Local and Greek elements in classical Pamphylia: An assessment

Abstract

It is known that Pamphylian plain was settled from the Paleolithic times, but in the majority of the excavated cities and the other archeological finds, mainly dates to the late Hellenistic and Roman periods. There are very few remains from the archaic and classical times. However, the diversity, density and quality of the pottery which were determined in several studies in recent years, taken together with epigraphic and archaeological materials, has begun to lighten the region's relatively dark situation in this periods.The pottery repertoire in Archaic and Classical times of Pamphylia has been varied by the findings of the acropolis of Perge (Eschbach 2003a: 87-102). The local pottery is novel for the region and inconclusive to give an idea. But in contrast, the size of imported pottery from the east and west is remarkable. The shards from acropolis of Perge, a column crater from Aspendos attributed to the Leningrad Painter, another from Karaçallı necropolis attributed to the Florance Painter, a crater from Varsak, black firnised sherds from Sillyon and the Antalya East City Garage salvage excavation finds show that there was a flow of imported material to Pamphylia from the beginning of the 5th century till the Hellenistic period.Cypriot and Syrian-Palestine pottery, as well as Attic pottery, are also imported materials (Çokay-Kepçe 2006: 69-70) as observed at Karaçallı necropolis. This data shows that the region was also looking to the East judging from the eating and drinking habits. In the Classical period, Pamphylia established commercial and cultural relationships with its neighbors, whose size and route remains unclear. The link between these relationships and the Pamphylian cities remains controversial as does how and why they emerged.To clarify the issue and the implications of pottery finds, other archaeological and epigraphic material must be investigated. The toponyms in Pamphylia show that the local elements were dominant. The names of the prominent cities of the region (for example, Perge, Side, Aspendos) are not of Greek origin and cannot be explained in terms of Greek grammar (Bosch 1957: 17; Işık 1996: 23-44, Abbasoğlu 2001: 176). Epigraphic data from the region, however, point out that Pamphylian language was a Greek dialect influenced by local Anatolian languages (Bosch 1957: 16; Tekoğlu 1999-2000: 49-59). The famous Wanassa Preiia inscription (Kaygusuz 1980: 249-256; Şahin 1999: 2-3), a bowl shard from Perge which preserves six letters of an inscription (Neumann 2003:165-166) and city names on the coins of Aspendos, Sillyon and Pisidian Selge's are indicators of this dialect. In this context, it is suggested that the social organization of the pre-classical Pamphylia was that of self-sufficient small settlements.Settlements of the region retained their local character up to the Hellenistic period, but not in the manner of the conservative policy of Lycia. Foreign influences easily penetrated into the region and gradually changed is characteristics.It is without a doubt that the acculturation process worked at different rates in rural areas, cities and their territories. Thanks to its convenient geographical location, trade was the basic form of relationship with the East and the West. Thus, Pamphylia came under the influence of dominant culture or cultures of the period, but this process was not a result of an external force such as colonization; rather, new ideas and notions were probably adopted by the local communities over the time.Therefore, Pamphylian cities must have welcomed new settlers as "metoikos" or "immigrants". The settlers should have influenced these communities in this process, but there is a need for further finds to understand and prove these influences and their effects on local people and urbanization.