Le « portique de Tibère » à Aphrodisias : Problèmes d'identification et de fonction

Abstract

The great columnated square called Portico of Tiberius, the wings and the central pool of which the archaeological mission of Aphrodisias is still excavating, has been erected from the reign of Tiberius until antonine times. It is a passageway connected with the north Agora, the Hadrians Baths on west side, the flavian basilica and the theatre on south side ; the monumental antonine propylon called Agora Gate closes the complex on the east side. The analysis of the garlands and heads frieze of the tiberian north portico reveals copies of famous statues heads : divinities related to \h&paideia, classical athletes, and as set of hellenistic rulers portraits. That iconographie program reminds us of the sculptural decoration of the Villa dei Papyri great portico (Herculaneum). The portico of Tiberius, with its central pool surrounded by an open-air stadium, and the north wing sheltering a running track, can be identified as a xystos, sporting ground connected with a. palaestra, which has probably been replaced by the Hadrians Baths. Furthermore, an inscription dealing with later transformations in the « Diogenianon gymnasion » (probably related to the rebuilding of the west wing leading to the Hadrians Baths) confirms that the Baths and the Portico of Tiberius must be considered as a functional complex, a late-hellenistic type gymnasium : his original planning fits in closely with the vitruvian regulations.