Ephesus (Antiquity), Arcadian Street

1. Location – Topography

The street extending to the west of the Theatre square and reaching the harbour of Ephesus is one of the most impressive road arteries of Ephesus but also one of the most brilliant examples of Roman streets. It was named after Emperor Arcadius (395-408), but is also known as Harbour Street. It actually begins at the Middle Harbour Gate and ends in a Gate at the Theatre square, thereby uniting the harbour with the theatre.1

Impressive complexes of gymnasiums-baths can be found alongside the north side of the Arcadiane. These are the so-called Harbour Baths dating from the years of Domitian (81-96). The entrance to the baths from the main road artery of the city was possible through three arched openings in the back wall of the north portico, which led to the peristyle court of the complex.2 To the east there was the so-called Theatre Gymnasium dating from the 2nd century, while a smaller street, which ended in the Arcadiane, ran between the two bath complexes.

2. Architectural Design and Construction Phases

Arcadian Street was 530 m long and 11.5 m wide. The pavement was made of marble slabs. There were porticoes all along the way. They were 5 to 5.7 m deep, while the floors were partly decorated with mosaics depicting simple geometrical shapes. Two drainage pipes ensured the outflow of rainwater.3

The shape of the road, as revealed today, dates from the late imperial years, when it was completely renovated during the reign of Emperor Arcadius (395-408). The archaeological research in the area and mainly the study of the architectural members trace the various construction phases of the street.

It was a street already existing in the Hellenistic years, which gained a monumental and official character in the Roman period. In the early 2nd century, within the general framework of reconstruction in the city, when the Middle Gate of the Harbour was also constructed, the street was paved with marble slabs and the porticoes were constructed. The columns in the porticoes stood on Attic-Ionic bases, which were connate with the pedestals. The shafts of the columns were not fluted and the capitals were in the Composite order, combining elements of both the Corinthian and the Ionic order. Construction details of the capitals reveal that the columns of the porticoes supported a marble entablature. The intercolumnar spaces are estimated at 2.65 m.4

During the second construction phase of the street, dating from the reign of the Severan dynasty, around the first half of the 3rd century, the older construction material was repaired and replaced with new architectural members. Corinthian capitals replaced the older ones, which were damaged, while the colonnades are crowned with plinth arches and the spaces between the columns are now 3.25 m long.5

An epigraph dating from 400 provides information about the subsequent reconstruction of the street and its dedication to Emperor Arcadius.6 The porticoes probably were decorated with mosaic floors in those years, as the case may have been with the construction of a semi-circular exedra in the southern stoa, opposite the entrance of the Harbour Baths, which might have served as a fountain.7

A particularly important intervention took place in the first half of the 6th century, during the reign of Emperor Justinian: a four-column monument was erected almost in the middle of Arcadian Street. A smaller road coming from the north, probably constructed in the same period, ends there. This monument proves that the Arcadiane maintained its importance during the early Byzantine years. The columns stood on three-level bases and high circular pedestals with rich architectural decorations. Each pedestal had eight semi-circular niches surrounded by Corinthian colonnettes that support an arched crown. The arches were decorated with relief floral motifs and crosses. The pedestals also bore inscriptions honouring Frontinus, a proconsul probably responsible for the construction of the monument. The column capitals were in the Composite order, while the bases were in the Ionic-Attic style. Their total height was 10 m. It is possible that the columns supported either statues of the emperor and his family or statues of the four Evangelists.8

In the early 7th century Arcadiane maintained its importance and during the construction of the Byzantine fortification wall it was included in the new city limits. However, the street gradually began to decline and lost its luxurious character. At the same time, commercial facilities gave a new image to the area.9

3. Identification and Function

Arcadian Street was included in the Roman plan to expand the Hellenistic city of Lysimachus over the area to the north and south of the Theatre. Essentially, it is on the border of the Hellenistic city and the newly built Roman area, therefore separating the new city from the old.

