Immagini nei cassettoni di alcune cornici da Hierapolis di Frigia: evocazioni o fgure stereotipate?

The currently analysed Corinthian cornices belong to the propylon of a long portico along the east side of the North Agora at Hierapolis in Phrygia (Turkey). The propylon was built on the top of a huge staircase, as a three arched entrance, in the middle of the 2nd century AD, as the whole monumental complex. An extensive collection of carved motifs characterizes the cornices, decorating their coffers: flowers, fuits, branches and leaves, animals, kantharoi, and gladiators. It seems conceivable they were not vague decorations, but rather precise patterns in accordance with the functions of the monumental entrance, the portico, and the huge square as well.