The Celsus Library
Situated in the center of the city, in the area immediately adjacent to the agora, the Library was ordered built by T. Julius Aq-uila, consul in 110 A.D., in honor of his father Celsus Polemeanus, a consul in the year 92 A.D. and proconsul of Asia. Celsus himself was buried in a garland sarcophagus situated in a burial chamber created underneath the building's basement, which thus also served as a Heroon, a truly unique feature in the classical world, which normally shunned burials in urban areas. Only in exceptional cases was it permitted for particularly meritorious citizens to be buried inside public buildings. In addition to the library, Julius Aquila also left a bequest of 25,000 denarii, of which 8°/o was to be used both for the purchase of books and for the coronation of the statues and the sacred ceremonies connected with the cult of the dead.
