Myra
| Μύρα (Ancient Greek) | |
The theatre of Myra, with the rock-cut tombs of the ancient Lycian necropolis on the cliff in the background.
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 Shown within Turkey
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| Location | Demre, Antalya Province, Turkey |
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| Region | Lycia |
| Coordinates | 36°15′32.62″N 29°59′6.63″E / 36.2590611°N 29.9851750°ECoordinates: 36°15′32.62″N 29°59′6.63″E / 36.2590611°N 29.9851750°E |
| Type | Settlement |
Myra (Ancient Greek: Μύρα [plural]) was an ancient Greek town in Lycia where the small town of Kale (Demre) is situated today, in present-day Antalya Province of Turkey. It was located on the river Myros (Demre Çay), in the fertile alluvial plain between Alaca Dağ, the Massikytos range and the Aegean Sea.
Although some scholars equate Myra with the town Mira in Arzawa, there is no proof for the connection. There is no substantiated written reference for Myra before it was listed as a member of the Lycian alliance (168 BC – AD 43); according to Strabo (14:665) it was one of the largest towns of the alliance.
The Greek citizens worshipped Artemis Eleutheria, who was the protective goddess of the town. Zeus, Athena and Tyche were venerated as well.
The ruins of the Lycian and Roman town are mostly covered by alluvial silts. The Acropolis on the Demre-plateau, the Roman theatre and the Roman baths (eski hamam) have been partly excavated. The semi-circular theater was destroyed in an earthquake in 141, but rebuilt afterwards.
There are two necropoleis of Lycian rock-cut tombs in the form of temple fronts carved into the vertical faces of cliffs at Myra: the river necropolis and the ocean necropolis. The ocean necropolis is just northwest of the theater. The best known tomb in the river necropolis (located 1.5 km up the Demre Cayi from the theater) is the "Lion's tomb,"also called the "Painted Tomb." When the traveller Charles Fellows saw the tombs in 1840 he found them still colorfully painted red, yellow and blue.
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Wikipedia