• 1 Aspordenos was described by Strabo as rocky and barren: Strab. XIII.2.6.
• 2 For Aigai and excavations see Doğer, 2017, p. 325-331; Sezgin, 2017, p. 333-351; Sezgin & Eroğlu, 2 (...)

1Aigai is an Aiolian city founded 13 km inland from the sea, on a mountain called Aspordenos1 in ancient times and Yuntdağı today.2 According to historical written sources, the Aiolians settled in the western shores of Asia Minor at the end of the 2^nd millennium BC. Archaeological excavations and research carried out in Aigai since 2004 show that the city was founded no earlier than the late 8^th - early 7^th centuries BC. In the 260s AD, the Goths advanced along the west coast of Asia Minor and sacked many settlements. The people of Aigai became aware of the impeding Goth thread, blocked the doors of the domestic and public buildings with stone masonry, and abandoned their city. After that date, the city lost its former glory and turned into a small village for nearly nine hundred years, until the 12^th century AD. The last settlement in the city dates to the late 12^th century AD. Limited traces of a late Byzantine fortress-settlement of this period can be seen in different parts of the city. The small Byzantine settlement at Aigai was completely abandoned after the Turkmen attacks around 1300.

• 3 This section is considered to be a prytaneion. For the Prytaneion and the Bouleuterion of Aigai see (...)

2In the mid-2^nd century BC, a bouleuterion was built in Aigai as part of the major building programme of the Hellenistic Period. This building was called the New Bouleuterion to distinguish it from the smaller and older Old Bouleuterion underneath it. The New Bouleuterion was dedicated by Antiphanes, son of Apollonidas, to Zeus Bollaios, Hestia Bollaia, and the Demos. The building measuring 24 × 14 m is located on a sloping land on the main road connecting to the Agora. It has a tripartite and three-storey structure consisting of rooms on the lowest floor, a meeting room (main hall) on the second floor, and a portico on the third floor. Four doors on the façade overlooking the main road provide entrance to the rooms on the lowest floor.3 Each of these entrances is a double-leaf door. Each room consists of a front and a rear room. These rooms have no direct connection with the main hall. Entrance to the main hall is provided by a door on the south on the second-floor level. The portico on the third floor is open to the upper level of the theatron of the main hall and it has a separate door on the south (Fig. 1).

• 4 It is possible to be sure about the ritualistic function of Bothros I and Bothros II because of the (...)

10In the Bouleuterion there are also some bedrock pits. Following the ceremony for the consecration of the building at the beginning of the construction of the New Bouleuterion, the remains related to the ceremony and the offering materials were buried in two separate bedrock pits (bothroi) (Fig. 1). These two bothroi were carved into the bedrock and contain finds dating to the mid-2^nd century BC. One of them (Bothros I) supports a stone pedestal for the statue of Hestia (Sezgin, Gürbüzer, & Başdemir, 2021, pp. 150-152). Bothros II on the other hand is located close to the south wall of the New Bouleuterion (Sezgin, Gürbüzer, & Başdemir, 2021, pp. 149-150). Although Bothros II is inside the New Bouleuterion and the bedrock pit in Room 6 is outside, and although they are not connected, they are very close to each other (1.5 m). Both the bedrock pit in Room 6 and the Bothros II have approximately the same upper levels and their dimensions are both about 120 × 90 cm. All these data suggest the possibility that the bedrock pit in Room 6 and Bothros II were carved together on the same date, at the beginning of the constructions of the New Bouleuterion (mid-2^nd century BC) or probably before.4

• 5 H: 22.4 cm, W: 33.4 cm, mouth diameter: 34 cm, base Diameter: 15 cm. The upper surface of the rim p (...)

