ZEUGMA

Zeugma lies on the Euphrates river, which served as a link between Anatolia and Mesopotamia from the earliest times. In particular, this route was used to bring timber from the Amanus and Taurus mountains to the first literate, urban civilisations of Southern Mesopotamia and probably by Assyrian traders in metals passing to and from their outpost at Kultepe in Central Anatolia.

Carchemish, an important state following the fall of the Hittite Empire to the "Peoples of the Sea" in the twelfth century BC, lies just 30 km downstream, on the present border between Turkey and Syria. This city played a dominant role in the area until it fell to the Assyrians, probably in the ninth century BC.

The city of Zeugma - or rather two cities on each side of the river, Seleuceia and Apamea - was founded in 300 BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander´s generals who had been made satrap of Babylon. It was to guard what had become the principal crossing point of the river Euphrates for those passing from the Western Mediterranean world to the Eastern satrapies of the old Achaemenid empire, conquered by Alexander in 331 BC. Like many other such foundations, the role of Zeugma which means "link" in Greek, or "bridge", was to protect the communications of the Seleucid Empire which stretched from the Mediterranean Sea, near its Western capital of Antioch, to India. It lies close to the point at which the river emerges from its gorge in the foothills of the Taurus mountains.

In the second and first centuries BC, Rome gradually came to supplant the Seleucid Empire in the West, but the Parthian kingdom in the East also saw itself as a successor to Alexander´s Greek Empire. The river Euphrates became the frontier between Rome and Parthia, rivals for control of the East and the only two "Great Powers" in conflict during the first centuries of our era.

Zeugma became important both as a military base, home for one of only three legions on the Eastern frontier, but also as a trading city on the "Silk Route" from China to the West. As the Roman empire was extended to include Mesopotamia in the fourth century the city lost its importance as a frontier post, but its wealth increased and many fine mosaics from the third and fourth centuries have been found.

In succeeding centuries, Arabs, Turks, Armenians, Mamluks, Crusaders and Kurds all fought over this area. Certain cities - such as Aleppo and Edessa (now Urfa) retained their importance, but Zeugma was largely forgotten when the principal Euphrates crossing moved downstream to Birecik in the Middle Ages.

TRITON MOSAIC

After Posedion and Amphitit’s magnificient wedding under the sea,they had a child.this child looked both from waist down where he was covered see weed laid like a fish .This child,named Triton,started serving his mother ( Amphitrite) an his father ( Posedion) and passed on their message by the helozonic sea shell.His strong blow would make sounds of huge wawes of the angry seas

DIONYSOS , BAKKHA ,AND NIKE MOSAIC

In this mosaic, dionysos the ine and nature god of Anatolian origin and Nike god of victory are pictured together.Dionysos can be seen in a cart pulled by two panthers controlled by Nike. A Bakkha can be seen dancing and leading in front of the cart.Dionysos is also the name of a religio.Those who belonged to this feith would lounch a mysterious journey by drinking wine.Those who participated in these ceremonies were named Saritus(men) and Bakkha(women)

ANTIOPE AND SATYROS MOSAIC

Antiope is a very beatuful woman Zeus the God of Gods fell in love with Antrope after seeing her beautiy. And Approaches Antiope in shape of a Satyros(men participating in a Diyonisos ceremony by drinking wire) Zeus who steals Antiope’s heart has two children from her. But when Zeus leaves her she finds herself with noon to depend on Antiopes who was very much afraid of her father leaves home and marries Siklon the king of Epopeus.

POSEDION , OCEANOS AND TETHYS MOSAIC

This mosaic which is estimated to be floor of a pool or a dining room.The most important gods of the sea are pictured.At the top Possedion can be seen riding a creature called Hippocam which has the head and front legs of a horse and is a fish at the back.Possedion holds a pitchfark.Ýn the lowerpart of the mosaic another sea god Oceanos and Tethys which symbolizes Femaleness in the seas are pictured.The rest of the mosaic is decorated by various sea animals.

