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The gate with
three passage ways at the right of the
Celsus
Library was built in 40 A.D by the slaves Mazeus
and Mythridates for their emperor, Augustus, who
gave them their freedom.
The passages are
vaulted, the front side of the vault facing the
Celsus Library is made of black marble, while
the other side is white. A Latin inscription
with inlaid letters made of bronze is still
visible on one side of the structure. Part of
the inscription states: "From the Emperor Caesar
Augustus, the son of the god, the greatest of
the priests, who was consul twelve and tribune
twenty times; and the wife of August Livia; the
son of Lucus, Marc Agrippa who was consul three
times, Emperor, and tribune six times; and the
daughter of Julio Caesar Augustus, Mazeus and
Mythridates to their master and the people."
The small area
in front of the gate was used as an auditorium.
The steps around the gate, in front of the
library and the round pedestal were used as
seats. In Byzantine Period, the walls in the
small area were built when the city walls were
reduced in length. |
