Temple dedicated to Demeter unearthed in Aigai

MANİSA

A temple dedicated to Demeter, known in Greek mythology as the goddess of soil and fertility, is being unearthed during ongoing excavations in the ancient city of Aigai, which dates back to the eighth century B.C.

Located in the Yuntdağı region of the Yunusemre district, Aigai was one of the 12 cities founded by the Aeolian people in Western Anatolia.

Excavation works in the ancient city are being carried out under the direction of Professor Yusuf Sezgin, head of the Archaeology Department at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at Manisa Celal Bayar University.

In addition to numerous findings that shed light on the history of the period, the city also hosts three temples identified as belonging to the pagan belief system. While the temples of Athena and Apollo had been uncovered in earlier works, this season’s excavations are focusing on the temple believed to be dedicated to Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility in the ancient Greek world, along with its surrounding area.

During the excavations, the team unearthed a structure of about 50 square meters consisting of two rooms, where numerous miniature hydria (water vessels) dedicated to the goddess were found.

Speaking to state-run Anadolu Agency, Sezgin said that this year, the team was working in a special area of the ancient city that had not been excavated before, located about 30 meters west of the theater, near the cliffs and at the foot of the city wall, where the mysterious temple stands.

He stated that the building, dated to the Hellenistic period and consisting of two small rooms, was dedicated to Demeter according to an inscription found by German researchers who came to Aigai in 1886. Sezgin recalled that Demeter was regarded as the symbol of abundance and fertility in antiquity.

Sezgin emphasized that due to the limited amount of agricultural land in Aigai, which lies in a rather barren region, the local community attached special importance to Demeter.

“For this reason, a temple was built here in her honor. The temple was damaged in the 1960s by extensive illegal excavations, and among the many findings retrieved from the plundered site were votive offerings dedicated to the goddess. Among these, the miniature hydria stand out. The miniature versions of water-carrying vessels were dedicated to the goddess. Water actually represents abundance and fertility here and, as the most vital need for agriculture, it was extremely precious. In this sense, people most likely brought water from natural springs and poured it into these small vessels as an offering or left them as votive gifts,” he said.

Sezgin noted that around 1,000 miniature hydria have been documented so far, underlining that these findings demonstrate the importance the people of Aigai attributed to Demeter.