11The finds recovered on the walking level of the last stage in the front rooms of the New Bouleuterion belong to the third quarter of the 3^rd century AD. In this respect, the building was used up until that date, even if it lost its identity as a bouleuterion. Also, the group of rooms to the south of the New Bouleuterion was used until the third quarter of the 3^rd century AD. A significant amount of the finds recovered in the bedrock pit in Room 6 belongs to the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries AD. This date is concordant with the last use phase of the rooms in the area. A smaller number of finds from the bedrock pit are dated to the Hellenistic Period. The earliest find is a nearly complete preserved lekane from the 4^th century BC.5

• 6 For Cosa examples see Marabini-Moevs, 2006, p. 59, No. AB22II.9 and AB22II.10, Pl. 27. In Cosa it c (...)
• 7 For Athenian examples see Hayes, 2008, p. 165, no. 466 and 467, Fig.16, Pl. 21. Plates/Platters, Tr (...)
• 8 See Kenrick, 1985, pp. 149-150, Group D, Fig. 27, No. 231.1, between AD 30-79.
• 9 The platter from Aigai was found close to the surface, between the levels 361.90-361.85 m. About 25 (...)

14Immediately south of Room 6 are Rooms 5 and 7 (Fig. 1). Rooms 5 and 7, are connected through a door. These two rooms also yielded important finds in quite well-preserved condition. An Italian Sigillata platter found at a level close to the bedrock in Room 5 has a significant place among the finds from Aigai (Fig. 5). The platter, recovered for the most part, has a diameter of 49 cm. On the exterior of the rim, two gladiators are depicted in fighting position and four floral motifs (palmettes) are modelled in appliqué. Similar examples in form and technique were found in Cosa,6 the Athenian Agora,7 and Berenice.8 The Aigai Platter from the 1^st century AD9 is considered to be a special find due to its good preservation and large size.

• 10 The coins were identified and dated by Mehmet Önder. The coins discovered in Aigai between 2004-201 (...)

16Four coins were also discovered in the same bedrock pit of Room 6 where the plastic vase in the form of an actor was recovered (Fig. 6). Two of the coins (AİG.07.s68 and AİG.07.s69) were found at the upper levels of the pit, at a level of about 361.50 m; the other two (AİG.07.s93 and AİG.07.s94) were found at the bottom of the pit, at a level of 360.84 m. Although these bronze coins are not well preserved, all four have the depiction of the head of Apollo facing right and a countermark on the obverse. Three of the countermarks are filled with a slightly left-facing, standing eagle with open wings and head turned to the right, while the other countermark has a lyra. On all coins, the inscription [ΑΙΓΑΕΩΝ] is found below the head of Apollo, while the reverse shows a standing goat facing right. These coins produced in Aigai are dated to the 3^rd century BC and the first half of the 2^nd century BC.10

• 11 These coins were as well identified and dated by Mehmet Önder.

17Eleven bronze Aigai coins were also found close to the bedrock in rooms 5 and 7. These coins are of the same type as the ones recovered in the bedrock pit of the adjacent Room 6 (head of Apollo facing right and [ΑΙΓΑΕΩΝ] below it on the obverse, standing goat facing right on the reverse) and are dated to the 3^rd century BC and the first half of the 2^nd century BC.11 The total of 15 coins of the same type recovered in the bedrock pit of Room 6, and from Rooms 5 and 7 should be considered as parts of a whole.

• 12 In addition to the complete finds unearthed from the pit, hundreds of ceramic sherds were found. Th (...)
• 13 See Sezgin, Gürbüzer, & Başdemir 2021, pp. 137-140. Bothros III is dated to the end of the 4^th cent (...)
• 14 One of the coins is highly worn (AİG.07.s81). One is an Aigai coin dated between the second half of (...)

