Stratonicea
Stratonicea, located in the interior of Caria in southwestern Asia Minor, is an ancient city with a rich historical tapestry. Initially established as Chrysaoris, a town believed to be founded by the Lycians, it later became known as Idrias, which appears in Delian League records as early as the fifth century BC. The city was transformed into a Macedonian colony by Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter, who named it after his stepmother and wife, Stratonice. Notable for its religious significance, Stratonicea housed important temples, including one dedicated to Zeus Chrysaoreus, which served as a central meeting place for the Chrysaoric League, a local religious and political federation.
Throughout its history, Stratonicea experienced various political changes, including periods of autonomy and control by external powers. It was granted freedom by the Romans in 167 BC, marking a significant moment in its civic identity. The city is also remembered for its resistance during conflicts, including an attack by Parthian forces in 40 AD. Despite suffering from an earthquake during the reign of Antoninus Pius, Stratonicea thrived and maintained its monetary issues into the early centuries of the Roman Empire, reflecting its continued importance. Today, remnants of its past, such as temples, a theater, and an ancient fortification, provide insight into the city's historical significance and cultural heritage.
Subject Terms
Stratonicea
Stratonikeia (Eskihisar)
A city in the interior of Caria (southwestern Asia Minor). A Carian town named Chrysaoris and then Idrias was said to have first stood on the site; Apollonius of Aphrodisias indicated that Chrysaoris was the first city founded by the Lycians (the southeastern neighbors of the Carians), and Idrias—in the form of Edrieis—appears in the tribute lists of the Delian League presided over by Athens in the fifth century BC.
The Macedonian colony of Stratonicea was founded and lavishly endowed by the Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter (281–261), who named the new settlement after Stratonice, his stepmother and later his wife. The temple of Zeus Chrysaoreus—believed to have been near the city—was the meeting place of the Chrysaoric League, a religious and political federation of Carians; as Strabo records, Stratonicea, although it had no federal vote itself (not being Carian any longer, despite its claim to be `autochthonous’), controlled the votes of the Carian villages under its ownership. A second important temple, dedicated to Hecate, was at Lagina (Lakene, Leina) nearby, and a sanctuary of Zeus Panamarios stood on a lofty eminence at Panamara twelve miles southeast of the town.
Stratonicea was presented by one of the first three Antiochi to the Rhodians, who later lost but then recovered the city (197). However, its inhabitants were declared free, with the rest of Caria, by the Romans in 167; local coinage seems to have begun at that date. In 130 it was the scene of the final surrender of Aristonicus, who had revolted against the bequest of the kingdom of Pergamum to the Romans, and in 81 the Roman senate recognized its valiant resistance to their late enemy Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus by a grant of freedom and substantial increase of territory. In 40 Stratonicea repelled an attack by the renegade Labienus and his Parthian troops. In the reign of Antoninus Pius (138–61) it suffered severely from an earthquake, and received imperial aid. The city's monetary issues, which continued for the first three centuries of the Principate, name it Philosebastos (`lover of the emperor’) under Titus (79–81) and describe Caracalla's wife Plautilla (d. 205) as Nea Thea Hera, the new goddess Hera (Juno).
A terrace on the slope of the walled acropolis displays remains of a small temple dedicated to the imperial cult, beneath which stands a spacious theater. Below is the ruined shrine of the Egyptian god Serapis (c 200). The single-arched principal town gate can also be seen, and a large fortress at the northeastern extremity of the habitatian center. (Stratonicea-Hadrianopolis, also known as Indi-Stratonicea, is a different place, situated in Lydia, although Stephanus of Byzantium wrongly identifies it with the Carian city).