The Myth of Hellenization: The Early to Middle Hellenistic Period (ca. 300–150 BCE) in Sagalassos and Pisidia (Southwest Anatolia)

The spread of Hellenic ideas, practices, and material culture has long been considered a major factor in the urbanization of Hellenistic Anatolia. While this assertion has been criticized and nuanced in recent decades, the importance of Hellenization in the urbanization of some regions remains an ongoing discussion. An example is Pisidia (southwest Anatolia), including the ancient city of Sagalassos. Mainly on the basis of architectural evidence, the Hellenization of Sagalassos began in the late third–early second century BCE. By the late second–early first century BCE, the process had resulted in a Greek-type polis comparable to those along the southern and western coasts of Anatolia. This article aims to reassess the Hellenization model of Sagalassos by comparing the stylistic architectural cross-dating underpinning its theoretical and methodological framework with recent stratigraphic datasets of Late Achaemenid and Early and Middle Hellenistic Sagalassos. Through this exercise, we look into the implications of this reassessment for the urbanization of Sagalassos and its potential impact on our understanding of Hellenistic Pisidia.1