The “Phrygian Period”

The region of Phrygia is supposed to have been occupied by the ancient Hittite kingdom. Gordion witnesses human remains dating as far back as the 17th century bc. According to Herodotus and Homer, the Phrygians migrated from Thrace, settling and consolidating in west-central Anatolia during the 12th–10th centuries bc (the “Early Phrygian” period), after the Hittite Empire declined (Prayon, Phrygische Plastik).

The Phrygian state flourished in the ninth through mid-sixth centuries (the “Middle Phrygian” Period), dominating most of the continental Anatolian. Its people are likely identical with the Mushkians, who were active in the late eighth century bc and known from Assyrian sources. Textiles are thought to have been a major part of Phrygian economy (Burke, “Textile Production,” 69–81). The most famous Phrygian king, Midas, was active in the late eighth—early seventh centuries bc.

The capital of Phrygia was at Gordion which, according to Greek and Assyrian sources, was destroyed in circa 700 bc by Cimmerian invaders from the North, culminating with the suicide death of Midas. Results of recent Carbon 14 testing, however, push the destruction of Gordion (and thus the emergence of the Phrygian state) back into the ninth century bc (Prayon, Phrygische Plastik). Phrygian settlement in the 10th century bc is supported by pottery remains. Two spectacular burial mounds (tumuli)—one thought to commemorate Midas’ father—attest to the city’s wealth in the eighth and seventh centuries. Cremation seems to have been the primary burial practice.

Midas City, located in the Phrygian highlands, was another significant Iron Age site. Of the many the highland fortresses (kales) built up during the early Phrygian period, it was the largest and most important. This is also the site of the Midas Monument. Other archaeological remains suggest that the city was built up during the Lydian period, and was very prosperous, likely due to local gold mines (Haspels, Highlands, 141–43).

From a military standpoint, the highlands were a crucial strategic point, lying on the northwest border of the central Anatolian plateau, with natural geological barriers. During a time of peace, as in the Persian occupation, however, the area simply seems to have been “inconvenient.” As a result, inhabitants settled elsewhere on flatter terrain (Haspels, Highlands, 144–45).

From the Phrygian period, 112 rock-cut religious monuments have been discovered so far, including façades, niches, step monuments, and idols. Most monuments were found in the highlands (likely due to the local abundance of soft volcanic tuff). The earliest monuments date back to the Early Phrygian period. Of the idols, the only deity so far to be identified is the Mother Goddess, Matar, whose cult seems to have been widespread throughout ancient Anatolia, and is now widely believed to have been imported to Rome, where she became honored as Cybele. Ancient Phrygian religion may have also had a male “Superior” deity who later became “syncretized with Zeus” (Berndt-Ersöz, Rock-Cut Shrines, 209; compare Mitchell, Anatolia, 2:25).

During the seventh—sixth century, Lydia controlled the region, with its capital at Sardis. The cities of the Phrygian/Lydian state were famously wealthy, and—judging by preliminary comparisons of art and architecture—quite “cosmopolitan” (see Glendinning, “Decorated Roof,” 82–100). The Lydian King Croesus fell at the hands of Cyrus the Great in the mid-sixth century, and Phrygia became Persian territory until the time of Alexander (the “Late Phrygian” period). Little is known about the region’s history until the time of Greek conquest, though it seems to have been largely peaceful.