Aphrodite, Protectress of Sea Travel in Archaic Miletus. Results of the excavations in her sanctuary in the Ionian Metropolis - Gale Visiting Prof. Reinhard Senff

Guest Speaker - Prof. Reinhard Senff, Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens (AAIA) Gale Visiting Professor in Australia in 2023 & Assistant Director of the German Archaeological Institute.

The Ionian metropolis of Miletus was one of the most important Greek cities of the Archaic period, both for its large size and population, and especially for its extensive commercial activities, which brought its citizens in constantly increasing contact with surrounding cultural centres. Miletus soon became a remarkable centre of science and philosophy, and influences from the cults and religions of neighbouring cultures were incorporated into its own. During the course of the recent German archaeological investigations at Miletus, several sanctuaries have been located in the city and its surroundings. A network of cult places dedicated to Apollo, Artemis, Athena and Aphrodite were connected with the civic centre through processional roads and ceremonial events. Of special importance among the sanctuaries is the temenos of Aphrodite, located on today‘s Zeytintepe hill by the western shore of the ancient city. The cult goes back to the Late Geometric period (8th century BC), and flourished in the 7th and 6th century BC. Thick layers of discarded votive objects and pottery from various parts of the Mediterranean, especially the Levant and Egypt, demonstrate Miletus‘ far reaching connections in this era. Aphrodite probably was venerated here as the protectress of sea-travel. The city´s wealth manifested itself in extensive building programs, which not only concentrated on public infrastructure and defences, but also in the embellishment of religious establishments. At least one monumental marble building was erected to Aphrodite at the end of the 6th century BC, but then the sanctuary suffered the same fate as the city and was destroyed by the Achaemenid Persians during the Ionian Revolt. The cult lasted down to the Roman period, but never regained the importance it held in the seventh and sixth centuries BC.

Image credit: Prof. Reinhard Senff.