Dancing Girls

A limestone relief from the base of the Heroon that towers over the Upper Agora at Sagalassos.

The Heroon consists of a square podium base, on top of which are three steps, then a frieze depicting 14 dancing girls—each holding the garment of their neighbor, and the Corinthian-like structure above it.

In this image, there are three dancing girls all of them in long flowing garments.  The one on the left holds a  seven-stringed musical instrument that was strummed or plucked—a lyre .  In the center, the woman has a billowing "cape" and the figure on the right, strides to the right—her garments indicating movement.  This is an original that is in the museum in Burdur—the reliefs on the site are copies.

The Heroon was probably built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus (r. 27 B.C.–A.D. 14) but commemorates Alexander the Great who conquered Sagalassos in 333 B.C.