Eastern Terrace

Entry to the sacred site is from steps carved in the bedrock. Here there are 10-meter high statues, sitting on their thrones facing the sun, galleries on both sides and the atlar.

Gods sit in a row on their Stone block thrones. There are other statues on both ends of the row. One is the protective lion that represents the dominance of the Commagene Kingdom over the earth, and the other is a protective eagle representing the dominance of the Kingdom over the sky. The eagle is also the symbol of Zeus, the principal god of the Grek Pantheon. King Antiochus has his seat next to those of the gods.

Right across the thrones there is a square, stepped atlar made of stone block. Guarded by a sitting lion, the atlar served as a place where fire was set and what gods deserved was given as present.

In the ancient Commagene culture the lion is the ruler of the earth and the protector and symbol of the country.

The eagle is the symbol and the holy creature of the Commagene Kingdom and the messenger of gods that represents heavenly power.

King Antiochus I was a Macedonian by his mother’s line and a Persian by his father’s. He established this sacred site with the statues of mighty gods as well as his own in order to form a synthesis of the two civilisations represented, respectively, by his mother and father. His motive for having his own statue as well was to have his after-death destiny as bright as those of gods who represent eternal power.

 Sitting next to gods, Antiochus I believes, woluld make his prayers beter heard by them. Right next to his, there is the throne of Commagene Tyche, the goddess of fertility to whom Antiochus attributes every event he mentions in his inscription. This particular goddess known as “Fortuna” in Latin enjoyed a status that overshadowmany other gods and goddesses especially during the Hellenistic Era. She is one of the daughters of Oceanus and known as the goddess of fortune or destiny. Pomegranates and grapes over her head and other fruits in her arms symbolise fertility.

As to Zeus-Oromasdes, the youngest of the six children of Kronos and Rhea, he is the arch-god. All natural powers of the sky find their representation in Zeus. In other words, light, sunshine, cloudes, thunder and lightning are all under the rule of Zeus. He appears in two identities, each representing either nature-related or human charachteristics of the god. As such, Zeus is referred to as the “son of Kronos” or the “one from Olympus”. He had his throne on Olympus as the head of all gods. After receiving a sceptre worked by his son Hephastos, the ironsmith, he ruled as the father of all gods and human beings. The authority to rule rests with anyone who is given the sceptre by Zeus. It was therefore believed that all kings descended from and were trained by Zeus. The eagle is the holy bird that was given the mission of conveying messages to mankind from Zeus.

Apollo was born to Leto, the daughter of Titani who married Zeus. Apollo symbolises enlightened, calm and fine-tuned power or the ability to see the nature by being light, to seek existence by reasoning and then to develop this existence by rational methots.

Since Apollo was known as “Lykegenes” (from Lycia) in some places, it is possible to infer that he was actually from Anatolia. In fact, his birthplace was Patara, a part of Lycia at the Mediterranean coast of Anatolia. His temples, however, were then spread to Greece and other places by means of the Aegean islands. There are many legends in circulation, mostly designed to have the honour of servinh as a cradle where Apolla was raised. To stress the essence  of this god, he was also called Phoibos Apollo. The word Phoibos denotes what is clear and bright, thus signifies the illuminating  existence of a god. As such, he is the god that inspires perception, melody, verse, dance and many other artistic motives. Mankind was able to win the war between light and darkness with his reasoning and artistic drives. Apollo was an Anatolian god Lycia to Mount Nemrut.

Heracles (Hercules) is the son of Zeus born to Alkmene, a mortal. He symbolises the aggressive, resistant and unconquerable power of mankind to outer forces. What Hercules does is always for the god of humanity; he serves mankind by fighting  calamities and disasters generated by nature. Since Hera, the wife of Zeus, has hatred for Hercules who was born to her husband by another woman, she never gives up tracing him. It is this hatred of Hera that assigned many insurmountable tasks to Hercules.

Hercules displays his first act of heroism at 18 by killing the lion of Kathairon with the rod (Keule) he had in his hand of shown by the statue in the eastern terrace. Following many such actions of confrontation with that Hera plotted againest him, Hercules was informed by Pythia, the fortune-teller of Apollo that he would be immortal after serving Eurystheus succesfully for 12 years. So Hercules undertakes 12 tremendous tasks one after another and comes out of each only with his muscular strenght and his rod. The 12 tasks of Hercules are as follows: Killing of the lion of Nemea, dragon of Lerna and birds of Stympholos;  catching the boar of Erymanthos, deer of Kyreneia and bull of Crete; fetching the herds of Geryoneus, the golden apple and the dog of Cerberus; cleaning the stables of Aguilhas and taming the  the horses of Diomedes. As a symbol of the synthesis of physical and moral strength, Hercules was worshipped both as a hero and god.

Behind the thrones of gods, there is 273-line inscription in Grek giving the testament (Nomos) of king Antiochus Ι. As a king of full faithi Antiochus mentions here in this testament of religious and social content how he could surmount difficulties and seemingly hopeless situations and lived happily thanks to his faith. He says that he had these statues constructed  and erected to make the site a common home of all gods and share their mighty power as a ypung and mortal ruler. He further adds that the site should be used for heavenly sacrifices and celebrations of such occasions as his birthday (16th da of month Audnaios) and his coranation (10th day of month Loos). Antiochus wishes his testament to be followed by all to show faith since what comes from lack of faith would be nothing but disaster and misery. Antiochus finally orders that all guests should be able to visit this place during celebrations and ceremonies and eat and drink as much as they wish without having any disturbance that they are watched by their hosts.

King Antiochus offered his special protection to musicians performing during ceremonies. He also spared land to be used for religious ceremonies and strictly forbade to use of such land for other purposes. In his testament, he ordered his people to have respect for gods and their ancestors and wished the blessings of all gods in Persia, Macedonia and Commagene to all those who have this faith and respect. Antiochus closed his testament by saying that his prayers would be for his successors as long as they maintained what he had established and wished disaster and ill fate for others who didn’t.

Sunrise at watched in the eastern terrace of the site displays unique and magnificent sceneries and deeply impresses visitors. The best season for wathing the sunrise is between April and October.