Elaeusa Sebaste: Roman Complex and Theater, Part I

Photos by Jack A. Waldron

By the time I reached ancient Elaeusa, I had already been looking for a nice place to camp over the past ten kilometers.  Across the road from the ancient theater (to the far right out of the picture below) was a crowded noisy dusty picnic/camping place, which was where I would spend the night.  The ancient harbor of the city is the large green patch pictured just the other side of the road, with the Elaeusa peninsula rising above it, and blocking it from the sea beyond.  

After examining the theater and Roman Complex, I road over to the picnic and camp area to set up my tent, though I was a bit shy, because the beach was crowed with families.

I just couldn't get motivated and after the picnic camp emptied out a bit, I set up my tent and drank some beers.  A nice family sent their little daughter over to my tent with a plate full of dinner, and that was that for the evening.  So, I didn't investigate the peninsula, which is supposed to have a well preserved temple ruin, and I didn't go swimming . . . , it was just one of those days.

Elaeusa was once a great port city, as denoted by its coins that depicted a female deity holding a boat or ship rudder.  In the 1C BC, the city was under the control of Tarcondimotus Philantoniusan, an eastern Cilician dynasty, and by 20 BC it given to Archelaus I of Cappadocia by Augustus.  

On coins minted under Archelaus, he describes himself as a builder, and even today one can see the cities construction was massive.  By 39 AD, the city came under the control of Antiochus I and his wife Iotape.  

I returned to ancient Elaeusa Sebaste several years later, as I was in search of the ancient Roman Temple, which I found, photographed, and will write about in the future.  I must also investigate a larger portion of the ancient city, as this poorly mapped site has so much hidden in its hills.

*All photos and content property of Jack A. Waldron (photos may not be used without written permission)

**Please support my work and future postings through PATREON:

https://www.patreon.com/bikeandsailclassical

Or, make a Donation through PayPal: