Limyra () ( was a small city in

ancient Lycia Lycia (; Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka lands, Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the Prov ...

on the southern coast of

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, on the Limyrus River ().

History

Already flourishing in the second millennium BCE, the city was one of the oldest and most prosperous in Lycia; it gradually became one of the most flourishing trade centres in the Greek world. In the 4th century BCE

Pericles, Dynast of Lycia Perikles (Perikle in Lycian), was the last known independent dynast of Lycia. A dynast of Limyra in eastern Lycia BCE, he eventually ruled the entire country during the Revolt of the Satraps, in defiance of the Achaemenid Empire. Rule Peric ...

supported a rebellion of satraps in Asia Minor against the ruling Persians and adopted Limyra as the capital of the

Lycian League Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğla ...

; subsequently it came under control of the

Persian Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...

. The Persians eventually regained rule through

Mausolus Mausolus ( or , ''Mauśoλ'') was a ruler of Caria (377–353 Common Era, BCE) and a satrap of the Achaemenid Empire. He enjoyed the status of king or dynast by virtue of the powerful position created by his father Hecatomnus ( ), who was the fi ...

, the Carian satrap at Halicarnassus. After

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

ended Persian rule, most of Lycia was ruled by

Ptolemy I Soter Ptolemy I Soter (; , ''Ptolemaîos Sōtḗr'', "Ptolemy the Savior"; 367 BC – January 282 BC) was a Macedonian Greek general, historian, and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to found the Ptolemaic Kingdom centered on Egypt. Pto ...

; his son

Ptolemy II Philadelphos Ptolemy II Philadelphus (, ''Ptolemaîos Philádelphos'', "Ptolemy, sibling-lover"; 309 – 28 January 246 BC) was the pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 284 to 246 BC. He was the son of Ptolemy I, the Macedonian Greek general of Alexander the Gr ...

supported the Limyrans against the invading Galatians and the inhabitants dedicated a monument, the Ptolemaion, to him in thanks. Limyra is mentioned 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 "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

(XIV, 666),

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

(V, 3, 6) and several Latin authors.

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

had adopted his grandson

Gaius Caesar Gaius Caesar (20 BC – 21 February 4 AD) was a grandson and heir to the throne of Roman emperor Augustus, alongside his younger brother Lucius Caesar. Although he was born to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder, Julia, Augustus' only ...

in 17 BCE (aged 3) as his heir. In 1 BC (aged 19) Gaius Caesar was sent to Syria and in 2 AD he went to Armenia, which the Parthians had recently invaded. Gaius successfully placed a pro-Roman king on the Armenian throne but was seriously wounded after being tricked. In 4 AD, during his return to Rome, Gaius died from his wounds at Limyra.

The Site

The lower city is at the base of the acropolis hill and includes two separate walled areas. The five necropolises dating from the 4th c. BCE and before demonstrate the city's importance. The mausoleum of Pericles is particularly notable for its fine reliefs and exquisite sculptures such as Perseus slaying Medusa and one of her sisters. A gate in the western city leads down through a marshy area towards the cenotaph of Gaius Caesar, grandson and heir apparent of Augustus, a massive structure standing on a stone podium and dating from around 4 CE. The Romans cut a theatre into the hill which held 8000 spectators. It was commissioned in the second century CE by an important Lycian benefactor named

Opramoas Opramoas was an important civic benefactor in the 2nd century CE. He is the best known ancient euergete. He was a magnate from the small Lycian town of Rhodiapolis (southern Anatolia, in modern Turkey). His activities are recorded in extensive Gree ...

Rhodiapolis Rhodiapolis (), also known as Rhodia (Ῥοδία) and Rhodiopolis (Ῥοδιόπολις), was a city in ancient Lycia. Today it is located on a hill northwest of the modern town Kumluca in Antalya Province, Turkey. Rhodiapolis stands out ...

. Also from this period are a bathhouse with a complex heating system and the

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

d streets. The Roman

Bridge at Limyra The Bridge near Limyra (in , "Bridge of the Forty Arches") is a late Roman bridge in Lycia, in modern south-west Turkey, and one of the oldest segmented arch bridges in the world. Located near the ancient city of Limyra, it is the largest civil ...

, east of the city, is one of the oldest

segmental arch A segmental arch is a type of arch with a circular arc of less than 180 degrees. It is sometimes also called a scheme arch. The segmental arch is one of the strongest arches because it is able to resist Arch#Basic concepts, thrust. To prevent fai ...

bridges in the world.Sopheone Pétridès, "Limyra" in ''Catholic Encyclopedia'' (New York 1910)
/ref>

Ecclesiastical history

Limyra is mentioned as a bishopric in ''

Notitiæ Episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') were official documents that furnished for Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church. In the Roman Church (the mostl ...

'' down to the 12th and 13th centuries as a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

of the metropolitan of

Myra Myra (; , ''Mýra'') was a city in Lycia. The city was probably founded by Lycians on the river Myros (; Turkish: ''Demre Çay''), in the fertile alluvial plain between, the Massikytos range (Turkish: ''Alaca Dağ'') and the Aegean Sea. By the ...

. Six bishops are known: Diotimus, mentioned by St. Basil (ep. CCXVIII); Lupicinus, present at the

First Council of Constantinople The First Council of Constantinople (; ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) in AD 381 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I. This second ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the ...

, 381; Stephen, at the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; ) was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia (modern-day Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey) from 8 Oct ...

(451); Theodore, at the

Second Council of Constantinople The Second Council of Constantinople is the fifth of the first seven ecumenical councils recognized by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. It is also recognized by the Old Catholics and others. Protestant opinions and re ...

in 553; Leo, at the

Second Council of Nicaea The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics and others. ...

in 787; Nicephorus, at the Council of Constantinople (879-880). In the ''

Annuario Pontificio The ''Annuario Pontificio'' ( Italian for ''Pontifical Yearbook'') is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also provides nam ...

'' it is listed as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

of the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Lycia Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğ ...

.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 917

Gallery

File:Limyra Roman Theatre 3944.jpg, Limyra Theatre from uphill File:Limyra 5110.jpg, Limyra Theatre File:Limyra 5105.jpg, Limyra Theatre corridors File:Limyra 3748.jpg, Limyra Cenotaph of Gaius Caesar File:Antalya museum march 2012 5689.jpg, Limyra Cenotaph Gaius Caesar in Antalya Museum File:Limyra 3735.jpg, Limyra Ptolemaion File:Antalya Museum feb 2015 6584.jpg, Limyra Ptolemaion relief in Antalya Museum File:Limyra 5182.jpg, Limyra Bee keeping File:Limyra 5123.jpg, Limyra tomb of Tebursseli File:Limyra 5124.jpg, Limyra tomb of Tebursseli decoration File:Limyra 5134.jpg, Limyra Temple-type tomb File:Limyra 5161.jpg, Limyra Sarcophagus of Xñtabura File:Limyra 3965.jpg, Limyra Rock graves File:Antalya Museum march 2013 7714.jpg, Limyra Heroon Pericles in Antalya Museum File:Limyra 5220.jpg, Limyra Roman Bridge

References

{{coord, 36, 20, 34.19, N, 30, 10, 13.87, E, type:landmark_region:TR_source:dewiki, display=title Catholic titular sees in Asia Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Populated places in ancient Lycia Roman towns and cities in Turkey Former populated places in Turkey Finike District