24The finds from a bedrock pit uncovered in the southeast corner of Room 7 are also noteworthy (Doğer, Sezgin, & Gürbüzer, 2010, p. 345). This pit is at the southeast end of the channel connecting the pits in Room 6 and Room 12. A large number of complete or nearly complete ceramics were recovered from the pit between the levels 361.60-361.35 m. The finds include numerous cups, miniature hydrias (hydriske), olpe, and bowls,12 all in a complete or nearly complete state (Balaban, 2012). Almost all finds have identical clay and fabric qualities. They give the impression of votive materials because of their not-so-purified clay qualities, their small sizes, and their relatively sloppy workmanship. In terms of both form and clay characteristics, the finds show a close resemblance to the finds from Bothros III associated with the Old Bouleuterion.13 In addition to the ceramic finds, six bronze coins were found inside the pit (AİG.07.s78 - AİG.07.s83).14 The ceramic and coin finds from the bedrock pit in the southeast corner of Room 7 can be dated to the late 4^th and 3^rd century BC. Although we do not have sufficient data to explain the purpose, it is clear that the finds were deliberately deposited in this area. It is known that miniature ceramics of this type were left as offerings in sanctuaries, especially of Demeter-Kore. The finds unearthed in the bedrock pit discovered in the southeast corner of Room 7 can be considered as part of a collective group of finds (context), possibly as offering materials.

• 15 We would like to thank Assoc. Prof. Nezih Aytaçlar for his support and guidance on this matter.

25The earliest contextual finds unearthed in this area south of the Bouleuterion date to the first half of the 6^th century BC. Four cups with distinctive form characteristics were found together in the eastern bedrock pit in Room 5. Two of them are almost completely preserved. The form and decoration features do not allow reliable dating. However, the similarities in form with the flat-bottomed truncated conical cups widely represented in Aigai suggest that they belong to the late 7^th - first half of the 6^th century BC. All examples have graffiti under the base. One has a ligature composed of the letters Eta (H) and Rho (P) (Hera?), while the other two have a careless graffiti similar to an Alpha (A). There is no other known example of this form in the Archaic pottery of Aigai, which is represented by thousands of examples. On the other hand, they are represented with four examples in a single context. In other words, it is possible that this is not a form used in daily life and perhaps they were produced for cult purposes.15

• 16 Transitioning from 2.5YR 7/6 light red to 10R 5/8 red and 2.5YR 3/2 dusky red. The upper body is 2. (...)

28The terracotta plastic vase in the form of an actor from Aigai was found fragmented and was partly restored (Fig. 7, 8). It is made of a purified, non-porous, firm, and high-quality clay ranging in colour from pink to light red (Munsell 2,5YR 8/4 and 7/6 Light Red), containing small amounts of white fine mica and very small amounts of lime. The entire surface is covered with a light red-coloured slip, with brown or orange waves in parts due to firing.16

• 17 Although there is no comprehensive scientific study on this subject, this inference was made empiri (...)

30The ESC group ceramics dated to the 2^nd and the first half of the 3^rd century AD hold an important place among the finds from Aigai. Nearly 90% of the red-slipped Roman ceramics from this period consist of ESC ceramics.17 A special group within the ESC ceramics discovered in various find spots of Aigai, differs from the rest in terms of clay and slip quality (ESC 01 – ESC 05; Fig. 10, 11). The fabric of the examples in this group is purified, non-porous, and high-quality. The fabric may contain, sometimes abundant but usually smaller amounts of fine white mica and very little fine lime inclusions. The clay colour is generally light red (2.5YR 6/6 – 2.5YR 7/6), and sometimes reddish yellow (5YR 7/6). The slip colour is usually red (10R 5/8; 2,5YR 5/8), with a transition from light red (2.5YR 7/6) to dusky red (2.5YR 3/2) in some examples.

• 18 Emel Dereboylu, in her doctoral dissertation on the figurines from Aigai, remarks that the clay exa (...)

31The plastic vase from Aigai shares the same clay and slip qualities with the examples in this ESC group (Fig. 12). In particular, the slip colour and quality on the neck and mouth fragment of a round oinophoros (ESC 01, Fig. 10) is very similar to that of the plastic vase. The common clay qualities of the plastic vase and the ESC ceramics are also observed on a small number of figurines from Aigai.18 This suggests that the clay used for the production of the plastic vase as well as for the other finds that share the same clay characteristics may have been sourced from a less-used clay deposit or, more likely, they may have been produced in a centre other than Aigai. At this point, Pergamon appears to be the strongest candidate.

