The agon as well as all related agonistic behaviour was an indispensable cornerstone of Greek society. Agones took the architectural shapes of gymnasia, stadia, odeia or – as a particular form in the provinces of Asia Minor – of the so-called »Kaisersaal« (“Imperial Hall”) during the Roman Imperial period and thus in the era of the Second Sophistic. The architecture and decorative furnishings of the »Kaisersäle« referred to Greek cultural history in relation to the new rulers, presenting the Roman emperors as the spiritual and political centre of the new (Greek) world.

In addition to this presumed main purpose the building, e.g., at Side may have been used as a banquet hall, which illustrates the significance of the symposium during the Sacred Crown Games, which were celebrated in honour of a deity such as Apollo or Dionysos, but also in honour of the Roman emperor as an important element of the imperial cult in the provinces of Asia Minor. At the same time, the »Kaisersaal« at Side being a part of the palaestra area in the Bath-Gymnasium complex also functioned as a stage for rhetorical competitions as an expression of the Hellenic paideia.

My paper will analyse the architecture, layout and decoration of the »Kaisersaal« at Side conceived of as a representational space, a “lived space” according to Henri Lefebvre (1974). In the case of Side, with its various agones, the »Kaisersaal« in connection with the gymnasion was rooted in the activities of many of Side's citizens – something that can also be observed in numerous other cities of Asia Minor. The ideal sculptures of deities, athletes, philosophers and ephebes were presented in the same architectural context as the portrait statues of the Roman emperors, members of the imperial family as well as representatives of the local city elite, thus creating an ideal image of the Hellenic past and (Roman) present. Thus, the »Kaisersaal« can also be understood as a “conceived space”, a representation of space – linking the architecture to the wider socio-political and -cultural ideas prevalent in the 2nd century AD in Asia Minor. The concept of »Kaisersaal« is not only a purely architectural space, but rather an illusionary space and symbol of “Greekness”, appropriated above all by Roman imperialism and the local city elites. Through the exhibition of Roman copies of sculptural masterpieces from the Classical and Hellenistic period, the various »Kaisersäle« of Asia Minor can be seen as a reminiscence of “Greekness” and at the same time as an attempt to revive this culture that was thought to be lost.