The exhibition shows Sagalassos, a vast archaeological site in south-west Turkey. It was Alexander the Great who conquered the city in 333 BC Sagalassos and the city was largely Hellenized. In 25 BC Emperor Augustus made Sagalassos part of the Roman Empire, heralding the beginning of a second cultural revolution. The exhibition shows how the elite exploited the opportunities which presented themselves now that the city was part of the Empire. Christianity brought a third and fundamental change. In the fourth century the new religion became the state religion. The shows explains the dramatic changes – Hellinization, Romanization and Christianization – and the mark they left on the city’s architecture. This is illustrated systematically with carefully chosen photographs of buildings and monuments on the site. Almost 250 authentic objects await. The objects are highly diverse, ranging from prehistoric tools and red-painted pottery dishes, through fragments of bronze statues and oil lamps bearing Christian motifs, to frieze slabs decorated with dancing nymphs and lavishly embellished capitals. All of them illustrate the complex but oh-so-fascinating history of the Roman city and surrounding area. The real showpiece of the exhibition and also the campaign image is the head of a truly colossal statue of Emperor Hadrianus.
