Vergilius Capito Baths, Miletus, Turkey


  • Date
    5/16/2011 (creation)
Date
1st century CE
Description
Depicted in this image are stone arches surrounding what was the interior. Miletus, located near the mouth of the Menderes, was destroyed by the Persians in 494 BCE, after they had defeated the navy of the Ionian Greeks at Lade. Miletus was rebuilt on a promontory, north of the old town. The gridiron plan of the new town, designed by the Milesian Hippodamus, became a standard for urban planning. Behind the Ionic colonnade presented to Miletus by Vergilius Capito (to the south of Delphinion) lay the Baths of Vergilius Capito which date from time of the Emperor Claudius (CE 41-54), the walls of which are still standing. The baths were originally faced with marble and consisted of a palaestra 38m (125ft) square surrounded by two-story colonnades, in front of which was a semi-circular swimming pool. Also beyond the Ionic colonnade, immediately southwest of the Baths of Vergilius Capito was a gymnasium ca. 150 BCE. The Archivision Collection of Ancient Sites was funded by the Jack Martin Balcer Library Endowment.
Style/Period
Roman