Myra

Myra: town in Lycia, modern Demre. The ancient town is especially well-known because it was the residence of Nicholas of Myra, the original saint behind Santa Claus.

Myra, situated on the west bank of the river Myros, was well-known for two reasons: its port Andriake, one of the few save havens along the rocky shores of ancient Lycia, and its temple of Apollo, where the future was predicted by observing the movement of sacred fishes. There was also a sulfurous source to the south of the city, from which a small river named Andrakos flowed to the port, where it emptied itself into the Mediterranean Sea.

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Lycian tombs

The city appears to have been settled from the late Archaic age. Some of the Lycian rock tombs near the theater belong to the oldest monuments of the city, although the majority dates to the fourth century. Behind them was the acropolis, which had once been occupied in the the Bronze Age, appears to have been abandoned, but was again in use in the Classical period. In the fifth century BCE, the acropolis walls were renewed, and a sanctuary was dedicated to a legendary hero.

In the fourth century BCE, the lower town of Myra also received city walls, and in the next century, it became -due to its position on a fertile plain- one of the six leading towns of Lycia (Strabo, Geography, 14.3.3). When the Ptolemaic king Alexander X Alexander was sent into exile in 88 BCE, he considered Myra to be a fitting royal residence.

The theater

The town had a market place, temples, a town hall, a gymnasium, and a bathhouse that was built by the Romans in the third century CE. The temple of Artemis Eleuthera was called the most splendid building of Lycia. And of course, it had a well-known harbor (cf. Acts of the Apostles 27.5).

Myra was destroyed in 141 CE, but rebuilt by a rich man named Opramoas, who is known to have paid for the restoration of the gymnasium and the shrine of Artemis. He also erected a statue to the goddess Tyche and spent lavishly for the emperor's cult.

The sun god Helios. Detail of the decoration of the theater

Among the main buildings of Myra were the granaries in Andriake, the port, which was situated about four kilometers southwest of the city. These buildings, which measured about 36x45 meters, were erected after 129 and served the Roman army; a similar granary is known from Patara, west of Myra. The site was well-chosen because the harbor, essentially the estuary of the small Andriakos river, was protected against storms by a large promontory.

In the harbor used to be at least one island, which has now become part of the mainland; reportedly, the first Christian church, built by Nicholas, stood over here. Russian archaeologists have been digging over there in the 1990s. A satellite photo of the port can be seen here. In 2009, a Jewish synagogue was discovered - the first evidence for Judaism in Lycia.

Coin of the Roman emperor Gordian III, showing the temple of Artemis in Myra. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Wien (Austria). Photo Jona Lendering.

Myra's temple of Artemis (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna)

Today, the theater is one of the few surviving archaeological remains of the ancient city. It is quite well-preserved (satellite photo). In Antiquity, however, the town was especially famous for its temple of Artemis, which was shown on the urban coins.

According to a medieval legend, bishop Nicholas of Myra destroyed the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; the truth may be that he managed to get the temple of the goddess in his own town closed.


Lycian tombs	The theater	Entrance of the theater	Theater, detail

Granaries at Andriake	Former island in the port	Theater: the orchestra	Theater: the god Hermes

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