2-368-553 - Samuel Magal/Sites & Photos/Heritage Images

The Tetrapylon at Aphrodisias, Turkey. The Tetrapylon was the monumental gateway which greeted pilgrims when they approached the Temple of Aphrodite. It consisted of four rows of four columns and connected the major street to the sacred way heading towards the sanctuary of Aphrodite. The pediment over the west columns was decorated with relief figures of Eros and Nike hunting among the acanthus leaves. Built near a marble quarry in Anatolia, the city of Aphrodisias was once famed for its famous sculpture school and for being one of the several cities that was dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of love. It was named after Aphrodite in the second century BC, but according to the Suda, before being known as Aphrodisias, it had three previous names: Lelegon Polis, Megale Polis and Ninoë, a name derived from Ninos. Ninos was the mythical founder of the Assyro-Babylonian Empire and the husband of the famous Semiramis. The city was later renamed as Stauropolis in the Cristian Era.