Hercules Congratulating Antiochus
Arsemia ’22
Arsemia is located just at the foot of Mt. Nemrut and served as one of Commagene's royal capitals. It is on a steep hill and very defensible, but aside from that and the proximity to the holy site (and royal burial ground) of Nemrut it has few obvious benefits. The "city" is really more of an elite fortress, isolated from the surrounding society and artificially kept alive to enhance the stature of the monarchy. The more practical capital was Samosata (now underwater) which was also a strong defensive position capable of holding off Mark Antony's army. The layout of the "city" is rather unclear for visitors, but there are a number of surviving relics, including several statues commemorating Antiochus' friendships with numerous (mainly Greek) gods and several underground passageways.
This sculpture here is a duplicate of one found at this site and depicts Antiochus shaking hands with Heracles/Artagnes/Ares. It provides a good example of the fusion of Persian/Greek culture that defined the kingdom.
Hercules Congratulating Antiochus
Arsemia ’22
Arsemia is located just at the foot of Mt. Nemrut and served as one of Commagene's royal capitals. It is on a steep hill and very defensible, but aside from that and the proximity to the holy site (and royal burial ground) of Nemrut it has few obvious benefits. The "city" is really more of an elite fortress, isolated from the surrounding society and artificially kept alive to enhance the stature of the monarchy. The more practical capital was Samosata (now underwater) which was also a strong defensive position capable of holding off Mark Antony's army. The layout of the "city" is rather unclear for visitors, but there are a number of surviving relics, including several statues commemorating Antiochus' friendships with numerous (mainly Greek) gods and several underground passageways.
This sculpture here is a duplicate of one found at this site and depicts Antiochus shaking hands with Heracles/Artagnes/Ares. It provides a good example of the fusion of Persian/Greek culture that defined the kingdom.