Southern Portico and Steps to Temple

This image from the courtyard of the Sebasteion looking southeast includes the eastern portion of the Southern Portico of the Sebasteion.

Between the Doric columns on the lower level there were a series of rooms.  The rooms are not connected internally and it is not certain how they were used—or if indeed they were used!

Above them the middle floor also had "rooms" but they were sealed off by panels that displayed some Greek deities.  The ones here, are copies of the originals that are on display in the Museum.  Some great examples can be found in this section.

In the level above this, not reconstructed, were additional rooms and panels.

On the left (east) side of the image are the steps that led up to the platform on which the main Temple of the Sebasteion stood.

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The Sebasteion was a complex of structures that served as a municipal imperial cult sanctuary.  It was dedicated to Aphrodite, the main deity of Aphrodisias, and to the "gods Sebastoi"—that is to the "August Ones," namely Julius Caesar and his successors.  Local elite persons built it to solidify their ties with Rome.  Its construction began during the reign of Tiberius and continued into the reign of Nero.