| | | Myra
Demre - Kale
Myra (Turkey)
| | | | Myra was a leading city of the Lycian Union and surpassed Xanthos in early Byzantine times to become the capital city of Lycia.Its remains are situated about 1.5 km north of today's Demre, on the Kaş-Finike road. | | Myra : Virtual tour |  | 5 sections and 3 items |
 Myra : Building(s) (3)
|  | Sculptured Ornaments
The theater facade facing the cavea was richly ornamented with theatrical masks and representations of the mythological scenes and personages.
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|  | Sea Necropolis
Vth century B.C.
The so-called Sea and River Necropolis is on the cliff, face behind and to the northwest and the northeast of the theater.
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Myra : Church(es) (1)
|  | St. Nicholas Church (1)
VIIIth century
St. Nicholas Church is an ancient East Roman Church located in modern day town of Kale or Demre . It's usage is dated between 5th - 12th centuries A.D. It is most notable for being the burial place of St. Nicholas of Myra, who was the bishop of the ancient city in the 4th century A.D.
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| | Myra : Description | |
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Most of the ancient city is now covered by Demre and alluvial silts, for it is located on the river Demre Cay in a fertile alluvial plain.Today this large plain is almost covered with greenhouses stuffed full of tomatoes.In ancient times this area was probably farmed extensively, for export and trade with the interior of Lycia.
The city is well known for its amphitheatre (the largest in Lycia) and the plethora of rock-cut tombs carved in the cliff above the theatre.
Antiquities of Myra fall naturally into three distinct zones. The first is on the southwest of the site. It includes the theater, the so-called sea necropolis and the area occupied by the agora. The second is on the north and covers the acropolis, the buildings on it, and the surrounding walls. Finally, the third one is on the southeast. It encompasses the river necropolis and the channel which supplied Myra with water.
Myra's numerous tomb monuments are extremely impressive. These monuments, on the south of the city, carved out of the rock are preserved so far very well. The so-called sea necropolis is on the cliff, face behind and to the northwest and the northeast of the theater. It contains a remarkable collection of believed to copy the dwelling of the early inhabitants of the area. Some have stylized representations of wooden beams used as roof supports in Lycian houses. A few have reliefs that still bear traces of color. Inscriptions where they exit are usually in Lycian.
The theater of Myra in his well preserved conditions is brilliant and of large seating capacity (35 consecutive rows of seats) The theater destroyed by the earthquake that devastated the city in 141 AD, was restored shortly afterwards through the generosity of Opramoas of Rhodiapolis. He was a very wealthy Lycian citizen who lived in the first half of the second century AD in the small town of Rhodiapolis in eastern Lycia near present day Kumluca (Eskihisar).He is well-known for his philanthropy and lived during a period when the Roman Empire provided peace in Anatolia and public works in cities were highly developed.It is not known exactly how Opramoas became so wealthy, but it is known that the rents he received from his lands and the interest he received from commercial ventures made up a portion of his wealth. Not much is left of Rhodiapolis besides a theatre, but the remains of Opramoas' mausoleum were found there and among the rubble long inscriptions were discovered which once decorated the walls of his tomb.These long inscriptions describe the good deads Opramoas performed during his lifetime, letters from the emperor and records of the assembly.They are the longest known inscriptions in Anatolia in the Greek language where information is provided regarding administrative, social and economic activities and relations.Other inscriptions found in other Lycian cities give other details about this esteemed man. Researchers have determined that during his lifetime Opramoas contributed approximately 2 billion denarii for these activities.Quite an enormous amount, considering that the wage of a shepherd or menial worker was about 10 denarii during this period.
The theater was later modified so that it could be used as an area for gladiatorial games. There are 6 rows of seats above and 29 below the single diazoma. A substantial part of the stage buildings still remains. The facade facing the cavea was richly ornamented with theatrical masks and representations of the mythological scenes and personages. | | Myra : History | |
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The date of Myra's foundation is unknown.There is no literary mention of it before the 1st century BC, when it is said to be one of the six leading cities of the Lycian Union (the other five were Xanthos, Tlos, Pinara, Patara and Olympos).Evidences from Lycian inscriptions and monuments suggest that there was a settlement here in Myra as early as the 5th century BC.
