The Sanctuary of Hekate at Lagina in the 4th Century BC

Abstract

The Lagina Hekate Sanctuary was finalized with reconstruction activities in the Late Hellenistic and Early Imperial period. The four sides of the sanctuary were surrounded by stoas in the Doric style built during the Early Imperial period. At a point near the center is the temple and there is an altar located southeast of the temple. As a result of ongoing work in the sacred precinct, the evidence shows that the Temple and cult of Hekate dated back to the 4th century BC. The aim of this study is to determine how old the sanctuary and cult of Hekate in Lagina is based on the archaeological and epigraphical data. The peribolos, which were found in the northeastern part of the sanctuary and were later discovered to have surrounded four sides of the sanctuary, are architecturally the most important proof that they date back to the 4th century BC. The walls are flat-edged, with a pulvinated surface and built as a double row of pitch-faced stones and rectangular blocks. This masonry technique is also found in Stratonikeia Lower City Walls, the repair phases in Kadıkulesi Hill on the western and northern walls and it has been dated back to the 4th century BC. In the context of Maussolos’ urbanization policy, construction activities have also been carried out in Lagina besides Stratonikeia. The data obtained from the naos of the altar have reinforced the opinion that there was a cult building there; especially the numerous coins dated to the 4th and 3rd centuries, the terracotta figurines dated to the Hellenistic period are the other archeological evidence showing that there was a cult building before the temple with Corinthian peristasis. Numerous inscriptions have been found in the sanctuary and most of the inscriptions have been dated to the Roman Imperial period. Three of the inscriptions on the sacred area have been dated to the 4th century BC and one of them has been dated to 197-166 BC. The contents of these inscriptions clearly demonstrate the presence of a sanctuary here and clearly proves that this area was devoted to Hekate. The fact that Stratonikeia was called Hekatesia (the city of Hekate) from 430 to 280 BC is another indication of the importance of Hekate in the region. The Hekate Cult must have already been very powerful in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC so that a magnificent temple could be built with Corinthian peristasis at the end of the 2nd century BC.