Listed 16 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "LYKIA Ancient country TURKEY" .
LYKIA (Ancient country) TURKEY
ARAXA (Ancient city) LYKIA
Araxa (Araxa: Eth. Araxeus), a city of Lycia, according to Alexander
Polyhistor, in the second book of his Lysiaca. (Steph. s. v. Araxa.) Ptolemy places
it near Sidyma. A rare coin, with the epigraph Lukion Apa., is attributed to this
place by Sestini.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ARSADA (Ancient city) LYKIA
Arsada or Arsadus, a town of Lycia, not mentioned, so far as appears,
by any ancient writer. The modern site appears to be Arsa, a small village overlooking
the valley of the Xanthus. (Spratt's Lycia, vol. i. p. 293.) There are rock tombs,
on two of which Lycian inscriptions were observed. There are several Greek inscriptions;
in two of them mention is made of the name of the place. One inscription is given
in Spratt's Lycia (vol. ii. p. 291), from which it appears that the ancient name
was not Arsa, as it is assumed in the work referred to, but Arsadus, or Arsada
(like Arycanda), as the Ethnic name, which occurs twice in the inscription, shows
(Arsadeon ho demos, and Arsadea, in the accusative singular.) The real name is
not certain, because the name of a place cannot always be deduced with certainty
from the Ethnic name. The inscription is on a sarcophagus, and records that the
Demus honoured a certain person with a gold crown and a bronze statue for certain
services to the community. The inscription shows that there was a temple of Apollo
at this place.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
KARMILISSOS (Ancient city) LYKIA
Carmylessus (Karmulessos), a town of Lycia, placed by Strabo (p. 665)
between Telmissus and the mouth of the Xanthus. After Telmissus he says, then
Anticragus, an abrupt mountain on which is the small place Carmylessus, lying
in a ravine. The site is unknown. (Fellows, Lycia, p. 247; Leake, Asia Minor,
p. 182.)
LYKIA (Ancient country) TURKEY
Lycia (Lukia: Eth. Lukios), a country on the south coast of Asia Minor,
forming part of the region now called Tekeh. It is bounded on the west by Caria,
on the north by Phrygia and Pisidia, and on the north-east by Pamphylia, while
the whole of the south is washed by the part of the Mediterranean called the Lycian
sea. The western frontier is formed by the river Glaucus and Mount Daedala (Strab.
xiv. p. 664), the northern by the range of Mount Taurus, and the eastern one by
Mount Climax. The whole extent of the country, from east to west, amounts, according
to Strabo, to 1720 stadia; this measurement, however, must have been made along
the line of coast, for a straight line from east to west does not amount to more
than one-half that distance. Its extent from the sea to the northern boundary
is different in the different parts, but is everywhere smaller than that from
east to west. Until very recently, Lycia, with its rich remains of antiquity,
was almost a terra incognita,--having never been visited by European travellers,
until Sir Charles Fellows, in 1838, and a second time in 1840, travelled the country;
since which time it has been explored and described by several other men of learning
and science, whose works will be noticed below.
1. Name of the Country. The name Lycia and Lycians is perfectly familiar
to Homer, and the poet appears to have been better acquainted with Lycia than
with some other parts of Asia Minor, for he knew the river Xanthus and Cape Chimaera.
(Il. vi. 171, &c., x. 430, xii. 312, &c., Od. v. 282, and elsewhere.) But, according
to Herodotus (i. 173), the ancient name of the country had been Milyas (he Miluas),
and that of the inhabitants Solymi (Solumoi), and Tremilae or Termilae (Tremilai
or Termilai). These latter are said to have been conquered, and expelled from
the coast districts by Sarpedon, the brother of Minos, who, with a band of Cretans,
invaded the country and conquered it, but without changing either its name or
that of the people. But in his reign, Lycus, the son of Pandion, being driven
by his brother Aegeus from Attica, found a place of refuge in Milyas, the kingdom
of Sarpedon, who now changed the name of his dominion into Lycia, to honour his
friend Lycus. (Comp. Strab. xiv. p. 667; and Steph. B. s. v. Tremile, who states,
on the authority of the historian Alexander, that Bellerophontes changed the name
of Tremilae into that of Lycians.) In later times the name Milyas still existed,
but was confined to the northern. and more mountainous parts of the country, into
which the original inhabitants of the country had been driven by the conquerors,
and where they were known under the name of the Milyae. Strabo, in his desire
to look upon Homer as an infallible authority in historical and geographical matters,
is inclined to disbelieve the tradition related by Herodotus, as irreconcilable
with the poet, who, he conceives, meant by the Solymi no other people than that
which in later times bore the name of Milyae. Whatever we may think of the cause
of the change of name from Milyas to Lycia, it is probable that it must have originated
in the conquest of the country by foreigners, and that this conquest belongs to
an earlier date than the composition of the Homeric poems. But although the inhabitants
of the country had changed their own name, they continued as late as the time
of Herodotus to be called Termilae by their neighbours.