The origin of Myra's name is uncertain and may be a modified form of a Lycian name, like Tlos and Patara.The name was popularly associated with the Greek name for myrrh and the emperor Constantine Porphrogenitus describled the city as "Thrice blessed, myrrh-breathing city of the Lycians, where the mighty Nicolaus, servant of God, spouts forth myrrh in accordance with the city's name."However, Myra does not seem to be known for its production of myrrh, the only product actually recorded is rue.
In antiquity, the city of Lycia used to give themselves pompous names. Accordingly, the city of Myra was named the "Most Brilliant". Actual facts about why this name was given to the Myra are given in the following :
"According to Artemidoros (2nd century AD), Myra was included among the six important cities of the federations of Lycia (Xanthos, Pattara, Olympos, Pinara, Tlos, Myra). This particular federation consisted of seventy cities in total". (Plinus, 1st century AD).
Myra used it own coins beside the coins of the federation which were made at its own mints. Coins issued by Myra show that the city main deity was the goddess Artemis Eleutheria. Myra once had a great temple ofArtemis Eleuthera (a distinctive form of Cybele, the ancient mother goddess of Anatolia), said to be Lycia's largest and most splendid building.It was built on large grounds with beautiful gardens and had an inner court defined by columns, an altar and a statue of the goddess.Not a trace of it remains today, however, since St. Nicholas (the bishop of Myra in the 4th century AD) in his zeal to stamp out paganism in the region, had the temple of Artemis, along with many other temples, completely destroyed.
Myra's seaport Andriace was one of the three most important commercial ports of Lycia. The other two were the ports of Patara and Phaselis. The most important monument in Andriace is the granary of Hadrian. From the inscriptions it's understood that the ship voyages with different time tables were held from here to other Lycian port.
Myra defence system, having the acropolis at its center extended as far as Limyra on the east and Sura on the west. The outer walls of the fortifications were constructed during the Byzantine period. The inner Lycian walls are of polygonal masonry and date from the 5tn century BC.
The monument which Myra was mostly proud of was the temple of Free, to which ancient historians refer together with Artemis of Ephesos and Artemis of Perge. In this regard, Myra was superior to other cities of Lycia.
In Roman times the emperor Germanicus and his wife Agrippina paid Myra a visit in 18 AD and were honored with statues of themselves erected in Andriace Myra's harbor.
St. Paul changed ships at Myra's port on his way to his trial in Rome, in about 60 AD, after he had been arrested in Jerusalem after being charged with inciting to riot.Andriace was a chief port for Egyptian vessels passing through the area.Egypt was the breadbasket of the Roman Empire and the imperial government had a fleet of grain ships that carried grain to Rome and other parts of the Empire.Andriace was a major trans-shipment point for grain from Alexandria - grain came from the plain near Myra, and was also possibly brought in by boats, to be shipped onwards from Lycia.It is likely that Paul made the trip to Rome on a grain ship, these were often used to transport passengers as well.
Emperor Hadrian visited Myra in 131 AD and built a huge granary at Andriace composed of seven rooms and decorated with portraits of himself and his wife who accompanied him on his visit.You can still see the granary as you drive along the main Kaş-Finike highway into Demre (the western part of Demre).
The Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II made Myra the capital of the Byzantine Eparchy Lycia until the city fell to the caliph Harun ar-Rashid in 808 AD after a seige and quickly went into decline.Then, early in the reign of Alexius I Comnenus (1081-1118 AD), Myra was overtaken by Seljuk invaders.
Because of the terrible plague that swept through Anatolia (Myra lost one-third of its population to it in 542-3 AD), Muslim raids, flooding and earthquakes, Myra was mostly abandoned by the 11th century.What remains is very impressive - a large theatre with the backdrop of Myra's famous rock-cut tombs. The sight of these is quite striking.
Another point of Myra's superiority at he Byzantine times was the privilege of having Nicholas as its bishop (4th century AD), one of the christianity's saints. This fact was also the reason for Myra to have its magnificent church, the basilica of Saint Nicholas preserved until today. | | | |
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