Zeus Panel

Zeus Panel

An older bearded god, probably Zeus, sits on a throne.  He held a scepter, and there was probably another figure in front of him.  The relief occupied the center position in the short east end of the south building.  It was placed beneath a relief of Aphrodite.  Zeus and Aphrodite were the most important deities worshipped at Aphrodisias.  (from the description of the panel in the Museum of Aphrodisias).

The reconstruction of the Sebasteion places this panel on the left side of the middle story.


The Sebasteion was a complex of structures that served as a municipal imperial cult sanctuary.  It was dedicated to Aphrodite, the main deity of Aphrodisias, and to the "gods Sebastoi"—that is to the "August Ones," namely Julius Caesar and his successors.  Local elite persons built it to solidify their ties with Rome.  Its construction began during the reign of Tiberius and continued into the reign of Nero.