2. Physical Character of the Country. All Lycia is a mountainous country,--the
range of Mount Taurus in the north sending forth numerous branches to the south,
which generally slope down as they approach the sea, and terminate in promontories.
The principal of these branches are, mounts Daedala, Cragus, Massicytes (rising
in some parts to a height of 10,000 feet), and Climax. But, notwithstanding its
mountainous character, Lycia was by no means an unfertile country, for it produced
wine, corn, and all the other fruits of Asia Minor; its cedars, firs, and plane
trees, were particularly celebrated. (Plin. H. N. xii. 5.) Among the products
peculiar to it, we may mention a particularly soft kind of sponge found near Antiphellus,
and a species of chalk, which possessed medicinal properties. Lycia also contained
springs of naphtha, which attest its volcanic character; of which other proofs
also are mentioned, for, not far from the rock called Deliktash, there is a perpetual
fire issuing from the ground, which is supposed to have given rise to the story
of the Chimaera, but is in reality nothing but a stream of inflammable gas issuing
from the crevices of the rocks, as is the case in several parts of the Apennines.
Most of the rivers of Lycia flow in a southern direction, and the most important
of them are the Xanthus in the west, and the Limyrus or Aricandus, in the east.
It also has two considerable lakes; one, now called Avlan Gule, is formed by the
confluence of several rivers, another, in the more northern part, situated in
a hollow among high mountains, is called Yazeer Gule.
3. The Inhabitants of Lycia. The most ancient inhabitants of Lycia, as
we have seen above, were the Solymi, who are generally believed to have been a
Phoenician or Semitic race. We are not informed why these Solymi were called Termilae;
but the probability is that the Solymi and the Termilae were two different tribes
occupying different parts of the country at the same time, and that while the
Solymi were driven into the northern mountains by the invaders, the Termilae were
subdued, and received from their conquerors the name of Lycians. This seems clearly
to follow from the account of Herodotus and the fragments quoted by Stephanus
Byzantinus. The Tremilae were no doubt as foreign to the Hellenic stock of nations
as the Solymi. The conquerors of the Tremilae, that is the Lycians proper, are
said to have come from Crete, which, before its occupation by the Dorians, was
inhabited by barbarous or non-Hellenic tribes, whence it follows that the conquering
Lycians must likewise have been barbarians. Their struggles with the Solymi appear
to have lasted long, and to have been very severe, for Bellerophon and other mythical
heroes are described as having fought against the warlike Solymi. (Hom. Il. vi.
184, 204, Od. v. 283.) From the recently discovered Lycian inscriptions, composed
in an alphabet partly Greek and partly foreign, it has been inferred that, after
the conquest of Lycia by the Persians, the great body of the nation changed its
character, at least in some parts, which are supposed to have then been occupied
by Persians; and this theory is believed to derive support from the Lycian inscriptions,
which Mr. Sharpe and others believe to contain a language akin to the Zend. But
this hypothesis is devoid of all foundation, for we never find that the Persians
colonised the countries conquered by them, and the Lycian language is as yet utterly
unknown. All we can say is, that the Lycian alphabet seems to be a variety of
the Graeco-Phoenician or Graeco-Semitic character, and that there is no evidence
to show that in the historical ages the Lycians changed their character as a nation.
They were and remained barbarians in the Greek sense, though they adopted and
practised to a great extent the arts and modes of civilised life, such as they
existed among their Greek neighbours.
