Das Bouleuterion in Ephesos

The present volume is based on a revised manuscript of the late L. Bier ( 2004) concerning the Roman Bouleuterion (town hall) of Ephesos (Turkey), its history of research and its architecture. Contributions by the following colleagues were added: H. Thür (architecture), U. Quatember (architectural decoration), H. Taeuber (inscriptions), M. Aurenhammer and T. Opper (sculpture). The volume represents the comprehensive publication of this building and its entire decoration. Excavated already in the mid-19th century by J.T. Wood, the building was often discussed in scholarly literature, but a thorough analysis of the architecture and its decoration was lacking. Bouleuteria of the high Imperial period were multifunctional buildings, offering space for civic administration but also for cultural performances. The Roman Bouleuterion at Ephesos comprised a semicircular auditorium oriented towards a two-storeyed scene wall, it lacked a proper stage building. There is no evidence of a Hellenistic predecessor. Based on meticulous study of the architecture, L. Bier succeeded in discerning several construction phases. The scene wall of the 1st phase was structured by a series of single columns. It was probably erected about 100 A.D. In the main phase of the mid-2nd century A.D., P. Vedius Antoninus, the city`s eminent benefactor and confidant of the emperor, dedicated the reconstruction of the scene wall into a modern aediculated façade, including sculptural decoration (see the dedicatory inscription). Based on a study of the few architectural remains and comparisons with similar façades, L. Bier presented a reconstruction of the Bouleuterion façade. He also discussed the wooden roof construction of the building. The inscriptions attached to the scene wall deal above all with Vedius` building program at Ephesos which was supported by emperor Antoninus Pius. According to these "Imperial Letters", the façade can be dated to the 150s A.D. The sculptural program of the façade is only fragmentarily preserved, it comprised a gallery of portrait statues of the emperor, his adoptive sons and the dynasty`s female members. The statues were erected in the reign of Antoninus Pius but obviously not at the same time. A preserved portrait of a girl might represent one of Marcus Aurelius` daughters. An inscribed base for a statue of Demos (the personification of the people of the city) points to a pair of statues of Demos and Boule (the personification of the city council). - The architectural decoration of the 2nd phase may be compared with other Ephesian buildings dedicated by the Vedii. It was obviously also part of the carefully designed building program. The Bouleuterion was used as a building until Late Antiquity and beyond. The mythological sculpture found in the building was set up in the façade after the Vedius phase.