Ana Tanrıça ve Kutsal Kent Pessinus
Öz
Pessinus Antik kenti günümüzde Eskişehir ili, Sivrihisar ilçesi, Ballıhisar köyünde bulunmaktadır. Pessinus, birkaç farklı parametre için Anadolu’nun en önemli Antik kentlerinden biridir. Bu parametrelerden en önemlisi kentin bütününün ana tanrıçaya adanmış bir temenos özelliği gösteriyor olmasıdır. Tarihsel dönemlerde kentin kuruluşu ve tanrıçaya aidiyeti ile ilgili mythoslar ve anlatımlar bize kentin var edilmesinin doğası ile ilgili önemli ipuçları sağlamaktadır. Söz konusu bu üst nitelik, ana tanrıçanın tarihöncesi ve tarihsel karakterinin izdüşümünü net bir şekilde ortaya koymaktadır. Antik Pessinus kentinde 60’lı yıllardan bu yana modern bir anlayışla arkeolojik, tarihsel ve epigrafik bilimsel araştırmalar gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu araştırmaların çekirdeğinde ana tanrıçaya adanmış anıtsal kütlelerin keşfedilmesi, araştırılması ve değerlendirilmesi arzusu yatmaktadır. Henüz ana tanrıça ve tapınımı ile ilgili bu majör amaç gerçekleştirilememiştir. Bununla birlikte özellikle ilk dönem bilimsel araştırmalarında kentin araştırılma metodolojisi için önemli bir strateji ortaya konulmuş ve bu stratejinin sonraki dönemlerde maalesef tam uygulanamamış yansımaları bile bilimsel çalışmaların temel karakterini belirlemiştir. Pessinus Antik kentindeki bilimsel çalışmaların en zorlayıcı yanı kentin tam üzerinde konumlanmış olan Ballıhisar köyüdür. Bugüne değin Antik kentte yapılan çalışmalarda Roma İmparatorluk Dönemi’ne tarihlendirilen mimari eserlerin öne çıktığı tespit edilmiştir. Pessinus kenti kültür tarihi açısından muazzam bir potansiyel barındırmaktadır.
Anahtar Kelimeler
MOTHER GODDESS and SACRED CITY PESSİNUS
Abstract
Extended Summary The ancient city of Pessinus, situated in the modern-day village of Ballıhisar in the Sivrihisar district of Eskişehir Province, stands out as one of the most distinctive urban centers in Anatolia in terms of its religious, archaeological, and cultural significance. Unlike other ancient settlements in the region, Pessinus was uniquely configured as a temenos— a sacred precinct entirely dedicated to the Mother Goddess. This sacred-urban identity fundamentally shaped the city’s historical trajectory and continues to be a central focus of scholarly investigation. The sacred character of Pessinus is deeply rooted in both mythology and historical tradition. Ancient sources such as Strabo describe the city not only as a major commercial center but also as the location of a widely venerated temple dedicated to the goddess Agdistis, a form of the Anatolian Mother Goddess. According to myth, the temple’s priesthood once held political authority, reflecting the city’s original theocratic governance structure. Renovated by the Attalids and later brought into the Roman sphere, the temple gained even greater prominence when, during the Second Punic War, the Roman Senate officially requested and received the sacred black meteorite—believed to be the goddess’s idol—from Pessinus. This act marked the beginning of a long-standing religious and political relationship between Rome and the city. Archaeological investigations at Pessinus have unfolded in several major phases. The first systematic scientific excavations were initiated in 1967 by P. Lambrechts of Ghent University. His objective was to locate, document, and analyze the temple of the Mother Goddess within a methodological framework grounded in cultural history and typological classification. Although the exact location of the temple remains unidentified, Lambrechts’ work established a solid foundation for understanding the city’s sacred and urban topography. His excavation campaigns, which continued until 1973, uncovered numerous architectural features that still define the site’s archaeological landscape. A second major phase began in 1987 under the direction of J. Devreker, also affiliated with Ghent University. Although this period extended until 2009, it did not produce the same methodological precision or transformative insights as the initial phase. Nonetheless, the continued archaeological presence allowed for the further study of the city’s architectural layout, with particular emphasis on structures from the Roman Imperial period. In 2009, G. Tsetskhladze from the University of Melbourne assumed the directorship, marking the beginning of a third campaign. Despite sufficient academic and institutional support, this phase faced considerable logistical challenges—most notably, limited excavation windows due to the seasonal misalignment between Australia’s academic calendar and Anatolia’s excavation season. Furthermore, the persistent issue of modern Ballıhisar village, constructed directly atop the ancient ruins, severely restricted excavation efforts. Although official attempts were made to relocate the village, they proved unsuccessful, and the continued presence of residential infrastructure remains a significant barrier to large-scale archaeological and conservation work. From an urban and historical perspective, Pessinus presents a stratified cultural profile shaped by successive political regimes. Initially part of the Phrygian heartland, the city fell under Galatian control following their migration into central Anatolia in the 3rd century BCE. Subsequently incorporated into the Pergamene Kingdom and then the Roman province of Asia, Pessinus retained its religious prestige while adapting to new administrative and architectural frameworks. By the Augustan period, the city had adopted a distinctly Roman architectural vocabulary, most notably exemplified by the construction of an imperial cult temple. Built in the Corinthian order and dated to the reign of Tiberius (14–37 CE), the hexastyle peripteral temple became a major landmark. Although Pessinus was never officially granted the neokoros title, some scholars suggest that this was due to Rome’s unique reverence for the Mother Goddess, rendering the designation unnecessary. The city’s architectural landscape includes several key components: the imperial cult temple, a small theatron in front of the temple, a canal that bifurcated the city, and various necropolis areas. Together, these elements indicate a city that functioned not only as a religious sanctuary but also as a complex civic organism. Of particular note is the discovery of a Hittite ceramic fragment dating to ca. 1600–1500 BCE in the temple area, representing the earliest evidence of habitation at the site. The mythological and ideological dimensions of Pessinus further enrich its urban identity. Myths involving Kybele, Agdistis, and Attis—preserved in the works of Diodorus Siculus, Ovid, and Pausanias—situate the city within a broader pan-Mediterranean religious framework. Themes of divine birth, castration, and ritual mourning align with the city’s function as a center for mystery cults and ecstatic religious practices. Even as imperial cults gained prominence during the Roman period, the worship of the Mother Goddess persisted, embodying a form of cultural resistance against total assimilation into imperial ideology. Pessinus also played a formative role in shaping the regional memory of Mountainous Phrygia. The surrounding landscape is rich in rock-cut monuments, chamber tombs, and votive reliefs associated with the Kybele cult. Iconographic motifs such as lions, mural crowns, and enthroned goddesses appear from early periods into Roman times, evidencing a long-standing continuity of religious symbolism and identity centered on the city.
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