4. Institutions, &c. of the Lycians. In the Homeric poems the Lycians appear
as governed by kings (Hom. Il. vi. 173; Dict. of Biogr. s. v. Sarpedon); but in
the historical times we find Lycia as a confederation of free cities, with a constitution
more wisely framed perhaps than any other in all antiquity. An authentic account
of this constitution has been preserved by Strabo. It was the political unity
among the towns of Lycia that made the country strong, and enabled it to maintain
its freedom against the encroachments of Croesus, while all the surrounding nations
were compelled to own his sway. When and by whom this federal constitution was
devised, we are not informed, but it reflects great credit upon the political
wisdom of the Lycians. They were a peaceable and well-conducted people, and took
no part in the piracy of their maritime neighbours, but remained faithful to their
ancient institutions, and on this account were allowed the enjoyment of their
free constitution by the Romans. It was under the dominion of Rome that Strabo
saw its working. The confederacy then consisted of 23 towns, from which the deputies
met in a place fixed upon each time by common consent. The six largest towns,
Xanthus, Patara, Pinara, Olympus, Myra, and Tlos had each three votes at the common
diet; the towns of more moderate size had two, and the remaining small places
one vote each. The executive of the confederacy was in the hand of a magistrate
called Lyciarch (Lukiarches), whose election was the first business of the congress,
and after whom the other officers of the confederacy were chosen. The judges,
also, as well as the magistrates, were elected from each city according to the
number of its votes; taxation and other public duties were regulated on the same
principle. In former times, the deputies constituting the congress had also decided
upon peace, war, and alliances; but this of course ceased when Lycia acknowledged
the supremacy of Rome. This happy constitution lasted until the time of the emperor
Claudius, when Lycia became a Roman province, as is mentioned below. (Strab. xiv.
p. 664, &c.) The laws and customs of the Lycians are said by Herodotus to have
been partly Carian and partly Cretan; but in one point they differed from all
other men, for they derived their names from their mothers and not from their
fathers, and when any one was asked to give an account of his parentage, he enumerated
his mother, grandmother, great grandmother, &c. (Herod. i. 173.) Herodotus (vii.
92), in describing their armour, mentions in particular, hats with plumes, greaves,
short swords, and sickles. Respecting the religion of the Lycians nothing is known,
except that they worshipped Apollo, especially at Patara; but whether this was
the Greek Apollo, or a Lycian god identified with him, cannot be said with certainty;
though the former is more probable, if we attach any value to the story of Patarus.
[Dict. of Riogr. s. v.] This would show that the Greeks of Asia Minor exercised
considerable influence upon the Lycians at a very early period.
5. Literature and the Arts.--Although we have no mention of any works in
the lycian language, it cannot be doubted that the Lycians either had, or at least
might have had, a literature, as they had a peculiar alphabet of their own, and
made frequent use of it in inscriptions. The mere fact, however, that many of
these inscriptions are engraven in two languages, the Lycian and Greek, shows
that the latter language had become so familiar to the people that it was thought
desirable, or even necessary, to employ it along with the vernacular in public
decrees and laws about and after the time of the Persian wars; and it must have
been this circumstance that stopped or prevented the development of a national
literature in Lycia. The influence of Greek literature is also attested by the
theatres which existed in almost every town, and in which Greek plays must have
been performed, and have been understood and enjoyed by the people. In the arts
of sculpture and architecture, the Lycians attained a degree of perfection but
little inferior to that of the Greeks. Their temples and tombs abound in the finest
sculptures, representing mythological subjects, or events of their own military
history. Their architecture, especially that of their tombs and sarcophagi, has
quite a peculiar character, so much so that travellers are thereby enabled to
distinguish whether any given place is really Lycian or not. These sarcophagi
are surmounted by a structure with pointed arches, and richly decorated with sculptures.
One of these has been brought to this country by Sir C. Fellows, and may now be
seen in the British Museum. The entrances of the numerous tombs cut in the faces
of lofty rocks are formed in the same way, presenting at the top a pointed arch,
which has led Sir C. Fellows to compare them to Gothic or Elizabethan architecture.