The function of this important street is not absolutely clear, as the absence of smaller spaces in the back of the porticoes, which could function as stores or workshops, constricts the commercial character of the street. It is also unlikely that it was a central street used for the transportation of products and goods from the harbour to the city, since the Gate of the Theatre, where the street ended, was accessible only through a staircase and, therefore, such a use was not facilitated.10

An inscription found in the southern portico and carved on a marble pedestal is particularly important for the identification of the area and the clarification of the function of this official street. The inscription reads: ‘Έχι η Αρκαδιανή έως του Συάγρου αι β΄ στοαί κανδήλας ν΄’.11 This inscription, which reveals the name of the street, also reveals that the colonnades of the porticoes, up to ‘Syagros’, were equipped with 50 oil lamps that lighted the street during the night.12 Initially, it was assumed that the term ‘Syagros’13 is used to describe the statue of the wild boar, the symbol of the city’s foundation myth, or the statue of the founder, Androclos, which probably ornamented Arcadian Street.14

A different interpretation has been recently given by the researcher Peter Schneider, who supports that the inscription indicates, apart from the luxurious character of the street, an important topographic position called ‘Syagros’, which is connected with the mythical tradition of the city and the worship of the founder Androclos. This part of the city must be in the area of the theatre. Peter Schneider concludes that the Arcadiane had an official character and was used for processions; it led from the harbour to the place related to the worship of the city’s founder.15 He also supports the idea that the first construction phase of the street is possibly connected with the second visit of Emperor Hadrian and the second neokoria of the city. In exchange for the benefactions, Ephesus honoured the emperor as a new founder. Therefore, the Arcadiane was meant to be a via triumphalis, which led Hadrian from the Harbour to the area where the ‘oikistes’ Androclos was worshipped.16

4. History of Research and Current Condition

The Arcadiane was unearthed in 1899 during the Austrian excavations in Ephesus. The archaeological research in the area continued until 1902 and the results were presented in the first publication about the excavations in Ephesus.17 In 1999, Peter Schneider published a profound study on Arcadian Street, examining in detail the archaeological remains and the various building phases of the street. Today, some columns of the porticoes along the street have been reconstructed, while one of the columns of the four-column monument is still preserved.

1. The Gate of the Theatre is at the junction of  the Arcadiane with a part of the processional road. Little is known about its architecture and operation. It looked like a propylon with three entrances. Because a part of a relief frieze depicting a battle was found in the area, it was suggested that the Gate possibly was a triumphal monument. Schneider, P., ‘Bauphasen der Arkadiane’, in Friesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (edit.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Forschungen in Ephesos: Akten des Symposions Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), p. 476.

2. At this point the colonnade of the facade was interrupted by an arch supported by two columns. Schneider, P., ‘Bauphasen der Arkadiane’, in Friesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (edit.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Forschungen in Ephesos: Akten des Symposions Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), p. 468.

3. Schneider, P., ‘Bauphasen der Arkadiane’, in Friesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (edit.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Forschungen in Ephesos: Akten des Symposions Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), p. 467. The one pipe ran behind the north portico, while the other under the pavement, near the stylobate of the south stoa.

4. For the stylistic characteristics of the Composite capitals and the technical details indicating the presence of marble entablature, see Schneider, P., ‘Bauphasen der Arkadiane’, in Friesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (edit.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Forschungen in Ephesos: Akten des Symposions Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), pp. 469-472.

5. For the stylistic characteristics of the Corinthian capitals, see Schneider, P., ‘Bauphasen der Arkadiane’, in Friesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (edit.), 100 Jahre österreichische Ausgrabungen. 1895-1995, Akten des Symposions Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), pp. 470-472.

6. It is assumed that the street was reconstructed after the damages caused the earthquakes of 359-366 AD.  Scherrer, P. (edit.), Ephesus. The New Guide (Wien 2000), p. 172.

7. Behind the exedra there is a building 22 m long, known as the ‘church south of Arcadiane’. Scherrer, P. (edit.), Ephesus. The New Guide (Wien 2000), p. 172.

8. For more detailed information concerning the four-column monument, see Wilchelm, W. – Heberdey, R., Forschungen in Ephesos 1 (Wien 1906), pp. 132-142, pic. 59. See also, Foss, C., Ephesus after antiquity: a late Antique, Byzantine and Turkish city (Cambridge, New York 1979), pp. 57-58; Bauer, F.A., Stadt, Platz und Denkmal in der Spätantike (Mainz am Rhein 1996), p. 273, notes 14, 15, reporting that the capitals were in the Corinthian order; Schneider, P., ‘Bauphasen der Arkadiane’, in Friesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (edit.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Forschungen in Ephesos: Akten des Symposions Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), pp. 469-472; Schneider, P., ‘Die Arkadiane in Ephesos. Konzept einer Hallenstrasse’, in Stadt und Umland. Neue Ergebnisse der archäologischen Bau und Siedlungsforschung. Bauforschungskolloquium in Berlin von 7 bis 10 Mai 1997 (Mainz am Rhein 1999), p. 121. About the inscriptions mentioned on a band of the top part of the pedestal, see Gregoire, H., Recueil des inscriptions grecques-chretiennes d’Asie Mineure (Paris 1922), p. 101; Engelmann, H. – Knibbe, D. – Merkelbach, R., Die Inschriften von Ephesos ΙV (Bonn 1980), pp. 165-166, no. 1306; Heberdey, R., Forschungen in Ephesos 1 (Wien 1906), pp. 141-142.

