A marble block carved with a relief of Actaeon being devoured by his hunting dogs has been unearthed at the Roman theater in the ancient city of Prusias ad Hypium in modern-day Konuralp

A marble block carved with a relief of Actaeon being devoured by his hunting dogs has been unearthed at the Roman theater in the ancient city of Prusias ad Hypium in modern-day Konuralp, northwestern Turkey. The Actaeon block was discovered in the orchestra of the ancient theater along with many other highly decorated architectural fragments such as entablatures that were once part of the stage structure.

In the myth Artemis transforms Actaeon into a stag to punish him for having seen her bathing naked. She sets his pack of 50 loyal dogs on him and no longer able to recognize him as their master, they tear him apart. The relief depicts Actaeon still in human form being devoured by three dogs. Acanthus leaves decorate the scene which is surrounded by an egg-and-dart border.

Other remarkable finds are the superstructure blocks belonging to the stage building with tragedy, comedy, and drama masks, similar to which have been found in the same area before, and the structure blocks with floral decorations.

The pieces are similar is some detail, particularly border motifs, to a large block found at the theater in 2020 whose central relief is a head of the gorgon Medusa.

Prusias ad Hypium was founded as “Hypios” in the 4th century B.C. by settlers from Heraclea Pontica, a prosperous center of trade on the coast of Bithynia. It was conquered by King Prusias I of Bithynia in the early 3rd century B.C. and renamed the city after itself. The first theater was built around this time. The city was part of the great bequest of the entire kingdom of Bithynia by Nicomedes IV to the Roman Republic in 74 B.C. Rome added the “ad Hypium” to the name and over the next two centuries Prusias ad Hypium grew in population and wealth. It was granted the right to mint coins and no fewer than three Roman emperors, (Hadrian, Caracalla and Elagabalus) visited it in person in the 2nd and 3rd centuries.

Archaeologists have begun cleaning and conserving the newly-discovered blocks from the orchestra section of the theater. Some of the blocks awaiting treatment will be kept in the archaeological park for visitors to see.

Related Posts

El lujoso ‘esqueleto’ cubierto de joyas encontrado en catacumbas romanas.

En las oscuras profundidades de las catacumbas romanas, los arqueólogos hicieron un descubrimiento sorprendente: un lujoso “esqueleto” cubierto de joyas y envuelto en un velo de misterio….

Revelando las almas perdidas de Pompeya: innovadoras tomografías computarizadas iluminan la trágica historia de una ciudad antigua.

Después de permanecer sepultadas en cenizas durante más de 1.900 años, las víctimas de la devastadora erupción de Pompeya están volviendo a la vida gracias a la…

Siglos desenterrados: hombre inca de 500 años con tocado de plumas descubierto cerca de Lima, Perú.

Miles de momias de Ica, algunas de ellas reunidas en grupos de personas para buscar, han sido desenterradas de un cementerio atractivo debajo de una torre de…

No hay dos iguales: las colosales cabezas de piedra de los olmecas en México.

Las enormes estatuas probablemente representan a gobernantes de la antigua civilización olmeca. Dos de las cabezas olmecas se exhiben en el Museo de Antropología de Jalapa en…

Egipto recibe de vuelta a casa una estatua robada de Ramsés II.

Muchos de los artefactos y obras de arte de Egipto han sido víctimas de robos en el pasado. Se saquearon ricos sitios culturales y se robaron sus…

El majestuoso y antiguo obelisco de Asuán, Egipto, un monumento con 3500 años de antigüedad, es desvelado.

El Antiguo Egipto es un enigma con su arquitectura e ingeniería. Incluso hoy en día, los expertos de todo el mundo se sorprenden de que los egipcios…