If we example the remains of their towns, as figured in the works of Sir C. Fellows,
Texier, and Forbes and Spratt, we cannot avoid coming to the conclusion that,
in all the arts of civilised life, the Lycians, though barbarians, were little
inferior to the Greeks. 6. History. Lycia and the Lycians act rather a
prominent part in the Homeric account of the Trojan War, where they are described
as the allies of the Trojans. Sarpedon and Glaucus, are the two Lycian heroes
in the war; but the poet was familiar also with the earlier legends of Lycia,--as
that about Bellerophon, which he introduces into the parley between Glaucus and
Diomede. Pandarus, another hero on the side of the Trojans, came from a district
about the river Aesepus, which was likewise called Lycia, and which was supposed
by the ancient commentators to have been peopled by colonists from Lycia, the
subject of this article (Il. ii. 824, &c., iv. 91, v. 105; comp. Strab. xii. p.
572, xiii. p. 585); but both history and tradition are silent as to the time when,
and the circumstances under which, Lycians settled in Troas. During the period
from the Trojan times down to the Lydian conquests under Croesus, the Lycians
are not mentioned in history; but that conqueror, who was successful in all other
parts of Asia Minor, failed in his attempts upon the Lycians and Cilicians. (Herod.
i. 28.) When Cyrus overthrew the Lydian monarchy, and his general Harpagus invaded
the plain of the Xanthus, the Lycians offered a determined resistance; but when,
in the end, they found their situation hopeless, the men of Xanthus assembled
in the citadel their women, children, slaves, and treasures, and then set fire
to it. They themselves then renewed the fight against the enemy, but all perished,
except a few Xanthians who happened to be absent during the battle. Lycia thus
became a part of the Persian monarchy, but, like all Persian provinces, retained
its own constitution, being obliged only to pay tribute and furnish its contingents
to the Persian army. The Lycians joined in the revolt of the Asiatic Greeks, but
afterwards were reduced, and Darius made the country a part of his first satrapy
(Herod. iii. 90); the fact that the Lycians furnished fifty ships to the fleet
of Xerxes (Herod. vii. 92) shows, that they still continued to be a prosperous
and powerful people. Their armour on that occasion is described by Herodotus,
and was the same as that noticed above. During the Peloponnesian War the Lycians
are not mentioned; but as Rhodes was tributary to Athens, and as contributions
were often levied as far as Aspendus, it is not improbable that Lycia may have
been compelled to pay similar contributions. Alexander traversed a part of the
country on his march from Caria into Pisidia and Phrygia, and reduced it under
his sway. The Lycians on that occasion offered little or no resistance to the
young conqueror; the cities of Xanthus, Pinara, Patara, and about thirty other
smaller towns, surrendered to him without a blow. (Arrian, Anab. i. 24.) In the
division of the Macedonian empire, Lycia successively came under the dominion
of the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae; and then, after a brief interval, during
which the Lycians enjoyed their full freedom, they fell under the dominion of
Rome: for after the defeat of Antiochus the Great, Lycia was ceded by the Roman
senate to the Rhodians; but the Lycians, indignant at being considered the subjects
of the islanders, and being secretly supported by Eumenes, resisted the Rhodian
authorities by force of arms. In this contest they were over-powered; but the
Romans, displeased with the Rhodians for their conduct in the Macedonian War,
interfered, and restored the Lycians to independence. (Plyb. xxii. 7, xxiii. 3,
xxvi. 7, xxx. 5; Liv. xlv. 25; Appian, Mithr. 61, &c., Syr. 44.) It was apparently
during the period which now followed, that Lycia enjoyed its highest degree of
prosperity, for under the protection of Rome the people had sufficient leisure
to attend to their own internal affairs. By a strict and wise neutrality, they
escaped the dangers of the Mithridatic Wars as well as those of the wars against
the pirates. (Appian, Mithrid. 24, 61; Strab. xvi. p. 665.) The prosperity of
Lycia, however, received a severe blow during the war of Brutus and Cassius, who
attacked the country because it was suspected to favour the party of Octavianus
and Antony. When Brutus advanced against Xanthus, the inhabitants razed the suburbs
to the ground, and offered the most determinate resistance. After a long and desperate
siege, the soldiers of Brutus gained admission by treachery, whereupon the Xanthians
made away with themselves by setting fire to their city. The fall of Xanthus was
followed by the surrender of Patara and the whole Lycian nation. Brutus levied
enormous contributions, and in some instances ordered the inhabitants to give
up all their gold and silver. (Appian, B.C. iv. 60, 65, 75, &c.) Antony afterwards
granted the Lycians exemption from taxes, in consideration of their sufferings,
and exhorted them to rebuild the city of Xanthus. (Ibid. v. 7; comp. Dion Cass.
