Xanthos-Letoon

Xanthos-Letoon
.
Xanthos-Letoon is an archeological site consisting of two separate locations that represent the Lycian civilization. Their art work is well known, e.g. the monumental tombs that were taken to the British Museum, the most famous being the Nereid Monument, the Harpy Monument and the Payava Sarcophagus.

Xanthos was the name of a city in ancient Lycia. It was a center of culture and commerce for the Lycians. The archeological excavations at Xanthos have yielded many texts in Lycian and Greek, including several bilingual texts that are useful in the decipherment of Lycian.

The sanctuary of Leto called the Letoon near Xanthos, was one of the most important religious centers of the Lycian region. The foundations of the Hellenistic temple dedicated to Leto, and her children, Artemis and Apollo, have been excavated. Archaeologists have excavated much of the ruins; discoveries include the Letoon trilingual, bearing inscriptions in Greek, Lycian and Aramaic, which has provided crucial keys in the deciphering of the Lycian language.

Year Decision Comments
1988 Inscribed Reasons for inscription

Reviews

Colin Heath (England, United Kingdom):
I visited Xanthos on 11.10.03 by taxi from Patara together with 2 other hotel guests. The site was virtually deserted and we spent a fascinating 3 hours exploring it. The entrance fee was about £2.50 and well worth it.
It was wonderful to visit Xanthos without the usual tourist crowds obscuring the ancient structures.I must go to the British Museum now to see the articles removed to there (for safe keeping?!) in 1840
The rock tombs were the most impressive for me as I had never seen one close up and here were lots all over the hillside.A helpful Turk was very good at explaning what we were looking at and pointing out particular features which we would have missed had he not been there. He was not intrusive like the Egyptians are in Luxor and was well worth his tip.
Patara a few miles away is absolutely fescinating and again almost deserted in early October.
I spent hours exploring the various buildings with the aid of a book written in 2000 by Prof.Dr. Fahiri Isik who is excavating the site.
I have hundreds of fantastic photos to refresh my memories of the area and hope to visit again.
 


Have you been to Xanthos-Letoon? Share your experiences!

Add your own review