Xanthus (Kinik) (1)
This is the acropolis of Xanthus.
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Xanthus (Kinik) (1) |
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The Lycian town Xanthus, situated on a high hill near a river with the same name, was captured by the Persian commander Harpagus in the mid-sixth century BCE. Although many people were killed, the town was repopulated and prospered in during the Persian age, which lasted until the conquests of Alexander the Great (334). | |
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It successively belonged to the Ptolemaean,
Seleucid,
Rhodian and Roman empires. In 42 BCE, the city was sacked by the Roman
general Brutus,
the assassin of Julius
Caesar.
This is the acropolis of Xanthus. |
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The Lycian tomb on the agora of Xanthus, third century BCE but containing older elements. | |
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The remains of a Lycian tomb. | |
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The agora of Xanthus. You can see it on this satellite photo too. | |
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Two monuments on the Xanthus agora: a reconstruction of the Harpy tomb (above) and a Lycian tomb (below). The real Harpy tomb, with its remarkable decoration, is now in the British Museum in London. | |
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It shows a soldier who hands over a helmet to a bearded man (a god or king?) on a throne. To the left and right harpies are carrying away human figures, perhaps the souls of the people that were killed by the soldier. | |
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Pillar of Kerei: a long inscription in Lycian, recounting the life of a prince named Kerei, at the end of the fifth century BCE. Because the Lycian language is poorly understood, the text poses a mystery. | |
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Pillar of Kerei, detail. | |
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