Anatolian Civilizations and Historical Sites - TEDA

ANATOLIAN CIVILIZATIONS:10x19 antik kentler 8/1/11 10:51 AM Sayfa
Myra
One can easily reach the famous ancient city of Myra, which is situated in
Antalya's district of Kale, 24 km. outside Finike, on the Kafl-Finike coast
road. Myra retained her fame throughout the Middle Ages as the see of the
servant of God, St. Nicholas, who spouted forth myrrh, in accordance with
the city's name. Myra was established on the seaward cliffs of the
mountains surrounding the plain of Demre from the north west. At first,
the city was established on top of the hill where the rock tombs are, then
later on, it expanded by moving down below where it became one of the
six important cities of Lycia. The city's first coins, which were minted in
the 4 th century BC, depicted the figure of a mother god.
Rather surprisingly, there is no literary mention of Myra before the 1 st
century BC; but the surviving monuments and inscriptions leave no
doubt of her importance from at least the 5 th century. In 42 BC, after
the capture of Xanthos, Brutus sent his lieutenant Lentulus Spinther
to collect money; the Myrans were reluctant and Spinther had to force
an entry to the harbor at Andriace by breaking the chain which closed
it. The Myrans then submitted and complied with his demands. The
city was treated well by the emperors; in AD 18, Germanicus and his
wife Agrippina paid it a visit and were honored with statues erected in
the harbor of Andriace. In AD 60, St. Paul changed ships at Myra, that
is, at Andriace, on his way to Rome. Myra's neighbor to the east was
Limyra, and we learn from an inscription that there was a ferry service
between the two.
Dignified by the title of metropolis, handsomely endowed by gifts of
money from Opramoas of Rhodiapolis and Jason of Cyaenai, whereas
the theater and its portico were constructed by Licinus Lanfus of
Oenoanda, to whom 10,000 denars were donated for its completion.
Myra was finally made the capital of Lycia during the time St. Nicholas
was the bishop of Myra by Theodosius II (408-450). Myra and the
church were demolished during the Arab raids in the 7th and 9th centuries, whereas the Church of St. Nicholas was totally razed to the
ground during a naval assault conducted by the Arabs in 1034. As a
Lycian rock tombs at Myra. Myra was the site of the bishopric of
St. Nicholas (Santa Claus). Apart from these rock tombs, other structures
of interest on the site include a theater in a fine state of preservation.
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