xlvii. 34.) But after this time the prosperity of Lycia was gone, and internal
dissensions in the end also deprived the inhabitants of their ancient and free
constitution; for the emperor Claudius made the country a Roman province, forming
part of the prefecture of Pamphylia. (Dion Cass. lx. 17; Suet. Claud. 25.) Pliny
(v. 28) states that Lycia once contained seventy towns, but that in his time their
number was reduced to twenty-six. Ptolemy (v. 3), indeed, describes Lycia as a
separate province; but it is probable that until the time of Theodosius II. it
remained united with Pamphylia, for an inscription (Gruter, Thesaur. p. 458. 6)
mentions Porcius as procos. Lyciae et Pamphyliae, and both countries had only
one governor as late as the reign of Constantine. But Theodosius constituted Lycia
a separate province; and so it also appears in the seventh century in Hierocles
(p. 682, &c.), with Myra for its capital.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Milyas (Miluas) is said to have been the ancient and original name
of the country afterwards called Lycia (Herod. i. 173) ; but during the period
of the Persian dominion, it was the name given to the whole mountainous country
in the north of Lycia, the south of Pisidia, and a portion of eastern Phrygia.
(Strab. xii. p. 573.) The boundaries of this country, however, were never properly
fixed, and the whole of it is sometimes described as a part of Lycia. (Arrian,
Anab. i. 25.) After the accession of the dynasty of the Seleucidae in Syria, the
name Milyas was limited to the south-western part of Pisidia, bordering upon Lycia,
that is, the territory extending from Termessus northward to the foot of mount
Cadmus. (Polyb. v. 72; Strab. xii. p. 570, xiii. p. 631, xiv. p. 666.) This district,
the western part of which bore the name of Cabalia, is afterwards described, sometimes
as a part of Lycia (Ptol. v. 3. § 7, 5. § 6), and sometimes as part of Pamphylia
or Pisidia. (Ptol. v. 2. § 12; Plin. v. 42.) After the conquest of Antiochus the
Great, the Romans gave the country to Eumenes (Polyb. Exc. de Leg. 36), though
Pisidian princes still continue to be mentioned as its rulers.
The greater part of Milyas was rugged and mountainous, but it also
contained a few fertile plains. (Strab. xii. p. 570.) The inhabitants were called
Milyae. (Miluai, Herod. vii. 77 ; Strab. xiv. p. 667; Plin. v. 25, 42.) This name,
which does not occur in the Homeric poems, probably belonged to the remnants of
the ancient Solymi, the original inhabitants of Lycia, who had been driven into
the mountains by the immigrating Cretans. The host important towns in Milyas were
Cibyra, Oenoanda, Balbura, and Bubon which formed the Cibyratian tetrapolis. Some
authors also mention a town of Milyas (Polyb. v. 72; Ptol. v. 2. § 12; Steph.
B. s. v. Miluai), which must have been situated N. of Termessus in Pisidia.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
VALVOURA (Ancient city) LYKIA
Balbura (Balboura: Eth. Balboureus), a Lycian town, the site of which
is fixed (Spratt's Lycia, vol. i. p. 267) at Katara on both sides of the Katara
Soo, the most northern branch of the Xanthus. The acropolis hill is about 300
feet above the plain of Katara, and the plain is 4500 feet above the level of
the sea. The ruins occupy a considerable space on both sides of the stream. There
are two theatres at Balbura; one is on the south side of the acropolis hill, and
the other is in a hollow in the front of the mountain on the south side of the
stream: the hollow in the mountain formed the cavea. There are also remains of
several temples at Katara; and of Christian churches. The Ethnic name Balboureus
occurs on two inscriptions at least at Katara. The site was discovered by Hoskyn
and Forbes.