9. The Arcadiane was possibly last reconstructed when the wall of the city was built and probably after the earthquakes occurring between 612 and 616. Schneider, P., ‘Bauphasen der Arkadiane’, in Friesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (edit.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Forschungen in Ephesos: Akten des Symposions Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), p. 475.

10. Schneider, P., ‘Bauphasen der Arkadiane’, in Friesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (edit.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Forschungen in Ephesos: Akten des Symposions Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), p. 475.

11. Benndorf, O. – Heberdey, R., Karabacek, J.v. – Kukula, R.C. – Niemann, G. – Schindler, W. – Winberg, W., Forschungen in Ephesos 1 (Wien 1906), pp. 55-56; Borker, C. – Merkelbach, R. – Engelmann, H. – Knibbe, D., Die Inschriften von Ephesos ΙΙ (Bonn 1979), pp. 227-228, no. 557; Schneider, P., ‘Bauphasen der Arkadiane’, in Friesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (edit.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Forschungen in Ephesos: Akten des Symposions Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), p. 476, tab. 104.1.

12. The streets were also lighted in Constantinople, Antioch and Alexandria. In the capital of the state there was a public service responsible for lighting the streets. The service was first provided by the provincial governor Cyrus, who ordered circa 440 AD that the lamps in the shops should remain lighted in the afternoon and the evening. On the other hand, in Antioch the shopkeepers had to have lamps outside their shops and pay for the oil consumed. Probably these cases were exceptions, because when Justinian expropriated the public income, the cities could not afford the amount required for the lamps, which suggests that public lighting was particularly common and was funded by the cities at least in the 6th century. The inscription of Ephesus does not provide any information on whether the shopkeepers or the city paid for lighting. The only information reports that the lamps were on the columns of the portico. In any case, the Alexandrians, famous for their localism, were often contemptuous of other cities and considered them ‘unlighted’.

13. The word ‘Syagros’ means wild boar or boar-hunters.

14. Benndorf, O. – Heberdey, R. – Karabacek, J.v. – Kukula, R.C. – Niemann, G. – Schindler, W. – Winberg, W., Forschungen in Ephesos 1 (Wien 1906), p. 56; Börker, C. – Merkelbach, R. – Engelmann, H. – Knibbe, D., Die Inschriften von Ephesos II (Bonn 1979), pp. 227-228, no. 557; Bauer, F.A., Stadt, Platz und Denkmal in der Spätantike (Mainz am Rhein 1996), p. 274.

15. The researcher assumes that the buildings and the monuments at the Theatre Square were parts of a group called ‘Syagros’, which was related to the cult of the hero-founder. The wild boar, the symbol of the foundation myth of the city, in combination with the relief decorations of the frieze adorning the Gate of the Theatre, which made it look like a triumphal monument, and the remains of two other buildings at the Theatre Square –the Hellenistic fountain and a square building, which was possibly the burial monument or a heroon– attribute to this part of the city a devotional character connected with the founder Androclos. Schneider, P., ‘Bauphasen der Arkadiane’, in Friesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (edit.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Forschungen in Ephesos: Akten des Symposions Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), pp. 476-477; Schneider, P., ‘Die Arkadiane in Ephesos. Konzept einer Hallenstrasse’, in  Stadt und Umland. Neue Ergebnisse der archäologischen Bau und Siedlungsforschung. Bauforschungskolloquium in Berlin von 7 bis 10 Mai 1997 (Mainz 1999), pp. 120-122.

16. Schneider, P., ‘Bauphasen der Arkadiane’, in Friesinger, H. – Krinzinger, F. (edit.), 100 Jahre Österreichische Forschungen in Ephesos: Akten des Symposions Wien 1995 (Wien 1999), pp. 477-478; Schneider, P., ‘Die Arkadiane in Ephesos. Konzept einer Hallenstrasse’, in Stadt und Umland. Neue Ergebnisse der archäologischen Bau und Siedlungsforschung. Bauforschungskolloquium in Berlin von 7 bis 10 Mai 1997 (Mainz 1999), p. 122.

17. Benndorf, O. – Heberdey, R. – Karabacek, J.v. – Kukula, R.C. – Niemann, G. – Schindler, W. – Winberg, W., Forschungen in Ephesos 1 (Wien 1906).