Nysa was an ancient city in Asia Minor, located on the border between the lands known as Caria and Lydia. Today, it is a ruined ancient city, beautifully situated at the foot of a mountain called Messogis in antiquity and divided by a deep gorge that was carved by a stream flowing down from the mountains. Impressive in size and in a good state of preservation, the remains of Nysa are rarely visited by tourists, so it is very likely that you can wander here alone between the old buildings and the olive trees growing within the area.
Historical overview:
The name 'Nysa' first appeared in the Iliad, in which Homer mentioned a hero named Lycurgus (or Lycomedes), "who once drove the nursing mothers of wine-crazed Dionysus over the sacred mountains of Nysa". It is said that it was to Dionysus that Antiochus I Soter dedicated the city, when he founded a settlement here in the 3rd century BCE. The name Nysa is also sometimes derived from the name of a person from the family of King Antiochus, most likely his wife.
Nysa's fame was brought not only by its association with the god of wine, but also by the origin of many scholars. The evidence of Nysa's former intellectual power is the ruined but still magnificent library.
The ancient city of Nysa was made famous by the Greek geographer and traveller Strabo (64/63 BCE - 24 CE), who studied there and described it in detail. The geographer himself, in his youth, attended the lectures of a certain Aristodemus, a disciple of Panaetius and grandson of the famous Posidonius, whose influence is manifest in Strabo's Geography. Another Aristodemus of Nysa was the instructor of Pompey the Great. Nysa was then a centre of study that specialized in Homeric literature and the interpretation of epics.
Strabo called Nysa a 'double city', because of the gorge that divided it into two parts. According to Strabo, there was a single bridge over the gorge, connecting its banks. In addition, the ancient geographer mentioned an 'amphitheatre' with a hidden underground passage, a theatre with two peaks rising above it, two gymnasiums, and a market area. Strabo also recorded that Nysa was created from the merger of three cities, founded by three brothers: Athymbros, Athymbrados, and Hydrelos. For many years, it was known as Athymbra, as evidenced by a letter from 281 BCE, in which the city's inhabitants were called Athybrianoi.
Nysa was controlled by the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, then by the Roman Empire and its continuation known as the Byzantine Empire. Nysa held the status of a bishopric, and several Byzantine bishops of Nysa in Asia are historically documented. They include Theodotus who took part in the Council of Ephesus in 431, Maeonius who participated in the Council of Chalcedon in 451, and Sisinnius who took part in the Third Council of Constantinople in 680 and the Trullan Council in 692. In the later period, the recorded names of the bishops of Nysa include Theodosius, Nicholaus, and Michael.
In Byzantine and Turkish times, Nysa gradually declined. The final blow was dealt to it in 1402 by Tamerlane, who sacked the city. The inhabitants left Nysa and never returned, and the relics of its former glory gradually fell into ruin, washed away by the waters of mountain streams and overgrown by lush vegetation.
Archaeological research:
The first archaeological investigations in Nysa were conducted in 1907 and 1909 by the retired Prussian officer Walther von Diest (1851–1932), with excavations led by Heinz Pringsheim in 1909. In the 1960s, the excavations were carried out by the Izmir Museum at the theatre and in the bouleuterion, and from 1982 to 1988 by the Aydın Museum at the theatre.
Since 1990, a team from the University of Ankara excavated in Nysa, led by Vedat İdil until 2010. From 2002 to 2006, the library was excavated by archaeologists from the University of Freiburg under the direction of Volker Michael Strocka. From 2012 to 2016, the Aydın Museum continued the excavations, and since 2017 the excavations have been under the direction of Serdar Hakan Öztaner from the University of Ankara.
Sightseeing:
A visit to Nysa confirms Strabo's description quite accurately: the city is indeed cut through by a gorge, through which cold water flows down from the mountains in winter and early spring. A bridge stands over the gorge, and a long section of the stream has been canalized so that the water flows underground. There are also traces of all the buildings mentioned by Strabo, although they were significantly rebuilt in the Roman times.