The name Balbura is a neuter plural. (Steph s. v. Balboura.) There
was a district Cabalia (Plin. v. 27), named Cabalis by Strabo , which contained
Balbura and two other cities, Bubon and Oenoanda. (Hoskyn and Leake, in London
Geog. Jour. vol xii. p. 143; Spratt's Lycia.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
LYKIA (Ancient country) TURKEY
A small district on the south side of Asia Minor, between Caria
and Pamphylia. According to tradition, the most ancient name of the country was
Milyas, and the earliest inhabitants were called Milyae, and afterwards Solymi;
subsequently the Termilae, from Crete, settled in the country; and lastly, the
Athenian Lycus, the son of Pandion, fled from his brother Aegeus to Lycia, and
gave his name to the country. Homer, who gives Lycia a prominent place in the
Iliad, represents its chieftains, Glaucus and Sarpedon, as descended from the
royal family of Argos (Aeolids). He speaks of the Solymi as a warlike race, inhabiting
the mountains, against whom the Greek hero Bellerophontes is sent to fight by
his relative the king of Lycia. Besides the legend of Bellerophon and the Chimaera,
Lycia is the scene of another popular Greek story, that of the Harpies and the
daughters of Pandareos; and memorials of both are preserved on the Lycian monuments
now in the British Museum. On the whole, it is clear that Lycia was colonized
by the Greeks at a very early period, and that its historical inhabitants were
Greeks, though with a mixture of native blood. The earlier names were preserved
in the district in the north of the country called Milyas, and in the mountains
called Solyma. The Lycians always kept the reputation they have in Homer as brave
warriors. They and the Cilicians were the only people west of the Halys whom Croesus
did not conquer, and they were the last who resisted the Persians. The principal
rivers are the Xanthus (Echen-Chai) and the Limyrus. The principal cities were
Xanthus, Patara, Pinara, Olympus, Mira, and Tlos. Since 1840 much has been done
in the way of exploration and excavation among the ruined cities of Lycia, especially
by Sir Charles Fellows, who in 1846 brought back the remarkable sculptures now
in the Lycian Room at the British Museum. The linguistic affinities of the Lycian
language are as yet not certainly determined.
ARAXA (Ancient city) LYKIA
At the N end of the Xanthus valley. Nothing is recorded of its foundation,
no Lycian inscriptions have been found on the site, and its Lycian name is not
known. An inscription at Sidyma (TAM II. 1.174) mentions a local legend that Leto
bore Apollo and Artemis at Araxa. All that is known of the city's history is contained
in an inscription found at Oren in 1946 (JHS [1949] 46, no. 11 = SEG XVIII 570):
At an uncertain date in the 2d c. B.C., hostilities broke out between Araxa and
Bubon and again later between Araxa and Cibyra; in both cases Araxa appealed to
the Lycian League, of which she was a member, whereas Bubon and Cibyra at that
time were not. Some time afterwards Araxa was instrumental in securing the admission
of her neighbor Orloanda (otherwise unknown) to the Lycian League. In general
the inscription shows Araxa functioning as a full and active member of the League.
No coinage is known; the former attribution of a single specimen of the time of
Hadrian is now discredited. In Byzantine times the bishop of Araxa ranked fourth
under the metropolitan of Myra.
The ruins are not extensive. The acropolis hill is immediately above
the village; it is precipitous on the SE, but is quite low. A little below the
summit are remains of a "cyclopean" wall of very large blocks with a
superficial area up to 3 sq. m, in some cases drafted at the edges; most conspicuous
is a massive tower over 9 m wide. In the village is a stretch of polygonal wall
9 m long and still 3 m high.
A kilometer or so to the W of the village is a group of a dozen rock-cut
tombs at the base of a rocky hillock; most of these are of Lycian house type,
but they are not inscribed. One, evidently later, has two antae decorated with
rosettes and nondescript capitals, an architrave, a row of dentils, and a curiously
naked pediment lacking the usual raking cornices. By the river, close to the village,
are a number of gable-shaped sarcophagus lids with inscribed panels.
