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Letoon

Coordinates:36°19′55″N29°17′23″E/ 36.33194°N 29.28972°E/36.33194; 29.28972
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Letoon
Letoon
Ancient Greek:Λητῷον
Hellenistictheatre
Map
LocationKumluova
RegionMuğla Province,Turkey
TypeSanctuary complex
History
FoundedLate 6th century BC
Abandoned7th century
Site notes
Websiteturkishmuseums
TypeCultural
Criteriaii, iii
Designated1988 (12thsession)
Reference no.484-003
Part ofXanthos-Letoon

LetoonorLetoum(Turkish:Letoon,Ancient Greek:Λητῷον) in theFethiyedistrict ofMuğla Province,Turkey, was a sanctuary ofLetolocated 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) south of the ancient city ofXanthos,to which it was closely associated, and along the Xanthos River. It was one of the most important religious centres in the region though never a fully-occupied settlement.

Letoon was added as aUNESCO World Heritage Sitein 1988.

History

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Letoon was the religious centre ofXanthosand theLycian League.Inscriptionsfound at the site indicate that it was whereLycianrulers declared their decisions to the public. It was continuously occupied from the 8th century BC to the end of the Roman period of occupation.[1][2]

The site was dedicated to the worship of the Letoids—the Greek goddessLeto,and her twin offspring,ArtemisandApollo.According to a myth, Leto was drinking at a lake in Lycia whilst fleeing with her children Apollo and Artemis from the anger of the goddessHera.When local peasants tried to drive her away, she rebuked them and transformed them into frogs.[2]Leto may have been identified with an earlyLuwiangoddess whose cult was located with Letoon. The Letoids were designated as the Lycians' national gods.[2][note 1]

The sanctity of the site is the purport of an anecdote related by the 2nd century Greek historianAppianconcerningMithridates VI of Pontus,who was planning to cut down the trees in thesacred grovefor his own purposes during his siege of Patara, but was warned against thissacrilegein a nightmare.[4]

The site remained active through the Roman period. It wasChristianisedby the construction of anbasilicalchurch.[5]

Archaeology

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Archaeologicalfinds at Letoon date to at least the 6th century BCE, and pre-date theGreekcultural hegemonyinLycia.[6]The sanctuary was connected to Xanthos by a road that led up fromPatarato the south.[7]

The foundations of the threeHellenistictemples dedicated to Leto and her children have beenexcavatedsince 1962, under the successive direction of the FrencharchaeologistsHenri Metzger,Jacques Des Courtils andEmmanuel Laroche.[2]Since then, excavations have uncovered most of the site's ruins, most of which are located under thewater tableof the River Xanthos.[7]

The temple of Leto was successfully reconstructed in its original setting between 2000 and 2007 using original pieces found during excavations carried out since 1950s.[1]As of 2004,the stadium has not been located.[8]

Letoon trilingual

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Main article:Letoon trilingual

In 1973, astelewas discovered at the site.[2]The stele's inscription, dated to 337 BCE, features texts in theLycian language,Ancient GreekandAramaic.The so-calledLetoon trilingualis now conserved in theFethiye Museum[tr].[1][9]It contains regulations for the establishment of a cult at Letoom. The text has contributed greatly to a greater understanding of the Lycian language.[2]The text is unusual, in that, unlike most Lycian texts, it does not consist of consists ofepitaphs.[10]

Description

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aaa
The north portico
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The three temples

Letoon is located south of the village ofKumluova[tr](previously known as Botisullu),[11] in theFethiyedistrict ofMuğla Province,Turkey.[12]The site is 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) southwest of the site of Lycia's most important city, Xanthos.[2]The Greek geographerStrabolocated Letoon tenstades—more than one mile (1.6 km)—from the coast, a figure considered by the English archaeologistGeorge Ewart Beanto be correct, considering the probable change in the position of the coast line sinceClassical antiquity.[13]

The complex is dominated by three 4/5th century BC temples. The central temple was dedicated to Artemis. The other two temples, which are Greek, were dedicated to at least one of the other Letoids.[2]

Thenymphaeum(which supplied a source of fresh water), is early 2nd century or later. It occupied the site of a Hellenistic structure built over a spring.[2]Spring water used to emerge from thenymphaeum,flanked by a pair ofexedras;of the remains, only those dating from the 3rd century are visible.[14]

The remaining ruins remain largely intact and unaffected by tourism or modern building.[1]

Historical importance

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The River Xanthos estuary

Letoon was added as aUNESCO World Heritage Site,along with Xanthos, in 1988. According toUNESCO,the archaeological sites at Xanthos and Letoon represent “the most unique extant architectural example of the ancient Lycian Civilization”. UNESCO has acknowledged that the Lycian rock inscriptions are the language’s most important texts, and have a crucial role in helping to understand both the ancient Lycian people, their civilization, and their long-lost language.[1]

Letoon is a 1st degree archaeological site and so subject to conservation legislation. It is within an Environment Protection Zone under the responsibility of the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. The Regional Conservation Council approved a Conservation Plan in 2006.[1]

The architecture influenced that of other Lycian cities such asPatara,Pınara,andMyra.[1]

Visually affected bygreenhouseswhich surround it, Letton is also threatened by seasonal rising of thewater table.The construction of water channels in 2006 acted to mitigate the effect during excavation works. The Turkish government has begun to control the surrounding environment and address issues relating to the preservation of the monuments, such as the management of visitors to the site, and to raise local awareness of its importance.[1]

Notes

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  1. ^A claim for an earlyLyciancult ofApollocentred in the plain of the River Xanthus was provided by twoGreek mythsconnected to aneponymoushero,Lycus.One myth originated from theTelchines,theautochthonousinhabitants ofRhodes,who may have colonized the region at the time ofDeucalion's flood; The other involved anAthenianbrother ofAegeuswho introduced thecultof Lycaean Apollo.Folk etymologymade Lycus the Atheniancolonizerofancient Lycia.[3]

References

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  1. ^abcdefgh"Xanthos-Letoon".UNESCO.Retrieved11 May2023.
  2. ^abcdefghiBryce 2009,p. 416.
  3. ^Grimal 1996,pp. 264–265.
  4. ^Appian,Mithridates,27, noted by T. R. Bryce, "The Arrival of the Goddess Leto in Lycia",Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte,321 (1983:1–13). p. 3 and note 9.
  5. ^Greenhalgh 2009,p. 85.
  6. ^Dusinberre 2013,p. 219.
  7. ^abBean 1978,pp. 60–62.
  8. ^Bayburtluoğlu 2004,p. 264.
  9. ^"Muğla: Letoon Örenyeri"[Mugla: Letoon Ruins] (in Turkish). TurkishMinistry of Culture and Tourism.Archived fromthe originalon 15 September 2015.Retrieved11 May2023.
  10. ^Bean 1978,p. 22.
  11. ^Bayburtluoğlu 2004,p. 262.
  12. ^Clow 2000,p. 45.
  13. ^Bean 1978,p. 63.
  14. ^Bayburtluoğlu 2004,p. 263.

Sources

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Further reading

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36°19′55″N29°17′23″E/ 36.33194°N 29.28972°E/36.33194; 29.28972

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