Shield reliefs on temple pediments of Hellenistic and Roman period in Anatolia

The history of warfare is almost the same age as the human history. War is not merely an attack but also a defense. People started using shields in order to defense themselves and they managed to develop the shield over time thanks to the rapid technological advancements and economic growth. The shield motif, which has been encountered in various types on caves, civil, public and religious buildings, wall paintings, mosaics, ceramics, metal pots, coins, sculpture, grave steles and sarcophagi since the Neolithic period, has an important place in human life both solely and iconographically has been. Rectangular, round, pelta, such as the types of Shields depicted, apart from these, various subtypes are also available. The shield motif, applied in different types in different civilizations, has sometimes become symbolic and has also been influenced by cross-cultural interactions. Notwithstanding, it is also understood that he followed a stylistic development in the historical process, especially on the reliefs. One of the places where the shield motif is processed is the temple pediments. Most of them are located in Anatolia, Pediments of a total of 12 temples belonging to the Hellenistic and Roman periods, in addition to the use of this motif as an ornamental element, it shows that it also has an apotropeic meaning. When examining the settlements of the temples with Shield motif on the pediments, reasons for choosing this motif, it is also possible to reach clues about cultural interactions and historical connections. These settlements remained under the influence of kingdoms of Macedonian origin, such as Seleucids, Antigonus, Ptolemaios in general. Considering the military aspects of the said Kingdoms, it was seen that they applied the shield motif on the temple as well as on many other architectural structures. Key Words: Shield, Pediment, Temple, Anatolia, Macedonian