Phellus (
Lycian: ''
Wehnti''; grc, ,
Turkish: ''Phellos'') is a town of
ancient Lycia
Lycia ( Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is t ...
, now situated on the mountainous outskirts of the small town of
Kaş
Kaş (; el, Αντίφελλος, translit=Antífellos, translit-std=ISO) is a small fishing, diving, yachting and tourist town, and a district of Antalya Province of Turkey, 168 km west of the city of Antalya. As a tourist resort, it is re ...
in the
Antalya Province
Antalya Province ( tr, ) is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea.
Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists vi ...
of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. The city was first referenced as early as 7 BC by Greek geographer and philosopher
Strabo in Book XII of his ''
Geographica
The ''Geographica'' (Ancient Greek: Γεωγραφικά ''Geōgraphiká''), or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Greek and attributed to Strabo, an educated citizen of the Roman ...
'' (which detailed settlements in the Anatolia region), alongside the port town of
Antiphellus
Antiphellus or Antiphellos ( grc, ) was city that acted as the port of Phellus (Phellos) in Lycia. It was at the head of a bay on the south coast. Sir Francis Beaufort, the discoverer of this ancient site, gave the contemporary name of Vathy to ...
; which served as the settlement's main trade front.
Its exact location, particularly in regard to Antiphellus, was misinterpreted for many years. Strabo incorrectly designates both settlements as inland towns, closer to each other than is actually evident today. Additionally, upon its rediscovery in 1840 by
Sir Charles Fellows
Sir Charles Fellows (31 August 1799 – 8 November 1860) was a British archaeologist and explorer, known for his numerous expeditions in what is present-day Turkey.
Biography
Charles Fellows was born at High Pavement, Nottingham on 31 Augus ...
, the settlement was located near the village of Saaret, west-northwest of Antiphellus. Verifying research into its location in ancient text proved difficult for Fellows, with illegible Greek
inscriptions providing the sole written source at the site. However,
Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt
Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt (11 May 181112 March 1888) was an English vice-admiral, hydrographer, and geologist.
Life
Thomas Spratt was born at Woodway House, East Teignmouth, the eldest son of Commander James Spratt, RN, who was a hero of ...
details in his 1847 work ''Travels in Lycia'' that validation is provided in the words of
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ...
, who places Phellus north of Habessus (Antiphellus' pre-
Hellenic
Hellenic is a synonym for Greek. It means either:
*of or pertaining to the Hellenic Republic (modern Greece) or Greek people (Hellenes, el, Έλληνες) and culture
*of or pertaining to ancient Greece, ancient Greek people, culture and civiliz ...
name).
Expeditions
Fellows Expedition
Sir Charles Fellows
Sir Charles Fellows (31 August 1799 – 8 November 1860) was a British archaeologist and explorer, known for his numerous expeditions in what is present-day Turkey.
Biography
Charles Fellows was born at High Pavement, Nottingham on 31 Augus ...
participated in two largely successful expeditions to Lycia, in 1838 and 1840 respectively.
[Spratt (1847), p. 13] During which, he discovered large settlements such as
Xanthos
Xanthos ( Lycian: 𐊀𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀 ''Arñna'', el, Ξάνθος, Latin: ''Xanthus'', Turkish: ''Ksantos'') was an ancient major city near present-day Kınık, Antalya Province, Turkey. The remains of Xanthos lie on a hill on the left ba ...
,
Tlos
Tlos ( Lycian: 𐊗𐊍𐊀𐊇𐊀 ''Tlawa'', Hittite: 𒁕𒆷𒉿 ''Dalawa'', grc, Τλώς or Τλῶς) was an ancient Lycian city near the modern town of Seydikemer in the Mugla Province of southern Turkey, some 4 kilometres northwest ...
,
Pinara
Pinara ( Lycian: 𐊓𐊆𐊍𐊍𐊁𐊑𐊏𐊆 ''Pilleñni'', presumably from the adjective "round"; el, τὰ Πίναρα, formerly ''Artymnesus'' or ''Artymnesos'' according to one account) was a large city of ancient Lycia at the foot of ...
and
Cadyanda in order to map their locations and bring back artifacts for public display in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
(specifically
The British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...
).
In the process, he also came to discover six other, smaller locations, one of which being the site of what is now known as Phellus.
Fellows had named all six settlements himself, without regard to thorough classical research; which inevitably altered the original names given at the time of occupation. For instance, Fellows' 'Gagae' was actually
Corydala, and Phellus is initially referenced as '
Pyrrha
In Greek mythology, Pyrrha (; Ancient Greek: Πύρρα) was the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora and wife of Deucalion of whom she had three sons, Hellen, Amphictyon, Orestheus; and three daughters Protogeneia, Pandora II and Thyia. Acco ...
