By: Lidia Morgillo
Günaydın from Izmir! It was another early morning bus ride for Day 7. We left our coastal city on the Aegean and drove south and inland. We stopped at a gas station halfway with a view of sprawling mountains. You can’t get this at Circle K.
Group shot in front of the Tetrapylon
Aphrodisias was named after the goddess of love Aphrodite. In the heart of the city stands the grand Temple of Aphrodite, built from local marble. It was a planned city with a grid layout of major public buildings, a stadium, and a unique complex called the Sebasteion. During the Roman period, it was a “free city”, meaning it did not pay taxes, an extraordinary privilege. In the first century BCE, the city underwent massive rebuilding to become more monumental and appeal to the Romans, by aligning itself aesthetically and ideologically with Rome in order to curry favor with the Roman Empire. This was not assimilation, but strategic participation in the empire.
The city became capital of the Roman province of Caria in the third century. It had an estimated 10,000 inhabitants, making it a medium-sized city.
The surrounding mountains were rich with marble, and Aphrodisias became an important sculptural training center. Sculpture became both cultural capital and economic power.
The Sebasteion
In the panel on the third story, Nike handing victory to a Roman emperor. Man is depicted as smaller because it reveals his status. Roman emperors were frequently depicted as divine figures, often nude, signaling their elevated status. Nudity here was not vulnerability; it was perfection. Ordinary people were clothed. The emperor’s body was idealized, impenetrable, and godlike.
This ideology of the body connects directly to Roman gender norms. Roman masculinity was defined by dominance socially, sexually, and politically. The “ideal” Roman male body was firm, controlled, and never penetrated. This worldview extended far beyond physical appearance and shaped how cities, nations, and enemies were imagined. In the columns in the figure below the column sculptures along the monumental processional gate, depicted conquered people/communities named, dressed in identifiable cultural clothing, and visually subdued.
Feminine city names symbolized something that can be entered, overtaken, and controlled. Violence, including sexual violence, appears normalized in these visual narratives, reinforcing imperial domination through gendered symbolism.
Moving through the city made clear that this messaging was not accidental. Aphrodisias was designed as an experience. The streets are narrow but when you get to this gate there is a big change in space right before you come to the temple.
Creating a dramatic shift in perspective - noise, smell, music, and movement would have filled the air, sacrificial animals, crowds gathering, rituals unfolding. The panels once brightly painted and glistening from the guilded gold announced Rome’s control over the known world. The originals now sit in a museum; what we see on-site are replicas, but the message remains unmistakable: Rome rules, and Aphrodisias proudly proclaims it.
The Reflecting Pool
The Stadium
The stadium reinforced civic pride. Holding roughly 30,000 people, it was the largest stadium in Asia Minor, used for athletic competitions rather than gladiatorial combat. Games were deeply tied to status in the Roman world, especially in Asia Minor’s intensely competitive, agonistic culture. Victories brought honor not only to individuals, but to entire cities. Hosting games elevated Aphrodisias’ regional standing and strengthened its relationship with Rome.
The giant stadium in the valley in the middle of seemingly nowhere seems odd but Aphrodisias was located in the center of a lot of the big cities. It was the right place to do something like the Olympics because it was in the middle of the Aegean region.
The Baths
Baths like Hadrian’s Baths further reinforced Roman ideals of the body.
Medical theories at the time designed women as biologically “spongy” and imperfect, while elite male bodies were considered firm and complete. Even infants were massaged to shape them toward physical “perfection.” These ideas verge on what proto-racism making claims about character and worth based on physical traits like skin, hair, or bodily structure long before race became a modern category.
There was a significant period of change in the 4th century AD as Christianity was spreading through the Roman Empire. For example, the Temple of Aphrodite was converted into a Christian church dedicated to Saint Michael around 500 AD, symbolizing this religious transition. During the conversion the temple entrance was changed from east to face westward because church entrances face westward. Early Christianity offered hope for women to be virgin eternally, as opposed to the social path of marriage and childbearing in Roman society. Christianity valued singleness and celibacy for some.
The modern rediscovery of Aphrodisias reflects collaboration across borders. After a famous photographer captured images of the ruins, Turkish scholars began excavating the site. Dr. Kenan Erim, the archaeologist who dedicated his life to the site, is buried alongside his prized jewel - the Tetrapylon.
The Tetrapylon
Today, institutions like NYU and Oxford remain partners in preserving the site.
Imperialism and nationalism are central themes of our course. Aphrodisias shows us that imperialism is not only about armies and borders but about buildings, art, space, and stories constructed to feel glorious. Walking through the ruins demonstrated how power and influence were embedded into the urban design. This has been an extraordinary experience stepping so far back in time. Thank you to our professors for making these experiences so rich.
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