IÇ2

Philipp Niewöhner

antiquarian interest in, and care for, ancient monuments could have prevailed as late
as the sixth century. This paper is based on archaeological evidence from Miletus in
Caria as a primary case study The subsequent detailed discussion of the early Byzan-
tine situation at Miletus establishes that it was brought about by conscious antiquar-
ianism rather than abandonment or neglect and that this antiquarian attitude was
shared by Christians and does not seem to have depended on pagan leanings. Com-
parisons with similarly well-preserved ancient cityscapes at Aphrodisias and Ephesus
on the one hand and with thoroughly modernized Byzantine settlements elsewhere
in Asia Minor on the other hand lead to the conclusion that Byzantine antiquari-
anism may have been a matter of civic pride in the places where impressive ancient
monuments happened to exist and survived. This may also explain why western Asia
Minor, which was particularly rich in well-preserved ancient monuments, tended to
hold on to them and thus failed to develop a Byzantine architectural style of its own.
Miletus
As one of the oldest and largest cities in western Asia Minor,5 Miletus would seem to
be a likely candidate for Byzantine antiquarianism. In late antiquity, the region was
dominated by large landowners that would have resided in the cities and maintained
the kind of education that formed a necessary prerequisite for an appreciation of the
ancient past.6 The sixth-century historian Hesychius as well as Isidore, the architect
of Justinian’s Hagia Sophia at Constantinople, both of Miletus, and Isidore’s nephew,
Isidore the Younger, who repaired Hagia Sophia after a collapse of the dome in 557,
would have been products of such an education? In fact, Hesychius’ familiarity with
ancient paideia has led so far as to make him suspect of pagan leanings to certain
scholars.8
More to the point, the early Byzantine city centre of Miletus was dominated by
ancient buildings and their marble façades,9 as has been revealed by excavations since
1899.10 The central square that is made up of the Agora’ to the south and the ‘Pro-
cessional Street’ to the north was surrounded exclusively by Hellenistic and Roman
buildings that outlived the early Byzantine period;11 these are known as the bouleu-

5 Kleiner (1968); Niewöhner (2016b).

6 Trombley (1993/1994), vol. 2, pp. 71b Cf. Poulsen (1995); Thonemann (2007).

7 Hesychius: Flach (1880); Martindale (1971-1992), vol. 2, p. 555; Tinnefeld (1998). Isidore: Procopius, De
aedificiis, i, i, 24.50. 70; 2,3,7; 2, 8,16-18; Martindale (1971-1992), vol. 3, p. 724.

8 Kaldellis (2005). Cf. Kaldellis (2013).

9 Kleiner (1968); Niewöhner (2016b).

10 Panteleon (2015).

ii They were found to have collapsed later, probably due to an earthquake, when the city was deserted in
the middle Byzantine period: Niewöhner (2013a), p. 228.