofancient Greek mythologywhose roots were probablyCarianandAnatolian.Her general attributes included torches, keys, and dogs, andtoday she is often associated with witchcraft.

Part of these rituals included a "Key-Carrying" ceremony in which a choir of young girls would walk from Lagina to Stratonicea to declare their devotion to the city. On their return, the gates would be opened by the girl carrying the key (thekleidophoros), and the religious festivities would begin.This ritual not only served as a political reminder that Stratonicea controlled Lagina, but also that Hecate controlled the keys to the underworld.

Excavations

The site of Lagina was often visited by travellers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The British archaeologistCharles Thomas Newtonfound over thirty inscriptions and nine decorated frieze blocks at the site in 1856. His publications brought European scholarly attention to Lagina.

Authorised excavations began at Lagina in 1891 under the direction ofOsman Hamdi Bey.The archaeological research conducted in Lagina is historically significant in that it was the first authorised excavation to have been done by aTurkishscientific team.

In 1993, excavation and restoration work was resumed under the guidance of theMuğla Museum,by an international team advised by Professor Ahmet Tırpan.

In 2020, the ancient columns of the Hecate temple were re-erected following extensive restoration and excavation at the site.The head of excavation at the temple, Professor Bilal Sögüt, noted that visitors could now see where the columns would have stood 2050 years ago when the temple was a place of worship to the goddess Hecate. The columns were built in the Corinthian order, with 8 columns on the shorter sides of the temple, and 11 on the longer sides.An inscription on the entrance gate indicate that Emperor Augustus financially supported the Sanctuary of Hecate.

The friezes of the Hecate sanctuary are displayed in theIstanbul Archaeology Museums.Four different themes are depicted in these friezes. These are, on the eastern frieze, scenes from the life ofZeus;on the western frieze, a battle between gods andgiants;on the southern frieze, a gathering of Carian gods; and on the northern frieze, a battle ofAmazons.

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Smith, William,ed. (1854–1857). "Lagina".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography.London: John Murray.