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. 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 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). It is believed to date back much further however, as an outer
defensive wall has been dated to the 5th century BC.
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.
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.
Myra once had a great
temple of the goddess Artemis 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. See more about St. Nicholas below.
In Roman times the
emperor Germanicus and his wife Agrippina paid Myra a visit in 18 AD and
were honoured with statues of themselves erected in Myra's harbour
(Andriace, located 5 km southwest of Myra).
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.
Features of Myra include:
Amphitheatre - Myra's Greco-Roman theatre is the largest theatre in Lycia and one of the main attractions of Myra, still in good shape. Its double-vaulted corridors are still preserved and an inscription in a stall space reads "place of the vendor Gelasius" - the location of an ancient concessions stand. It has 38 rows of seats and its facade was richly decorated with theatrical masks and mythological scenes.
Rock-Cut Tombs - The famous rock-tombs of Myra are in two main groups, one above the theater and the other in a place called the river necropolis on the east side. Although most of the tombs are plain today, Charles Fellows tells that upon his discovery of the city in 1840 he found the tombs colourfully painted red, yellow and blue. The entire cliff face must have once been a bright riot of colour.
To the west of the theatre the steep cliff is pockmarked with a huge number of closely packed rock-cut tombs in an asymmetric pattern, house type rock-cut tombs. A few are temple tombs and one can see steps carved out out the rock that lead to them. Most of the tombs are from the 4th century BC, and many contain funeral scenes in relief, some scenes portraying the daily life of the deceased.
The tombs on the eastern face of the hill resemble those next to the theater. Approached by an uncomfortable rock-path is the monument known as The Painted Tomb, one of the most striking throughout Lycia. It is the ususal house-type tomb with the outstanding feature of a group of eleven life-size figures in relief.