Lydae or Lydai ( grc, Λύδαι) was a town of
ancient Caria
Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid- Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined t ...
or
Lycia
Lycia ( Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is ...
in the
Rhodian Peraea
The Rhodian Peraea or Peraia ( grc, ἡ τῶν Ῥοδίων περαία, 3=''peraia'' of the Rhodians) was the name for the southern coast of the region of Caria in western Asia Minor during the 5th–1st centuries BC, when the area was controll ...
.
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
notes the city in Lycia under the name Chydae. The ''
Stadiasmus Maris Magni
The ''Stadiasmus Maris Magni'' ( grc, Σταδιασμός ήτοι περίπλους της μεγάλης θαλάσσης) is an ancient Roman periplus or guidebook detailing the ports sailors encounter on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. ...
'' calls the city Clydae or Klydai (Κλυδαί) and places it in Caria.
The family of
Gaius Iulius Heliodoros from Lydae, which produced Lycian Federal Priests, an
archiphylax, and a Roman Senator, is well-documented. The ''
demoi
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and ear ...
'' (subordinate urban units) of Lydae,
Arymaxa and
Kreneis are known in
Roman imperial times; they used to be separate communities that merged with Lydae via ''
sympoliteia''.
Its site is located on the modern
Kapıdağ Peninsula
Kapıdağ Peninsula ( tr, Kapıdağ Yarımadası) ( gr, Χερσόνησος της Κυζίκου ) is a tombolo in northwestern Anatolia extending into the Sea of Marmara in Balıkesir Province, Turkey. The peninsula forms the Gulf of Band ...
. There are extensive Roman and Byzantine ruins. These include a
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
and an
agora. Numerous tombs and
mausoleums are scattered across the ruins.
References
Populated places in ancient Caria
Populated places in ancient Lycia
Former populated places in Turkey
Fethiye District
History of Muğla Province
Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey
{{AncientLycia-geo-stub