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Xanthus (Kinik) (2)
Unless otherwise indicated, pictures on this page © Marco Prins and Jona Lendering. Photos can be downloaded and used for non-commercial purposes, but you have to acknowledge Livius.
The theater at Xanthus. Photo Marco Prins. The theater at Xanthus.
The theater at Xanthus. Photo Marco Prins. The Roman theater at Xanthus, fouded in the mid-second century BCE by a man named Opramoas of Rhodiapolis.
Terrace wall behind the theater. Photo Marco Prins. Terrace wall behind the theater.
Terracotta elements of the sewer system of Xanthus. Photo Marco Prins. Terracotta elements of the aqueduct of Xanthus.
The arch of Vespasian at Xanthus. Photo Jona Lendering. The arch of  the Roman emperor Vespasian (69-79).
The site of the Nereid monument at Xanthus. Photo Jona Lendering. The podium of the Nereid monument at Xanthus. It probably dates back to the first quarter of the fourth century BCE and seems to have been the tomb of the Lycian prince Arbinas.
The Nereid monument in the British Museum. Photo Marco Prins. The Nereid monument in the British Museum in London, which inspired the better-known Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the tomb of Maussolus, the famous satrap of Caria. It consists of a podium and a building that resembles a Greek temple in Ionian style. Both contain some splendid sculptures. Between the columns are three statues that have been identified with Nereids (water goddesses), from which the monument takes its name.
The reliefs are devoted to war and appear to commemorate the storming an unidentified city. Here, we see soldiers fighting.
Phalanx soldiers, shown on the Monument of the Nereids from Xanthus (Turkey), now in the British Museum, London (Britain). Photo Marco Prins. Again, fighting soldiers, in a phalanx. They may be Greek mercenaries, because their arms are those of a hoplite. Note the helmet of the man to the left, which should cover his face but does not. It is possible that the artist wanted to show the soldier's face, and in that case, it may be a portrait. We don't know.
A satrap receiving a visitor. Relief from the Monument of the Nereids, British Museum, London (Britain). Photo Marco Prins. A detail of the relief of this monument, showing a Persian official, probably a satrap, receiving an embassy. Are they surrendering their city? A young servant shades his master with a parasol, an attribute that is also known from Persepolis, where it is a sign of royalty.
A banquet scene, possible the festivities after the war. The reclining man drinks from both a flat cup and a rhyton: the first one is Greek, the second one is Persian.
And another Lycian tomb: the tomb of Payava, also in the British Museum. It is from the same period as the Nereid Monument, and likewise combines Greek and oriental motifs.
A detail, in Greek style.
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