In antiquity, Aspendos was probably the most important city in the state of Pamphylia. This glorious city came under Roman control in 190 BCE and reached its epoch during the Roman period, when trade and commerce flourished here.
According to tradition, the city was founded by the famous Greek diviner Mopsos around 1000 BCE, and archaeologists have found evidence of a settlement here from the Hittite era (800 BCE) onwards.
Similar to the nearby towns of Ancient Perge (the ruins of Perge are 34 kilometers west of Aspendos) and Ancient Side (the modern town of Side is 33 kilometers southeast of Aspendos), the city's eventual decline was due to the silting up of its harbor on the Eurymedon River and the centralization policies of the Byzantine Empire.
By the time of Seljuk domination over this part of Turkey, Aspendos' once great theater was only being used as a caravanserai.
“A must while in the region.”
Aspendos' theater is one of the largest ever built by the Romans in Asia Minor, and today it is one of the best preserved examples of Roman theater architecture.
Located in the lower town area of the site, the theater was built in the 2nd century CE, during Marcus Aurelius' reign, by an architect called Zenon.
The mammoth seating plan could fit an audience of between 15,000 and 20,000.
It has been thoroughly restored and is now used for music and drama festivals, including Turkey's famous annual Aspendos Opera Festival.
The semi-circular auditorium, divided into two sections by a broad passage halfway up, has 20 tiers of seating, with 10 staircases in the lower half and 19 tiers with 21 staircases in the upper part. Round the top runs a barrel-vaulted colonnade.
At either end of the stage are vaulted passages giving access to the orchestra.
The two-story stage wall was articulated by slender double columns with Ionic capitals on the lower order and Corinthian capitals on the upper one. The double column flanking the central entrance to the stage had a common broken pediment.
The stage itself had a wooden roof suspended by ropes, and the auditorium, too, was probably covered by an awning.
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