The story of Pessinus

To win its war against Carthage, Rome carried a stone away from here in 204 BC: the black stone of the mother goddess, an idol said to have fallen from the sky and most likely a meteorite. The Romans called it Magna Mater, the Great Mother. Pessinus was one of the most important religious centres of Phrygia and a leading sanctuary of the goddess the Phrygians also called Cybele, the stage for her ceremonies.

The city grew at about 950 metres above sea level in a side valley feeding the Sakarya River, and the village of Ballıhisar now spreads over its ruins. The only area studied in detail by excavation is the temple complex. When Charles Texier found its foundations in 1834, he took it for the famous Temple of Cybele; research showed instead that this Corinthian temple was dedicated to the imperial cult under Tiberius (AD 25–35).

Its basic design module was the 0.76-metre lower column diameter. Look, too, for the monumental theatre right in front of it.