The ruins of the gymnasium building visible today do not belong to the building mentioned by Strabo because the former was much smaller. The remains of the gymnasium preserved to this day date back to late Roman times. This building, together with the palaestra, was 70 meters wide and 165 meters long. Its northern section was destroyed during the construction of a modern road running through the Nysa area.
The stadium is a 192-meter-long building that could once accommodate 30,000 spectators. Perhaps it was the stadium that Strabo wrote about when he mentioned an 'amphitheatre', a building rounded at both ends. Unfortunately, not all of the stadium seats have not survived to this day, destroyed by the waters of the stream.
The library building is the best preserved original structure of this type in Asia Minor. It can only be compared to the Celsus Library in Ephesus, but the current state of the building there is the result of intensive reconstruction, while the library in Nysa has been preserved in good condition since the Roman period. The library was probably a three-storey building, and its reading room measured 13.4 by 14.8 meters. Manuscripts in the form of scrolls and books were stored on shelves installed in niches on the walls of the building.
The library was constructed around 130 CE and served also as a meeting hall and a courtroom. The library was renovated either at the end of the 4th century or the beginning of the 5th century CE. Public use of the library ceased completely in the 6th century.
The theatre in Nysa has been preserved in excellent condition, reflecting its Roman character. It was most likely constructed during the Late Hellenistic Period in the 1st century BCE. The stage building was constructed during Emperor Hadrian's reign but was destroyed by an earthquake in 178 CE. It was subsequently reconstructed as a three-storey building between 180 and 200 CE.
The diameter of the orchestra is 27 meters, and the audience once seated up to 12 thousand people. Below the skene, i.e. stone structure opposite the audience, there is a large pool, which in ancient times was filled with water and used for naval battles. The theatre is renowned for its beautiful decorative friezes depicting scenes from the life of Dionysus. The theatre friezes are now on display at the Aydın Archaeological Museum. In front of the theatre there is a large ceremonial square, supported by a massive substructure.
The bouleuterion is a well-preserved building from the second half of the 2nd century CE, as indicated by the style of its decoration. The bouleuterion has 12 rows of seats, which could accommodate 600 to 700 people. Strabo called this structure a gerontikon, meaning that the council of elders met there.
The agora was a market area measuring 89 by 105 meters, and it was surrounded on all sides by colonnades. The columns on the eastern and southern sides were in the Ionic order, while those on the other sides of the agora were in the Doric order. From these differences in architectural styles and the types of ornaments used, it is known that the agora was rebuilt and enlarged in the Roman era.
The necropolis is located on a vast area on the western side of the city. The dead were buried in vaulted chambers, sometimes additionally in sarcophagi.
Visitor tips:
The ruins of ancient Nysa are located on a vast area, on both sides of the modern road leading from Sultanhisar to Kavaklı Köyü. The area is heavily overgrown with trees, bushes, and thickets that mask the gorge that cuts through the city, so it's easy to have an accident. We recommend appropriate clothing and paying special care while walking around Nysa.
The archaeological site of Nysa can be visited daily, from 8:30 to 17:30. In 2025, the ticket costs 3 euros.
Getting there:
The ruins of ancient Nysa are conveniently located for travellers, just 1.5 km to the north of the town of Sultanhisar, right next to the E87 route from Izmir to Denizli and the Izmir-Afyon railway line.
By car: when driving from Izmir to Denizli, turn left (north) in Sultanhisar, at the intersection marked with a brown signpost to Nysa, cross the railway line and continue up the hill to a fork in the road. At this fork, take the left branch and continue up the hill towards the village of Kavaklı Köyü. The distance from Sultanhisar to Izmir is 142 km, from Aydın - 46 km, and from Denizli - 99 km.
By train: From Izmir's Basmane train station, you can reach Sultanhisar by train to Denizli. The route goes through Selçuk, Söke, and Aydın. The train ride from Izmir to Sultanhisar takes over 2.5 hours. Aditionally, there are train connections from Söke to Denizli, also stopping in Sultanhisar and the journey takes about 1.5 hours.
By public transport: Many coaches travelling the E87 route from Izmir to Denizli stop in Sultanhisar. Additionally, there are frequent minibuses from Nazilli, which is 16 km away.
Bibliography:
- Log in to post comments
