Texier, Charles; Pullan, Richard P.: The principal ruins of Asia Minor (London, 1865)

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COLOPHON & ERYTHILE.

KORTLY after my return to Smyrna, I drew up a report for the Society of Dilettanti upon
the condition of the various ruins I had visited, accompanied by estimates of the probable
expense of thoroughly excavating each site. I classed the temples in the following order :—

1. The Temple of Apollo Smintheus.—This was placed first in the list, since it afforded
an entirely unique example of the Ionic order, its architectural details being at the same

__________________I time of good style.

2. The Temple of Minerva at Priene. Although the character of its architecture
was superior to that of any of the others, this temple had to a certain extent been explored and illustrated
by a former mission of the Society.

3. The Temple of Bacchus at Teos.—No excavations had been made here formerly; therefore very little
information had been obtained about tins building. The profiles of the mouldings were fine, though inferior
to those of the temples above mentioned.

4. The Temple of Apollo Branchidae at Ieronda.—The architecture here is fine in style, and excavations
would give important results; but the enormous size of the blocks of marble that would have to be removed
would make operations here so expensive that I was reluctantly obliged to place this last on the list, as feasibility
and cost had to be taken into consideration. Such a work as the thorough exploration of this temple is worthy
the attention of a government that has ships of war at its disposal for scientific purposes. Looking at this
matter in a monetary point of view, it is probable that the sculpture recovered here, and on other important
sites, would, as at Ilalicarnassus and Cyrene, far exceed in value the cost of an Expedition.

Pending the decision of the Society as to which site was to bo excavated, I remained quietly at Boujah—at
least during the inclement month of January; but as the weather in February was mild, I determined upon
visiting the ruins called those of Claros on the Chart, which are situated on the seashore, between Teos and the
plain of the Cayster. Accordingly, I engaged horses at Smyrna, which met us at Trianda, a station on the Aidin
Railway. On the morning of February 15th, we rode from the station for four hours, in a westerly direction,
through a well-cultivated level country, and then turned into a valley about half a mile in breadth, bounded
on the south by Mount Alcman, and on the north by the lower range of Mount Galesius. The valley is about
six miles in length, and terminates in a sandy beach on the seashore. We passed the Turkish village of Zilli,
and half an hoiir afterwards reached the Greek village of Ghaiour-keui, where we took up our quarters in the
house of the head man of the place, who gave up his best room for our use. He was the owner of the land upon
which the ruins stood; and when he heard of the object of our visit, he expressed himself very desirous that
excavations should be carried on, probably in order that he might make a little money by them.

The room allotted to us was but small. Its windows were destitute of glass, and it had the additional
disadvantage of being situated over a stable, in which there was confined an unhappy pig, whose grunting
tended to disturb our night's rest. However, this was the best room in the village; and as the weather was
too cold and damp to permit of our living in a tent, we were obliged to make the best of circumstances.

The next morning we walked to the ruins, which are situated on a hill near the sea, south of the valley, and
about three miles from Ghaiour-keui. The circuit of the town walls can be traced throughout. They enclosed a
plot of ground about half a mile in length and a quarter of a mile in breadth. The theatre stood on the side of
a hill, on the south side. Most of the seats had been removed, and also all the stones of the proscenium. North
of the theatre a flight of steps led up to a plateau, in the centre of which there had been a fine temple, the only
traces of which were some pieces of marble, with mouldings, from which it appeared that it was of the Ionic order.
On the side of the hill, near the plateau, I found the figure of a draped female Caryatide, rather smaller than life-
size. It was sculptured in high relief, with a flat back-ground. The right arm was raised to support a basket
carried on the head. The figure was broken from the knee downwards; but fragments of it were lying near it.
The head had been carved separately, and attached to the back-ground by means of cramps,—a common
practice in the best periods of Greek art.