DIANYSOS WEDDING MOSAIC

The 10 figures in the mosaic from left to rigt are,A men figure standing,drinking ligour out of a cup – A menad sitting holding a mesale – A dressed woman walking twords right with her arm up in the air holding something in her hands which can not be seen due to the damage in that part of the mosaic.A woman sitting on the throne is shown with most amount of clothes loosly coverg her body around her torso –A men’s figure shown with a halo around his head and next to throne a child figure two clothed women figure walking to the left

APHRODITE ‘S BIRD

The goddes of love and the one identified with the Roman love Goddess Venus.There are two different takes about her birth. Sometimes, she is considered the daughter of Zeus and Dione and sometimes she is said to be the daughter of Ouranos.According to this tale Ouranos sex organs which was cut seperate from his body had fallen in to the sea and Ouranus had a daughter from the seas and she was called the woman born from the waves or woman born from the seeds of the gods.

AKHILLEUS MOSAIC

Akhilleus’s going to WAR OF TROY Akhilleus’s parents who doesn’t want him to join the war of Troy send him to King Lykomedes’s palace on Skyros Ýsland.There Akhilleus joins the daughter of Lykomedes in women’s clothes.But when the predictions spread around that Troy could never be conguered unless Akhilleus joined the war,Odysseus starts looking for Akhilleus.

OCEANOS and TETHYS MOSAIC

Oceanos, the archaic era (except for Mediterranean) Lives with Tethys who symbolizes the feminine component in the sea.Ýt is believed that all rivers and stream came into existence from Oceanos and Tethys.Ýn this mosaic that was found in excavations in Zeugma which is estimated to be the floor of a pool pictures Oceanos and Tethys surrounded by sea creatures.Also Eros figures riding dolphins can be seen in the mosaic.

DAIDALOS and IKAROIS MOSAIC

The gods of Posseidon,presents the King of Crete Minos with a bull.The kings wife Pasiphae falls in love with this bull.She order the palace sculptor to make cow ma quette. A beast with with bull head and human body was born of this coupling the beast was named Minotaur.King Minos would have 7 women 7 men sacrificies collected from all cities under his dominion,and feed them to minotaur who lived in a labyrint.

GALATEIA MOSAIC

Etymologically there are two characters who are associated with milk white color.First one is one of Nreus’s daughters and a mermaid goddess who takes part in some of the Sicilian tegends.The Sicilian Kyklops Polyphemos who head an appearence of a beast was madly in love with Galateia the milk skinned beauty who lived in still seas.

SILENOS MOSAIC

Silenos is the General name given to old Satyroses(the nature daimons that never leave Dionysos’s side)Ýt is also know that the legendary hero who raised Dionysos was also called Silenos.There is many different information on Silenos’s family tree.Silenos is sometimes considered Pan’s or Hermes’s son born from a Nympha,sometimes he is said to be born from the drops of blood Hermes had shed when his sex organ was cut from his body by Ouranus Kronos.

GAIA MOSAIC

This mosaic which was found during the zeugma excavations sin1992 long before Zeugma became a current issue,became the symbol of Zeugma because of the mysterious look she had in her eyes.Wheeeeeeen it could not be identified it got named “Gypsy”because of the women’s resemblance with gypsies.But some sources draw attention to the winein the mosaic and claim that it is GAIA the Goddess of the Earth.Ýn Mythology it is considered that GAIA is the first element allgod’s ancestors have derived from.

THE DRAMA GRUP MOSAIC

There are different comments about this mosaic.Ýt was brougth to light in section B at the Zeugma Antic Ste.The first impression was the three human figures sitting in chairs in front of a platform pictured a drama groupBut researchers disagnea to this and make a note that in drama faces are usually hid behind masks.There is also a pharese at the bottom of the mosaic saying “Zosimos made which indicates the fact thaat it was made by mosaic artist Zoimos of Samsota.

DOLPHIN AND EROS MOSAIC

During the excavations sponsored by Packard Humanities institute, this mosaic was brought to day light and it shows the god of love eros riding on dolphins.

METIOKHOS MOSAIC

A young man Originally from Phrygia. Metiokhos uras in love with a girl called Parthenope who had vowed to remain a virgin. She was in love with him too but she is also wanted to keep her vow.She cut her hair and became an exile. She went to Campania and devoted herself to the God of wine Dyonysos.(Napoli in Italy is named Parthenope in Greek because of this myth).But those who refused physical love was never forgiven by Aphrodite. For this reason she turned her in to the demon Siren with a woman’s head and a birds body.

