The acoustic miracle

The city of Aspendos was probably founded around 1000 BC. Founded by Mopsos - a famous seer - in the XNUMXth century BC, it flourished during the Roman period. Byzantine centralism led to the decay of the city and also resulted in the port silting up.

Besides the aqueduct, the main attraction of Aspendos is the theatre, built by the Romans in the 2nd century AD. It is the best preserved and one of the largest of its kind in Asia Minor. It used to offer space for 13.000 to 15.000 visitors. Because of the phenomenal acoustics, concerts and opera festivals have been held there since the mid-90s.

Legend has it that King Antonius Pius of Aspendos announced a contest in which the artist who would do the greatest service to the city would have his daughter in marriage. A lively activity began among all the artists in the city. On the day of the decision, the king inspected each individual work in detail. In the end, two artists remained as groom candidates. The first applicant managed to bring water into the city from miles away via an aqueduct. The second applicant had built the theater. Just as the king was about to shake hands with his daughter's first suitor, he was asked to see the theater again. As he stood on the upper gallery, a strong voice, the source of which could not be determined, rang out and repeated the following phrase over and over again: "The king's daughter should be given to me in marriage." The king looked for the speaker, but could not find him anywhere turn off. It was only after quite a while that he saw the architect of the theater on the stage. The ruler was so impressed by the fantastic acoustics that he married his daughter to the artist.