“Lost Secrets of Love: Stunning 2,300-Year-Old Mosaic of Battling Cupids Unearthed in Türkiye.”
Excavating The Ancient City Of Teos
Kadı/Wikimedia CommonsThe ruins of Teos, Türkiye.
Located on Türkiye’s western coast, the city of Teos was a thriving city that played a key role in the Hellenistic and Roman worlds. Under Roman rule, Teos was renowned for its wine production and thriving theater culture. However, its influence waned by the third century C.E., and it was later abandoned.
No modern buildings were ever built atop the site, so when archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania began excavations in 2021, they found much of Teos well-preserved. The team focused on the bouleuterion, a city council building and the center of democratic decision-making. After five years of excavations, researchers created a detailed timeline for the structure and the renovations that took place there over the centuries.
Teos Archaeological ProjectA stone seating area that was part of the bouleuterion.
The building was likely constructed in the third century B.C.E., and it underwent a major renovation under Roman rule 400 years later. However, the greatest discovery was not the porticos or columns of the bouleuterion but rather two unique mosaics dating back to the structure’s earliest days.
A Cupid Mosaic Reveals The Lost History Of Ancient Greek Artists
While excavating the council building’s deepest layers, archaeologists came across an unexpected artistic masterpiece beneath the dirt: two elaborate mosaics. The mosaics were located in two separate rooms, and one of them features two Cupids engaged in combat. Cupid was associated with Eros, the Greek god of love, who also had ties to the wine god Dionysus — the patron deity of Teos.
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