A little to the N of Oren is an exceedingly abundant spring which,
though not the actual source of the Xanthos river, supplies the greater part of
its stream.
G. E. Bean, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ARSADA (Ancient city) LYKIA
A village high up on the F side of the Xanthos valley. It is not mentioned
by any ancient author, nor are any coins known. It is identified by an inscription
found on the spot (TAM II.2.539) and by the evident survival of the name. One
or two rock-cut Lycian tombs of house type confirm the city's antiquity though
the Lycian inscriptions on them, reported by Spratt, have not been seen again.
It is not known whether Arsada was a member of the Lycian League, and the inscriptions
give no information about the city apart from the mention of a temple and priest
of Apollo.
The acropolis hill, which is quite low, was defended by a wall of
rather rough polygonal masonry, of which a stretch over 270 m long survives on
the E slope; the wall seems to be lacking on the W side, which is precipitous.
At the summit on the N is a tower, some 9 m square, of a more regular style of
polygonal. The interior contains only a mass of uncut building stones, with the
occasional outline of a house.
In and around the village are a number of "Gothic" sarcophagi,
the lids decorated with lions' heads, round shields, phallic emblems, and in one
case human heads. None of these is inscribed. Just above the village, on an outcrop
of rock, is a relief showing horse and rider, apparently a dedication to one of
the Anatolian equestrian deities.
G. E. Bean, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
KARMILISSOS (Ancient city) LYKIA
Mentioned only by Strabo (665), who calls it an occupied site in a
ravine on Mt. Antikragos. No real evidence has been found for the exact location.
The elevated plain between Fethiye and Kaya (formerly Makri and Levisi) has been
suggested. Here there are a number of rock-cut tombs and sarcophagi of Lycian
type, but no sign of an ancient town.
G. E. Bean, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
VALVOURA (Ancient city) LYKIA
City in Lycia 6 km SE of Dirmil. When first mentioned (Strab. 631)
Balbura appears as a member of a tetrapolis headed by Kibyra, with one vote to
Kibyra's two. This tetrapolis was formed at an uncertain date in the 2d c. B.C.,
and was dissolved by Murena ca. 82 B.C.; Balbura was then attached to the Lycian
League, and continued to be a member as long as it lasted. Balbura, Bubon, and
Oinoanda are listed by Pliny and Ptolemy as the cities of Kabalia (called Kabalis
by Strabo). The coins are Hellenistic of non-League types and imperial of Caligula.
Balbura is recorded by Hierokles and in the Byzantine bishopric lists.
The ruins are on two hills and on the plain below. The N hill rises
some 125 m above the plain and almost 1500 m above sea level. The summit was defended
by a ring wall still standing up to 2.4 m high, built mainly of dry rubble but
with a stretch of polygonal masonry near the top, 1.8 m thick; in general the
wall is of late date and made of reused material. On the S slope of this hill,
facing S, is a small theater of remarkable construction. The cavea contains 16
rows of seats, interrupted in the middle by a large mass of the native rock left
unworked, except that the ends of the rows are fitted to it. There is no stage
building, but the platform which it would occupy is supported by a high wall of
heavily bossed polygonal masonry with buttresses of smooth rectangular blocks.
This polygonal work is of Roman date.
At the foot of the S hill is a second theater or theater-like building.
The cavea, facing E, consists merely of the hollow in the hillside, with a few
seats cut here and there in the rock. in place of the stage building is a narrow
platform of solid masonry supported on arches, some 45 m long, with a small platform
in the middle projecting towards the cavea. No permanent stone building seems
to have been erected on this substructure.
Little remains of the public buildings in the plain: they included
a temple of Nemesis, and an agora with a triple-arched gate on its W side dedicated
to Septimius Severus and Geta. inscriptions refer also to an aqueduct and a reservoir.
The tombs are of various kinds, but none of Lycian type. Some are
built bombs, others of Carian type; still others are in the form of a coffin set
in a recess cut in the rock, or a sarcophagus with a recumbent lion on the lid.
G. E. Bean, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
Receive our daily Newsletter with all the latest updates on the Greek Travel industry.
Subscribe now!