THE MYTHOLOGICAL SCENES ON THE FRIEZES OF THE THEATER

THE APOLLO MARSYAS GROUP

Originally this work was of the Hellenistic period. However,the figures of Marsyas,being of Roman style indicate that these are two Works that have been made into one. In the relief, Marsyas holds his arms up,his hands tied to a pine tree. Opposite the bound Marsyas a skeleton on its knees is sharpening a knife on a large stone. The row of figures look at the bound figure of Marsyas opposite them. The god Apollo watches from behind. According to the myth Marsyas challenged Apollo to a musicial contest. In the event the judges appointed Apollo as the winner and Marsyas the looser. Marsyas was punished for his audacity in challenging Apollo to a musicial contest by being condemned to be flayed,for which duty a skeleton was found. The original of the work was executed between the first and the third centuries. The continuation of the relief depicting the aftermath of Apollo’s victory is bordered by Delphinios accompanied by two nymphs. Apollo,the palm of victory in his hand,drinks to his triumph.

THE BIRTH OF ARTEMIS AND APOLLO

Apollo and Artemis are the children of Leto and Zeus. These two gods,because of their supposed origins in Anatolia and their support of the Anatolian side in the Truva wars,were particularly worshipped in that region. According to the myth,Leto,pregnant by Zeus and afraid of his wife Hera,gave birth on the island of Delos. Young women with posies of lavender and poppy flowers are following the sacred birth of Artemis while Leda recumbent on a couch prepares to give birth to Apollo. Attendants are on hand to asist with the delivery. An alternative myth attributes the birth of Artemis to the island of Claros near İzmir,where he was hidden by his mother,and holds that Apollo was born and bred in the Patras region. Ephesus,being near his supposed place of origin,adopted Artemis as its principal deity.

THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN HERACLES AND ANTIOS

Antios was a giant,son of the sea-god Posedion and the mother figure Gaia. Antios joined battle with the Macedonian giants. According to the myth it was impossible t olay Antios out,for wherever he fell he drew strength from his mother earth,Gaia and rose again. And so,Heracles took Antios on his back,bore him to another land and killed him there.

THE LEGEND OF NIOBE’S FAMILY

The legend of Niobe is set in Anatolia. The princess Niobe was born in the area of the Syphlos(Manisa) mountain and brought up with the goddess Leto becoming her companion. The legend stems from the large number of progeny that Niobe bore. It tells that she married the King of Thebes,Amphion and had twelve children,six girls and six boys. In an excess of vanity she compared herself to the goddess Leto boasting that where the goddess had two children she had a dozen. Apollo and Artemis,seeing that his upset their mother Leto greatly,became so angry with Niobe that they shot her children with arrows slaugtering them. Overcome by grief at the loss of her children Niobe turned into stone. According to the legend she still lives in the Manisa area today;in place of her woman’s face is a stone and from two eye-shaped hollows water flows.

THE ABDUCTION OF PERSEPHONE BY HADES

The legendary Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. One day while Persephone was out collecting flowers in the wilderness the ground cracked in two. The god Hades emerged with his chariot and snatched the maiden taking her under the ground. Demeter sought everywhere for her daughter but was unable to find her. Eventually Helios,the all-seeing god of the sun,showed Demeter where Persephone was to be found. Persephone’s abduction to the underworld caused a drought that rendered the surface of the earth barren and turned the seasons to eternel winter but Persephone had eaten pomegranates offered by the god Hales and was beholden to him. The god of all the gods,Zeus,was forced to intervene and arranged that Persephone should spend two thirds of every year on the earth’s surface with Demeter,the time of the opening of the flowers and ripening of the fruit,and the remaining third,the winter,at the side of her husband Hades. And so the seasons arose from the ties created when Persephone was abducted by Hades.