Anatolian Cultural Heritage: Ancient Stadiums Related to Sport or Physical Culture?

Abstract

Anatolia has hosted many civilizations and has made great contributions to the history of humanity in scientific, social and cultural terms. Two of the most important cultures that make up this cultural heritage in Anatolia are Hellenic and Roman culture. The material and intangible cultural heritage of this turnover is still alive in Anatolia, which is home to the Hellenistic and Roman cultures. In our work, we have studied material cultural heritage, stadiums of Hellenistic and Roman culture. The aim of these stadiums is to assess the architecture, culture, lifestyles, social rules of different periods on a case appealing to large communities such as sports. This study, which deals with the effects of the legacies left by the civilizations that lived in the Anatolian geography in the historical perspective of the sport, also aims at shedding light on the sportive activities made at that time at the same time. The stadiums studied in the study include Didyma, Ephesos, Magnesia, Miletus, Priene, Smyrna, Aphrodisias, Labranda, Blaundos, Nysa, Sardeis, Arykanda, Kadyanda, Letoon, Pergamon, Aspendos, Sillyon, Perge, Aizanoi, Laodikeia, Selge are stadiums located in the ancient cities.