Cibyra ( el, Κιβύρα) also referred to as Cibyra Minor to distinguish it from

Cibyra Magna Cibyra or Kibyra (Greek: ), also referred to as Cibyra Magna, was an Ancient Greek city near the modern town of Gölhisar, in Burdur Province. It lay outside the north-western limits of the ancient province of Lycia and was the chief city of a ...

, was a town in

ancient Pamphylia Pamphylia (; grc, Παμφυλία, ''Pamphylía'') was a region in the south of Asia Minor, between Lycia and Cilicia, extending from the Mediterranean to Mount Taurus (all in modern-day Antalya province, Turkey). It was bounded on the north by ...

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

, after mentioning

Side Side or Sides may refer to: Geometry * Edge (geometry) of a polygon (two-dimensional shape) * Face (geometry) of a polyhedron (three-dimensional shape) Places * Side (Ainis), a town of Ainis, ancient Thessaly, Greece * Side (Caria), a town of ...

, says, "...and near it is the coast of the little Cibyratae, and then the river Melas, and a station for ships". The site of Side is well known. The Melas is the

Manavgat River Manavgat River originates on the eastern slopes of Western Taurus Mountains in Turkey. In ancient times it was called Melas ( grc, Μέλας). At an elevation of 1,350 m, the outflow of several small springs joins together to become the headwater ...

, east of Side. But there could have been no city between Side and the Melas, and it is conjectured that in Strabo's text, the coast ("Paralia") of the Cibyratae should come after the Melas. The vestiges of Cibyra are probably those observed by Captain Beaufort upon a height which rises from the right bank of a considerable river about to the eastward of the Melas, about to the west of Cape Karáburun, and nearly from the shore.Leake, ''Asia Minor'', p. 196.

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

mentions this Cibyra among the inland towns of

Cilicia Trachea Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coas ...

; but

Scylax Scylax of Caryanda ( el, Σκύλαξ ὁ Καρυανδεύς) was a Greek explorer and writer of the late 6th and early 5th centuries BCE. His own writings are lost, though occasionally cited or quoted by later Greek and Roman authors. The peri ...

places it on the coast. There is a place, Cyberna (), mentioned in the

Stadiasmus The ''Stadiasmus Maris Magni'' ( grc, Σταδιασμός ήτοι περίπλους της μεγάλης θαλάσσης) is an ancient Roman periplus or guidebook detailing the ports sailors encounter on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. ...

, which is placed 59 stadia east of the Melas. If the conjecture as to Strabo's text is correct, we may identify Cyberna with this Cibyra of Pamphylia.

References

{{coord, 36.659851, N, 31.659825, E, format=dms, display=title, source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/27746.html Populated places in ancient Pamphylia Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Former populated places in Turkey