Anatolian Civilizations and Historical Sites - TEDA

ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS:10x19 antik kentler 8/1/11 10:51 AM Sayfa
more trophies than any other man, and added glory to the family of
Karikas. This Karikas appears as Keriga seven times in the Lycian; he too
is known from the coins as a Xanthian dynast. Both he and Kerei are
dated to the latter part of the 5 th century BC. And to this same period
belong the historical name recognizable in the Lycian. In addition to
Athenians and Spartans, Darius and Artaxerxes, we have more especially
a mention of the Athenian Melasandros, who was sent to Lycia in 430-429
BC to collect tribute and prevent the Spartans from intercepting the
Athenian corn ships. He failed and was killed in battle. It is likely that his
defeat was among the exploits of Kerei.
In the southeast corner of the Lycian acropolis are the foundations of a
square building comprising several rooms which is thought to have been
the palace of the dynasts in the earliest times, destroyed at the time of the
capture by Harpagus. It was replaced by another building of which the
basement survives; the upper parts were apparently of wood. This was
destroyed by fire in 470 BC and was not replaced. Higher up to the west
is a small sanctuary with three parallel chambers, and the scanty remains
of a temple of the Lycian equivalent of the Greek Artemis. At the west
extremity stood a building which must originally have been very
handsome; its architecture seems to have imitated the wooden houses
whose features appear also in the tombs of house-type, and was
decorated with a sculptured frieze; the blocks of this frieze were re-used
by the Byzantines for repair of the acropolis wall, and were later removed
to London by Fellows. Just to the north west of this building is a
rectangular foundation on which stood a pillar with a pediment on two
sides; this too has gone into the Byzantine wall.
Most of the north eastern part of the acropolis is occupied by an extensive
monastery. This includes a church set against the east acropolis wall, and
to the west of this an open courtyard with wash-basins along one side.
There are several mosaics in the Lycian acropolis. One of these mosaics
has the famous scenes of the Calydon hunt as well as Thetis drowning
Achilles in the river Styx. Today, they are on display at the Antalya
Museum. However, remains of the mosaic can be seen on the floor. For
example, one can see the Leda and swan scene on the exterior of the
southeast corner of the city walls. Directly across from the Lycian
acropolis is the Roman acropolis. Let's examine the artefacts here by
walking in an eastern direction. We first encounter a Byzantine basilica.
This incredible structure of which Lycian Age stones were used, is a
basilica with three aisles. Some of the steps where the choir would stand in
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