Pessinus (Greek: Πεσσινούς or Πισσινούς) was a city in Anatolia, the Asian part of Turkey on the upper course of the river Sakarya River (Sangarios), from which the mythological King Midas (738-696 BC?) is said to have ruled a greater Phrygian realm. However, archaeological research by Ghent University (1967-1973; 1987-2008) showed that the city developed around 400 BC at the earliest, which contradicts any historical claim of early Phrygian roots.

Pessinus, the present village Ballıhisar is situated at 13 km from Sivrihisar a small town on the road Ankara- Eskişehir at the junction with the road to Afyon-İzmir, at 120 km SW of Ankara. The village is situated on the high Anatolian plateau at ca. 950 m altitude above sea level.It is developed in a valley, more specifically the tributary valley of the Sakarya (Sangarios) river.

History [link]

According to ancient tradition, Pessinous was the principal cult centre of the cult of Cybele/Kybele. The Graeco-Phrygian Cybele is rooted in the old Anatolian goddess Koubaba whose cult spread over Anatolia during the second millenium BC. Tradition situates the cult of Cybele in the early Phrygian period (8th century BC) and associates the erection of her first "costly" temple and even the founding of the city with king Midas (738-696 BC?). However, the Phrygian past of Pessinus is still obscure, both historically as archaeologically. For example, Strabo (12.5.3) writes that the priests were potentates in "ancient times", but it is unclear whether Pessinus was already a temple state ruled by "dynastai" in the Phrygian period. According to Cicero (Har. Resp. 8.28) the Seleucid kings held deep devotion for the shrine which indicates the sanctuary was still much revered in this period.

By the 3rd century at the latest, Pessinus had become a temple state ruled by a clerical oligarchy consisting of Galloi, eunuch priests of the Mother Goddess. After the arrival of Celtic tribes in Asia Minor in 278/277 BC, and their defeat at the hand of Antiochos I during the so-called 'Battle of the Elephants' (likely 268 BC), the Celts settled in the north-central region of Anatolia which became known as Galatia. The tribe of the Tolistobogioi occupied the Phrygian territory between Gordium and Pessinus. It is doubtful that the temple state actually stood under Galatian control at this early stage.

Roman involvement in Pessinus however has early roots. In 205/204 BC, alarmed by a number of meteor showers during the ongoing Second Punic War, the Romans, after consulting the Sibylline Books, decided to introduce the cult of the Great Mother of Ida (Magna Mater Idaea, also known as Cybele) to the city. They sought the aid of their ally Attalus I (241-197 BC), and following his instructions, they went to Pessinus and removed the goddess' most important image, a large black stone that was said to have fallen from the sky, to Rome (Livy 10.4-11.18).

The stone was first placed in the Temple of Victory on the Palatine Hill, but in 191 BC a new sanctuary was built for the goddess on the summit of the Palatine Hill, one of the most sacred places in Rome. Along with the black stone, a throne was brought to Rome. The throne was destroyed twice by fire in 111 BC and 3 AD, both times being restored, in the latter case by the emperor Augustus.

Roman culture emerged in Pessinus again around 45 AD, when the Emperor Claudius sold the temple-state to the Galatian tetrarch Brogitarus. This was a fundraising tactic used by the Roman emperors, starting with Julius Caesar around 45 BC.

Christianity reached the area in the 3rd century, and gradually, the temple was abandoned, although the emperor Julian the Apostate made a pilgrimage there.^[1] In ca. 398, Pessinus was established as the capital of the newly-established province of Galatia Salutaris, and became the seat of the a metropolitan bishop. Under Justinian I, it was renamed to Ioustinianoupolis, a name which continued to be occasionally used for a long time.^[2] The region later became part of the Byzantine Anatolic Theme. In late 715 AD, the city of Pessinus was destroyed by an Arab raid, along with the neighboring city Orkistos. The area remained under Byzantine control until lost to the Seljuk Turks in the latter 11th century, after which Pessinus became an inconspicuous mountain village at 900m height, gradually getting depopulated since it was fully protected.

The last constructions from Antiquity were pulled down in the 19th century, but archeologists from the Ghent University, Belgium, have been digging there since 1967, and have unearthed the ancient temple of Cybele and many other buildings, such as a theatre and bath houses.

The Kybele Archaeological Culture Center, located in Ballihisar Village of Eskişehir's Sivrihisar district, has on display artifacts dating to the Phrygian and Roman eras from the ancient city of Pessinus.

Notes [link]

Sources and references [link]

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Pessinus.

• Pessinus at www.archaeology.ugent.be
• Westermann Grosser Atlas zur Weltgeschichte
• De Standaard (Flemish newspaper, Dutch language) August 9, 2005
• Pauly-Wissowa
• Cambridge Ancient History, vols. VII, VIII, IX, XI, and XIII
• Ghent University website
• JSTOR

Coordinates: 39°20′2″N 31°35′4″E / 39.33389°N 31.58444°E / 39.33389; 31.58444

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