• 19 For the definition of the “Magenta Ware” group see Higgins, 1976, pp. 1-5. For the debates on the p (...)
• 20 For oinophoroi see Robinson, 1909, pp. 30-38; Hausmann, 1954/55, pp. 125-146; Heimberg, 1976, pp. 2 (...)
• 21 As mentioned above, the similar technical features of the plastic vase from Aigai and the round oin (...)

38Production of plastic vases increased in the Archaic Period when moulds were first used for the production of figurative terracotta. In the Late Classical and Hellenistic periods, most of these vases consisted only of a head-shaped or bust-shaped body, a long neck, a rounded mouth, and a flat and long single handle. This type of head/bust-shaped vase is called a “head vase”. The development of plastic vases in the Hellenistic Period can be best traced to the “Magenta Ware” from the region of Campania in Italy. However, the recent discoveries of various centres producing this type of vase have led to debates on the origins, production centres, and chronology.19 In her study on the production of figurative ceramics in Asia Minor during the Roman Imperial Period, U. Mandel tries to define how the “head vase” type was transferred from the Hellenistic Period to the Roman Period (Mandel, 1988, pp. 199-206). According to Mandel, the tradition of Hellenistic plastic vase production, dominated by the “head vase” type, was interrupted at the beginning of the Roman Imperial Period and revived in different forms in some centres of the Mediterranean as of the 2^nd century AD: In Athens, the production of “head vase”, which continued until Late Antiquity, was supplemented in the 3^rd century AD by the tradition of figurative plastic lamp production which used the same themes (Mandel, 1988, p. 205; Grandjouan, 1961, pp. 32-41, Pl. 24-31). In North Africa, Alexandria and Tunisia/Navigius continued the production of plastic lamps and relief ware alongside plastic vases from the 2^nd century AD until the end of Late Antiquity (Mandel, 1988, p. 205; Salomonson, 1969, pp. 4-109). The workshops of Asia Minor and the Black Sea continued to produce Hellenistic plastic vase forms in the Roman Period. In addition, a new “head vase” type with a low, wide mouth and two handles, close to the kantharos form, was developed (Mandel, 1988, 205). From the end of the 2^nd century AD, the oinophoroi with an elongated or flask-shaped body, short neck, and a pair of handles placed on both sides of the neck began to dominate the Late Antique figurative ceramics in the Mediterranean.20 As Mandel notes, oinophoroi or similar relief vases and plastic vases were produced together in the same workshops21 (Mandel 1988, p. 206).

• 22 For these two plastic vases see Webster, Green, & Seeberg 1995, vol. 1, No: 3NV4, 3 NV9, Pl. 33-34, (...)

40The plastic vase from Aigai, which can be considered within the plastic vase production tradition summarised above, is a unique example since the actor is depicted up to the hip level. At Pergamon, the closest workshop in Asia Minor which makes this type of production, plastic vases mostly consist of variations of the “head vase” form (Mandel, 1988, pp. 25, 228-229, Pl. 20-22). Among the published material from Pergamon, no example of this size depicting the head and body of a figure as in Aigai is found. At Knidos, another important workshop producing plastic vases in Roman Imperial Period, only a small number of head vases have been unearthed, except for lagynoi with plastic human head-shaped figures on the neck and relief figures on the bodies and numerous animal-shaped askoi (Bailey, 1972/73, pp. 11-25; Mandel, 1988, pp. 115-120, Pl. 29-30). There is no example from Knidos with a body form similar to that of Aigai. Although not closely parallel in form to the vase from Aigai, two Egyptian plastic vases depicting the head and torsos of actors as a whole, are important examples of the use of this iconography in plastic vase forms.22 The Egyptian finds are quite small: they were produced as figurines and turned into plastic vases by adding a mouth to the upper part. Unlike these two examples dated to the 1^st century BC - 1^st century AD and belonging to the “Magenta Ware” group, the size and design with a reservoir of the Aigai example indicates that it was produced directly in the form of a plastic vase.

• 23 Hayes has evaluated this fragment under the “Eastern (?) Aegean, “Attiko” Group. He has also stated (...)

