Selge - Hellenistic City near Altınkaya, close to Manavgat

Wednesday, 11 December 2013 13:21
Written by Portal Editor

Selge is an ancient ruined city of Hellenistic origin located in the Köprü River (Köprüçay), approximately 35 kilometres north of Serik on the southern slopes of the Taurus Mountains near Altinkaya.

Brita, Gerda, and I drove between Manavgat and Antalya towards Selge. About halfway along the coastal road to Selge, which roughly follows the Eurymedon River, the road crosses it via a Roman stone bridge at a height of about 30 meters.

After about 14 kilometres on a paved road along the Eurymedon, which, however, had quite steep switchbacks, we reached the town of Selge, having just left the Köprülü Canyon National Park area and entered the Taurus Mountains. According to tradition, Selge was founded by the seer Calchas after the Trojan War and settled by Greeks from Sparta. The town has been documented on coins since the 5th century BC.

We had barely gotten out of the car when we were practically mobbed by the village women. It was incredible how quickly word of our presence had spread. Their interest was clear and unambiguous: selling homemade handicrafts. Initially a bit pushy, they quickly realized we weren't your typical tourists, if only because of our language. What began as straightforward sales pitches gradually turned into references to the artifacts of Selge, a city that once boasted 20,000 inhabitants.

The city of Selge was part of the Pisidian League and lay within the borders of ancient Pamphylia. From the city's chronology, we now know that it was under Lydian, Persian, Alexandrian, and Roman control. The remaining ruins of the city consist of the theatre, carved into the rock, the stadium, and the gymnasium.

To the south of the theatre and on the western side, there is an Ionic temple with an eagle on its roof. An ancient well and an agora were discovered south of the stadium. To the north of the city wall, which extended to the southwestern edge of the city, ruins of monuments to Artemis and Zeus can still be found.

Outside the city walls lay an aqueduct and several chamber tombs.

The economic foundation of ancient Selge was the cultivation of wine and olives on the surrounding fertile plateau. Politically, it maintained good relations with Aspendos, but otherwise, the city tended to be warlike towards its neighbours. When Alexander the Great marched through Asia Minor, the city allied itself with him to besiege the nearby city of Termessos, albeit unsuccessfully. Polybius describes a war between Selge and Pednellissos in 220 BC, in which Pednellissos called upon Achaeus, the governor of Side, for assistance.

In 25 BC, Selge lost its independence and was incorporated into the Roman province of Galatia. According to Strabo, the city had approximately 20,000 inhabitants at that time. Selge reached its greatest prosperity during the Roman Empire. In 339, it was unsuccessfully besieged by the Goths. During the Byzantine era, Selge was a bishopric. The city was later abandoned during the Seljuk period.

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