' by the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medite ...
(in honour of the
Greek myth
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
that was detailed in
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the ...
's ''
Metamorphoses
The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his '' magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the ...
'') according to the works of
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ...
.
[Spratt (1847), p. 14][Pliny the Elder (1848), p. 93]
Spratt Expedition
In 1841 the crew of
HMS ''Beacon'', headed by
shipmaster
A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and effici ...
Richard Hoskyn, located and traveled to several Lycian archaeological sites under the request of
Thomas Graves.
Many of the settlements in question had already been discovered by Charles Fellows in the previous year, including the valley of Xanthos, despite the crew being unaware of this fact at the time.
The expedition was short in duration, and only accomplished basic surveillance of archaeological sites for the most part.
[ However, the group had initiated the restoration of Cybriatic settlements, including that of ]Balbura
''Balbura'' is a genus of moths in the subfamily Arctiinae.
Species
* ''Balbura dorsisigna'' Walker 1854
* ''Balbura fasciata''
* ''Balbura fresini''
* ''Balbura intervenata
''Balbura intervenata'' is a moth of the subfamily Arctiinae. It ...
, Podalia
''Podalia'' is a genus of moths in the family Megalopygidae.
Species
*'' Podalia albescens'' (Schaus, 1900)
*'' Podalia amarga'' (Schaus, 1905)
*'' Podalia angulata'' (Hopp, 1922)
*'' Podalia annulipes'' (Boisduval, 1833)
*''Podalia bolivari'' H ...
, Massicytus and Oenoanda
Oenoanda or Oinoanda ( Hittite: 𒃾𒅀𒉌𒌓𒉿𒀭𒁕 ''Wiyanawanda'', el, τὰ Οἰνόανδα) was a Lycian city, in the upper valley of the River Xanthus. It is noted for the philosophical inscription by the Epicurean, Diogenes ...
, all of which had been discovered and named by the expedition after journeying into the mainland of the Antalya Province
Antalya Province ( tr, ) is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea.
Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists vi ...
(although Araxa is the more consensually approved name for Massicytus).[ Hoskyn's findings and experiences were later documented in the journal for the '']Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...
'' in 1843.[
An expedition to the Lycian region under the guidance of Vice-Admiral ]Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt
Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt (11 May 181112 March 1888) was an English vice-admiral, hydrographer, and geologist.
Life
Thomas Spratt was born at Woodway House, East Teignmouth, the eldest son of Commander James Spratt, RN, who was a hero of ...
was to follow. The group set about continuing the work of Hoskyn and his assistant, W.S. Harvey in the restoration of the archaeological sites discovered by Sir Charles Fellows
Sir Charles Fellows (31 August 1799 – 8 November 1860) was a British archaeologist and explorer, known for his numerous expeditions in what is present-day Turkey.
Biography
Charles Fellows was born at High Pavement, Nottingham on 31 Augus ...
, with work commencing on recently rediscovered settlements such as Rhodiapolis
Rhodiapolis ( grc, Ῥοδιάπολις), 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, Turk ...
, Candyba, and indeed, Phellus (among other locations).[ Though Phellus had already been uncovered by Fellows, Spratt also wanted to charter and survey the site, consulting the works of Roman scholars ]Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
and Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ...
in order to verify the location of the ruins; citing Livy's claim of a town near Phoenicus that acted as "the port of Phellus", and Pliny the Elder's writings, which suggest that Phellus is directly north of Habessus, a pre-Hellenic
Hellenic is a synonym for Greek. It means either:
*of or pertaining to the Hellenic Republic (modern Greece) or Greek people (Hellenes, el, Έλληνες) and culture
*of or pertaining to ancient Greece, ancient Greek people, culture and civiliz ...
name for the settlement's trading port, Antiphellus
Antiphellus or Antiphellos ( grc, ) was city that acted as the port of Phellus (Phellos) in Lycia. It was at the head of a bay on the south coast. Sir Francis Beaufort, the discoverer of this ancient site, gave the contemporary name of Vathy to ...
. Using these clues, Spratt journeyed to the small farming village of Saaret, which is North north-west of Antiphellus in order to locate the ruins of Phellus. He was accompanied by the same guide Charles Fellows had used to document the settlement for reliability purposes, who was named Panayotis. If his cartography had been correct, Spratt could verify Phellus' location through a correlation of the ancient texts and the site notes taken by Fellows; especially toward remarks of its close proximity and adjacency to the Island of Megiste.[Spratt (1847), p. 58]
Legacy
Phellus remains 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 archbis ...
of the Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.Catholic Hierarchy
/ref>
References
Bibliography
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{{Authority control
Populated places in ancient Lycia
Catholic titular sees in Asia
Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey
Former populated places in Turkey
Kaş District