41In the Aigai vase, the large reservoir at the bottom of the figured body is also remarkable. This type of reservoir is not a common element in Hellenistic and Roman plastic vase designs. A fragment of a flat base close in diameter to the example of Aigai and with a similar thin groove on the outer surface was found in the 2^nd century AD context of the Athenian Agora (Hayes, 2008, p. 113, 281, No. 1721, Fig. 54, Pl. 8623). However, since the body of the base from the Athenian Agora was not preserved, it is not clear what kind of vase form it belongs to.

• 24 Mandel states that this neck-mouth-handle form derives from the Early Hellenistic Period lagynoi: M (...)
• 25 For Black glazed lagynoi see, p. 296, No. 494-495, Fig. 37, Pl. 49; For West Slope oinochoai see, p (...)

42The plastic vase from Aigai indicates the continuation of a tradition dating back to the Hellenistic Period, with its long neck, the rounded rim decorated with grooves, and the flat, grooved single handle positioned on the back (Fig. 7, 8). This neck-mouth-handle combination is seen on almost all plastic vases of the Hellenistic Period and continued to be used in the Roman Period with some minor changes (Mandel, 1988, pp. 25, 228-229, Pl. 20-22; Bailey, 1972/73, pp. 11-2524). This neck-mouth-handle combination of the vase from Aigai indicates that it was not produced in the tradition of the Late Antique oinophoros with double handles and short neck, but rather within the tradition which still uses the classical forms of the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods. Small round pellets or knobs are placed below the rim, at the point where the handle meets the neck (Fig. 7, 8). These may be regarded as reflections or imitations of handle rivets seen on metalware. Attic West Slope oinochoe and black-glazed lagynoi produced in the Hellenistic Period show pellets or knots at the point where the handles are attached to the neck (Rotroff, 199725).

• 26 In many types of masks, a special design was made to ensure that the actor’s voice would clearly re (...)
• 27 Figurines of actors with the same arm position, holding the mask with one hand or supporting it fro (...)
• 28 It can be clearly seen on some figurines that this protrusion is not a pouch/sack but a collection (...)

44The figure is an actor who portrays the slave type in comedy plays. He has an exaggerated facial expression, as often seen in the masks carried by slave characters. The undetailed mass of the hair is formed in a rolled arrangement called speira on the forehead. The ends of the hair extending to the chin are slightly jutting. The eyebrows are shaped as an exaggerated arc and the deep wrinkles on the forehead are prominent. The large eyes with raised edges are wide open. Both pupils are stamped with a circular tool. The nose is wide and flattened, the rounded tip of the nose is slightly upturned, and the cheekbones are protruding. The semi-circular beard with edges slightly raised towards the cheekbones surrounds the mouth. This beard and the mouth opening in the centre of it, form the “trumpet mouth” shape often seen on masks of this type.26 The back of the head is flat and undetailed except for the contours of the hair mass. The torso ends at the hips. Depiction of the torso is frontal. The actor is dressed in a short-sleeved tunic below a himation wrapped around the body. The right arm is bent at the elbow and the right hand is placed at chin level, under the ear. As is the case in some actor figurines of this type the right hand supports the mask worn on his face from below.27 The left arm is also bent at the elbow and is placed on the inner side of the right elbow. Right below the left armpit, the excess fabric of the outer garment forms a round bulge in the form of a pouch.28 Just behind the left shoulder, a large piece of fabric belonging to the upper garment falls straight downwards until the waistline.

• 29 According to many scholars, this Hellenistic source is Aristophanes of Byzantium who lived in the 3(...)
• 30 For the classification of theatrical characters in the Onomastikon of Pollux see Webster, Green, & (...)

45Numerous studies have been made on theatre-related figures, which have been frequently preferred in ancient iconography since the Classical Period. In almost all these studies, the characters in theatre plays and the masks used by the actors who portrayed them are defined based on the classification introduced by the 2^nd century AD linguist and rhetorician Julius Pollux in his Onomasticon (IV, 133-154). In this work, which is thought to have been created by Pollux with the help of a Hellenistic source29, the characters of tragedy, satyr play, and comedy are defined and classified one by one based on masks and sometimes costumes.30

• 31 For the definition of slave characters see Bieber, 1961, pp. 102-106.
• 32 Pollux describes these characters as follows: “The Leading Slave has a roll of red hair, has his ey (...)

