About Xanthos
Overlooking the Eşen Plain, Xanthos was a political centre of Lycia with an exceptional concentration of funerary monuments. The Harpy Monument, Inscribed Pillar, rock-cut tombs and sarcophagi show local traditions alongside Hellenistic and Roman architecture.
History
Named Arnna in Lycian inscriptions, Xanthos developed as a major dynastic centre in the first millennium BCE. Ancient accounts describe destruction during the Persian commander Harpagus's siege. Rebuilt afterwards, it took a leading role in the Lycian League. Theatre, agora and churches mark continued Roman and Byzantine life. Xanthos and its religious centre Letoon entered the UNESCO World Heritage List together in 1988 for their exceptional Lycian monuments and inscriptions.
Highlights and principal structures
- Harpy Monument
- Inscribed Pillar
- Lycian sarcophagi
- Foundations of the Nereid Monument
- Theatre
- Roman agora
- Byzantine basilica
Historical period
Classical–Roman–Byzantine