PARTHONOPE MOSAIC

It is one of the Sirens. Her grave was said to be in Napoli. She jumped into the sea and suiaded with her sisters; the waves threw her corpse to the shore and a monument was built on Napoli shore in her name. In another version of the myth Parthenope was a young girl originally from Phrygia she fell in love with Metiokhos but she just couldn’t bring herself to take an action against her oath Parthenope punished herself and cut her hair and volunterily went to compania as an exile.She there devoted herself to Dyonysos and Aphrodit who got very angry with her turned Parthenope in to a demen called Siren with a birds body and woman’s head.

THE GOD OF EUPHRATES

The god of Euphrates was found pictured on an octagonal pool floor in this mosaic Euphrates can be seen half laying on a couch. River Euphrates pictured flowing out of a jug under his elbow and the land that has met with the water is covered with green plants. Euphrates holds a branch from a tree. It is torso is naked, and there is a tree at his foot. This mosaic was found during the Belkýs/Zeugma Necropol digs in 2000 in a Roman villa pool hallway with the Euphrates River Gods. There are two shellow polls in this hallway.

THE YOUNG RIVER OR EUPHRATES

The young river God,his torso naked is half leaning on a platform on grass. On the upper left corner there is a building Lorth a thiangle front and two courtyard walls. This must be representing a creek(Merzimen) providing water for the Euphrates. This mosaic is on the pool hallway flor.

THE WATER FAIRY

It is pictured in a tectangle frame to the left of Euphrates to the right of Euphrates a water fairy is pictured laying on grass leaning on her elbow. There is a spring flowing from under her elbow. This repsents the siprings providing water to for the creeks that flow in to Euphrates.

THE GOD OF ABUNDANCE DEMETER

The mosaic which the God of earth with the horn of furtility on her left shoulder is shown in a square shellow pool crowned with flowers and ears of wheat right to the west of Gods related to Euphrates. The mosaic artist has created an Equaition of production by first having the water go through the pool where the God of Euphrates are pictured and have it reach the pool where the Goddess of furtility Demeter is,and this way he describes the abundance and furtility.

THE KING OF EUPHRATES ACHELOOS

The abundance and furtility of Euphrates has been used in another composition in Zeugma mosaic. Acheloos the king of Euphrates is shown with the horn of furtility on his head seattering around fruit and nuts. Acheloos has a mustache in the shape of wings. He has flowers in his hair and has two horns of furtility on the upper part of his forehead. Fruits and plums and sunseed flowers are shown in this mosaic all sorrounded by branches and the horn of furtilitiy.

ACRATOS

It was found during the excavations carried out by the Museum of Gaziantep at Zeugma/Belkýs Kelekagzi region. Acratos and Euphrosyne ares shown seated at kline on Acratos isfilling Euphrosyne’s cup out of a liqour jug shaped like a deer’s head. On the left the large lighour container crater takes place. Euphrosyne means joy and good spirits, she is one of the beauties called brightness sparkle and beauty and symbolyzes anytihng thet is nice for sight. She is the doughter of Zeus and Eurynome. Acratos is a God that symbolyzes men who are weak against women.

EROS and SPIRIT (PHYSKE )

When he found Physke Eros , was ready to make this arrogant girl, who brogged of not fall in a love with anyone, fall madly in love with the worstman in the world, but just when he pointed his arrow to shoot at her heart Physke’s beauty devastated him. He fall in love with Physke instead of making her fall in love with someone else.Physke’s only wish was to see the face of this young man who has madly in love with her. But Eros never accepted this.

EUROPA

Europa was the daughter of Agenor, and was beloved by Zeus. Zeus took the form of a beautiful white bull and encountered Europa at the seashore. By appearing to be very tame, he coaxed her to climb onto his back and then swam off with her across the sea to Crete. In Crete, Europa had three sons by Zeus -- Minos, Sarpedon, and Rhadamanthys.

PERSEUS AND ANDROMADE

And so Perseus sought out Medusa's lair, surrounded as it was by the petrified remains of previous visitors, and he found the Gorgon sleeping; Yes, even though he had the good old magic arsenal, Perseus was not so foolhardy as to wake Medusa. And even though her gaze could hardly be expected to turn anyone to stone while her eyes were closed, he used the device provided by Athena to avoid looking at Medusa directly. (This suggests that you could be turned to stone just by gazing at Medusa, though most versions of the myth have it that it was the power of her gaze that counted.)