47The actor depicted on the body of the plastic terracotta vase from Aigai is identified as a slave character due to his short-sleeved garment, beard, and exaggerated facial expression31 (Fig 7, 8, 9). With its massive hair down to the chin, raised eyebrow arches, wide-open eyes, and an angry and mocking mouth shape, the figure portrays a “hegemon therapon” or “leading slave” among the seven slave types identified by Pollux.32 Webster states that this character and the mask it wears evolved from the slave type of the Middle Comedy and was adapted to the New Comedy with some visual changes (Webster, 1949, p. 112). In the Middle Comedy, the “leading slave” is not as prominent as it is in the New Comedy, therefore it has a more subdued appearance: the hair is more unkempt, the face is calmer, even sad. In New Comedy, on the other hand, the hair becomes massively shaped, and the face gains a livelier expression (Webster, Green, & Seeberg 1995, vol. 1, p. 27).

• 33 For the character of the “clever slave” in comedy plays see Quinn, 2015, pp. 14-19.
• 34 Plautus, the famous playwright of Latin comedy, is the first to adapt the Clever slave character fr (...)
• 35 For iconography related to the Dionysiac world and theatre in Late Antiquity see Bowersock, 1990, p (...)

48Compared to the Middle Comedy, the New Comedy plays the weight of the role of the slave character and consequently its popularity increased. The slave type used for the Aigai plastic vase, depicted with a hand placed under his chin and a lively and sarcastic expression points to the cunning and scheming “clever slave” character often portrayed in plays. Throughout the Hellenistic Period, however, the clever slave is still a character of only moderate importance, merely narrating the plot.33 In the Roman Period, despite regional differences, in the plays developed through the interaction of the New Comedy with the Latin comedy, influenced by the ancient folk arts of Italy, the clever slave character begins to appear in the centre of the plot and becomes one of the main elements.34 The slave figure, together with other figures related to the theatre and the Dionysiac world, was frequently preferred in visual material, with some iconographic and stylistic changes, until the end of Antiquity.35

• 36 For Hellenistic and Roman figurine examples with this type of eye design see Burr-Thompson, 1963, p (...)
• 37 For Hellenistic and Roman head vases with this type of eye design see Bailey, 2008, p. 37, No: 3080 (...)

53Another interesting feature of the actor depicted on the plastic vase from Aigai is the circular stamped pupils (Fig. 9) This technique, which creates a three-dimensional appearance enhancing the lively facial expression of the actor, was first used on ethnic figurines and grotesques in the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods.36 It was also frequently preferred on plastic vases, especially on “head vases”.37

• 38 Originating from Dionysiac rituals, theatre plays have been performed in Dionysiac festivals in alm (...)
• 39 The most detailed evidence for the use of groups of objects with Dionysiac and theatrical figures c (...)
• 40 For Dionysos and theatre-related figurines from domestic contexts in different centres of the Helle (...)
• 41 Based on scenes on some decorative elements such as wall paintings and mosaics it is thought that e (...)
• 42 See above Footnote 35w.

55Since the Classical Period, theatre-related iconography has been frequently used in various decorative elements such as vase paintings, statuettes of varying materials, wall paintings, and mosaics. Although theatre-related figures are mostly considered within the framework of Dionysiac cult practices,38 contexts in which they were preferred as grave goods have also been revealed.39 During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, find groups with depictions of this type of figures were also present in domestic contexts.40 While Dionysiac figures, such as Dionysos, satyrs, and maenads, or actor figures and masks depicting characters of tragedy or various comedy genres unearthed in houses are mostly associated with domestic cults, there are cases, especially in the Roman Period, where they were used as decorative themes.41 With the spread of Christianity in Late Antiquity, Dionysos lost his role in the belief system, however, the Dionysiac theme continued to be used as a nostalgic decorative element.42