Greek city of Aigai in Aeolis
Bronze 13mm (2.20 grams) Struck circa 2nd-1st centuries B.C.
Reference: SNG München -; SNG Copenhagen 14; SNG von Aulock -
Head of Hermes right, wearing petasos.
Forepart of goat right; monograms above and to right, ΑΙΓΑΕΩN in exergue.

An inland town on the river Pythikos, south-east of Myrina

Symbols of Hermes were the palm tree, turtle, rooster, goat, the number four, several kinds of fish, incense. Sacrifices involved honey, cakes, pigs, goats, and lambs.

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Statue of Hermes wearing the petasos ,  a voyager's cloak, the caduceus and a purse. Roman copy after a Greek  original (Vatican  Museums).

Hermes is the great  messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and additionally as a guide to the Underworld . Hermes was born on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. An Olympian god , he is also the patron of  boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds , of the cunning of thieves and liars,  of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics and sports, of weights  and measures, of invention, and of commerce in general. His symbols include the  tortoise, the rooster, the winged sandals, the winged hat, and the caduceus (given to him by Apollo in exchange  for the lyre).

Symbols of Hermes were the palm tree, turtle, rooster, goat, the number four,  several kinds of fish, incense. Sacrifices involved honey, cakes, pigs, goats,  and lambs.

In the Roman adaptation of the Greek religion (see interpretatio romana ), Hermes was  identified with the Roman god  Mercury , who, though inherited from the Etruscans , developed many similar  characteristics, such as being the patron of commerce.

The Homeric hymn to Hermes invokes him as the one  "of many shifts (polytropos), blandly cunning, a robber, a cattle driver,  a bringer of dreams, a watcher by night, a thief at the gates, one who was soon  to show forth wonderful deeds among the deathless gods."

He protects and takes care of all the travelers, miscreants, harlots, old crones and thieves that pray to him or cross  his path. He is athletic and is always looking out for runners, or any athletes  with injuries who need his help.

Hermes is a messenger from the gods to humans, sharing this role with Iris . An interpreter who bridges the boundaries  with strangers is a hermeneus. Hermes gives us our word "hermeneutics",  the study and theory of interpretation. In Greek a lucky find was a hermaion.  Hermes delivered messages from Olympus to the mortal world. He wears shoes with  wings on them and uses them to fly freely between the mortal and immortal world.  Hermes was the second youngest of the Olympian gods , being born before Dionysus .

Hermes, as an inventor of fire, is a parallel of the Titan , Prometheus . In addition to the lyre, Hermes was believed to have invented many types of racing and  the sports of wrestling and boxing, and therefore was a patron of athletes.

According to prominent folklorist Yeleazar Meletinsky , Hermes is a deified trickster . Hermes also served as a psychopomp , or an escort for the dead to help  them find their way to the afterlife (the Underworld in the Greek myths). In many Greek  myths, Hermes was depicted as the only god besides Hades , Persephone , Hecate , and Thanatos who could enter and leave the  Underworld without hindrance.

Hermes often helped travelers have a safe and easy journey. Many Greeks would  sacrifice to Hermes before any trip.

In the fully-developed Olympian pantheon, Hermes was the son of Zeus and the Pleiade Maia , a daughter of the Titan Atlas . Hermes' symbols were the cock and the tortoise , and he can be recognized by his purse  or pouch, winged sandals , winged cap , and the herald's staff, the kerykeion . The night he was born he slipped  away from Maia and stole his elder brother  Apollo

Aigai, also Aigaiai (Ancient Greek: Αἰγαί or Αἰγαῖαι; Latin : Aegae or Aegaeae; Turkish : Nemrutkale or Nemrut Kalesi) was an ancient Greek city in Aeolis . Aegae  is mentioned by both Herodotus   and Strabo   as being a member of the Aeolian dodecapolis. It was also an important sanctuary  of Apollo .  Aigai had its brightest period under the Attalid dynasty that ruled from nearby Pergamon in  the 3rd and 2nd century BC.

The remains of the city are located near the modern village of Yuntdağı Köseler in Manisa Province , Turkey . The  archaeological site is situated at a rather high altitude almost on top of Mount Gün (Dağı), part of the mountain chain of Yunt (Dağları).

History

 

Initially the city was a possession of the Lydian Empire and later the Achaemenid Empire when it conquered the former. In the early fourth century  BC it became part of the Kingdom of Pergamon. It changed hands from Pergamon to  the Seleucid Empire , but was recaptured by Attalus I   of Pergamon in 218 BC. In the war between Bithynia   and Pergamon it was destroyed by Prusias II of Bithynia in 156 BC. After a peace was brokered by the Romans the city was compensated with hundred talents . Under the rule of Pergamon a market building and a temple to Apollo  were constructed.

In 129 BC the Kingdom of Pergamon became part of the Roman Empire. The city  was destroyed by an earthquake in 17 AD and received aid for reconstruction from  emperor Tiberius .

Layout

The city is situated on a plateau at the summit of the steep Gün Dağı  mountain, which can be climbed from the north. The plateau is surrounded by a  wall with a length of 1.5 kilometers. On the eastern side are the remains of the  three-story indoor market with a height of 11 meters and a length of 82 meters.  The upper floor of the Hellenistic building was renovated in Roman times. The  partially overgrown remains of many other buildings are scattered over the site.  These include the acropolis   which is laid out in terraces, an odeon , a gymnasium , a bouleuterion and the foundations of three temples.

About five kilometers to the east the foundations of a sanctuary of Apollo  are found on the banks of the river which flows around the ruins. It was an  Ionic  order peripteros temple from the first century BC. A cella which is  six meters high and three monoliths

Excavation historyy

The first western visitors of Aigai were William Mitchell Ramsay and Salomon Reinach in 1880. They reported about their visit in the Journal of Hellenic Studies   and the Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique. They were followed by Richard  Bohn and Carl Schuchhardt , who examined the site as a part of the excavations in  Pergamon.

Since 2004 the site is being excavated by Ersin Doğer of Ege  University in Izmir . By 2010 the access road, the bouleuterion, the odeon, shops, numerous  water pipes and large parts of the market hall were uncovered. For the coming  years it is planned to re-erect the market hall's facade with the original  stones.