Research Article

Head of a Kouros from the Hinterland of Tarsus Belonging to the Period of the Syennessis Dynasty

Volume: XXVIII Number: XXVIII May 1, 2020
  • Deniz Kaplan *
  • Serra Durugönül
TR EN

Head of a Kouros from the Hinterland of Tarsus Belonging to the Period of the Syennessis Dynasty

Abstract

Apart from the head discussed in this article, there is no other kouros belonging to the Archaic Period known from Tarsus. The fact that the closest examples of the Tarsus head are found among the Cypriot finds points out to connections between the two geographies. This is in fact not surprising because similarities can be mentioned also for Archaic figurines or ceramics from Cilicia. Moreover, the heads, to which the head from Tarsus bears the strongest resemblance, are from Idalion (Dhali), Kition, Golgoi and Vouni, from where the limestone votive statues dating between the years of 520 and 480 BC are obtained the most. In comparison to these parallels, the Tarsus head is dated according to the chronology of the Archaic Cypriot Statuary to the end of the ‘Eastern and Western Neo-Cypriot Style’ (560-520 BC) and the beginning of the ‘Archaic Cypro-Greek Style’ (540-480 BC). Even though it is not possible to say from which context the Tarsus Head comes, the fact that there is no necropolis in the vicinity of the findspot makes it possible to associate the head rather to a worship belonging to an open-air temenos. This gives rise to the thought that in Cilicia there may have been an Archaic sanctuary in the hinterland of Tarsus, of which the presence has not been proven to date. The temporal relation of the Archaic head from Tarsus/Keşbükü makes it possible to link it to the Syennesis Dynasty of which we know little. The capital of the Syennesis Dynasty as Tarsus, is mentioned in the ancient texts from 585 BC; so the existence of Tarsus as a capital must not only go back to the in the 5th century BC but also to the 6th century BC. The location of the Archaic head’s findspot between Tarsus and Illubru could be within the territory of the Syennesis reign because Keşbükü resides on the ancient road between Tarsus and Illubru overlooking it. In conclusion, the Archaic Head from Tarsus/Keşbükü is the latest example recovered from the east in terms of Archaic Eastern Mediterranean Statuary. Additionally, the findspot is within the territory of the Syennesis rule. To date, there has been no statuary find belonging to the reign of the Syennessis presented to the scientific world. Therefore, the Archaic Head from Tarsus/Keşbükü is the first sculpture belonging to the ruling period of the local Cilician Syennesis Dynasty.

Keywords

Supporting Institution

Mersin Üniversitesi

Project Number

2018-1-AP5-2835

Thanks

This article is the result of the project lead by Associate Professor Dr. Deniz KAPLAN which is supported by BAP (Scientific Research Projects Office of the Mersin University under the project number 2018-1-AP5-2835).

References

  1. Akurgal 1989 Akurgal, E., Bemerkungen zur Frage der örtlichen und zeitlichen Einordnung der griechischen archaischen Grossplastik Kleinasiens, 35-45. Arslan 1999 Arslan, N, “Eisenzeitliche Terrakotten aus Gözce”, Kilikya: Mekanlar ve Yerel Göçler (ed. A. Dinçol – S. Durugönül), 215-241. Berges 2006 Dietrich, B., Knidos. Beitraege zur Geschichte der archaischen Zeit, Mainz am Rhein. Casabonne2004 Casabonne, O., La Cilicie, a l’epoque achemenide, Paris. Durugönül 2003 Durugönül, S., “Archaic Cypriote Statuary in the Museum of Adana”, OLBA VII, 93-118. Durugönül 2007 Durugönül, S., “Nagidos Pişmiş Toprak ve Taş Heykelcikler”, Dağlık Kilikia’da Bir Antik Kent Kazısı’nın Sonuçları: Nagidos (ed. S. Durugönül), 345-354. Durukan 2015 Durukan, M., Mersin’den Tarsus’a Cilicia Kıyılarındaki Kayıp Kentler, İstanbul. Erzen 1940 Erzen, A., Kilikien bis zum Ende der Perserherrschaft, Leipzig. Fuchs – Floren 1987 Fuchs, W. – Floren, J., Die griechische Plastik.Band I. Die geometrische und archaische Plastik. Handbuch der Archaeologie., München. Gaber-Saletan 1980 Gaber-Saletan, P., “The Limestone Sculpture from Kition in the Medelhavsmuseet”, Medelhavsmuseet Bulletin 15, 4l-49.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Archaeology

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Deniz Kaplan * This is me
0000-0002-2106-5503
Türkiye

Serra Durugönül This is me
0000-0002-4574-1035
Türkiye

Publication Date

May 1, 2020

Submission Date

May 25, 2019

Acceptance Date

August 19, 2019

Published in Issue

Year 2020 Volume: XXVIII Number: XXVIII

APA
Kaplan, D., & Durugönül, S. (2020). Head of a Kouros from the Hinterland of Tarsus Belonging to the Period of the Syennessis Dynasty. OLBA, XXVIII(XXVIII), 57-68. https://izlik.org/JA74PL84JC
AMA
1.Kaplan D, Durugönül S. Head of a Kouros from the Hinterland of Tarsus Belonging to the Period of the Syennessis Dynasty. OLBA. 2020;XXVIII(XXVIII):57-68. https://izlik.org/JA74PL84JC
Chicago
Kaplan, Deniz, and Serra Durugönül. 2020. “Head of a Kouros from the Hinterland of Tarsus Belonging to the Period of the Syennessis Dynasty”. OLBA XXVIII (XXVIII): 57-68. https://izlik.org/JA74PL84JC.
EndNote
Kaplan D, Durugönül S (May 1, 2020) Head of a Kouros from the Hinterland of Tarsus Belonging to the Period of the Syennessis Dynasty. OLBA XXVIII XXVIII 57–68.
IEEE
[1]D. Kaplan and S. Durugönül, “Head of a Kouros from the Hinterland of Tarsus Belonging to the Period of the Syennessis Dynasty”, OLBA, vol. XXVIII, no. XXVIII, pp. 57–68, May 2020, [Online]. Available: https://izlik.org/JA74PL84JC
ISNAD
Kaplan, Deniz - Durugönül, Serra. “Head of a Kouros from the Hinterland of Tarsus Belonging to the Period of the Syennessis Dynasty”. OLBA XXVIII/XXVIII (May 1, 2020): 57-68. https://izlik.org/JA74PL84JC.
JAMA
1.Kaplan D, Durugönül S. Head of a Kouros from the Hinterland of Tarsus Belonging to the Period of the Syennessis Dynasty. OLBA. 2020;XXVIII:57–68.
MLA
Kaplan, Deniz, and Serra Durugönül. “Head of a Kouros from the Hinterland of Tarsus Belonging to the Period of the Syennessis Dynasty”. OLBA, vol. XXVIII, no. XXVIII, May 2020, pp. 57-68, https://izlik.org/JA74PL84JC.
Vancouver
1.Deniz Kaplan, Serra Durugönül. Head of a Kouros from the Hinterland of Tarsus Belonging to the Period of the Syennessis Dynasty. OLBA [Internet]. 2020 May 1;XXVIII(XXVIII):57-68. Available from: https://izlik.org/JA74PL84JC