About the Double-Axe (Labrys) / Butterfly Symbols in an Offering Pit in Tisna

Türkçe

In this study, double-axe/butterfly depictions in an offering pit discovered during the 2018 archaeological survey at Kocakale Tepe (Tisna) are introduced. The doubleaxe/ butterfly motifs with a total of 10 scraping lines in different sizes were identified in the pit formed on the bedrock made up of white colored tuff. While double-axes have been observed in the Aegean World since the Bronze Age, it is understood to be an important religious symbol. Since the Minoan culture in Crete, it has been used both as a votive object and a sacrifice axe, and is depicted on different religious objects in iconography. Later, it continued its same feature in the Mycenaean culture during the Late Bronze Age. After this intense use in the Aegean World during the Bronze Age, double axes began to appear in iconography again in the Classical period. Double-axes, which are the symbols of Zeus Labraundos, are depicted on the coins of the Hekatomnid dynasty in the Caria Region. According to Plutarch, the double-axe cult came to Caria from the lands of Lydia. It is not possible to make a sharp comment about the Kocakale Tepe offering pit without any excavation in the area and its vicinity. However, it is noteworthy that the stepped monument in Kocakale Tepe, a possible Acropolis Sanctuary in Sarıkale Tepe, and the open-air sanctuary in Karahayıt may be related to the Mother Goddess cult in Tisna. Especially the existence of similar butterfly motifs in Gordion suggests the effect of Phrygian culture. On the other hand, the existence of the Zeus Labraundos cult on the West Anatolian coasts in the Archaic-Classical Periods should not be ignored.