Xanthos
Xanthos ( Lycian: 𐊀𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀 ''Arñna'', el, Ξάνθος, Latin: ''Xanthus'', Turkish: ''Ksantos'') was an ancient major city near present-day Kınık, Antalya Province, Turkey. The remains of Xanthos lie on a hill on the left b ...
, also called Xanthus, was a chief city state of the
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 ...
ns, an indigenous people of southwestern
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...
(present-day
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
).
Many of the tombs at Xanthos are
pillar tomb A pillar tomb is a type of monumental grave wherein the central feature is a single, prominent Column, pillar or column, often made of stone.
Overview
A number of world cultures incorporated pillars into tomb structures. Examples of such edifices ...
s, formed of a stone burial chamber on top of a large stone pillar. The body would be placed in the top of the stone structure, elevating it above the landscape. The tombs are for men who ruled in a Lycian dynasty from the mid-6th century to the mid-4th century BCE and help to show the continuity of their power in the region. Not only do the tombs serve as a form of monumentalization to preserve the memory of the rulers, but they also reveal the adoption of Greek style of decoration.
Xanthos was chief city state governed by a king, who was under an
Achaemenid Empire governor. The continuity of the dynastic rule in Xanthos was shown through a tradition of building pillar tombs.
When these tombs were made, predominant Late Classical Greek ideas of art pervaded Lycian imagery.
The tombs moved away from the local tradition and started to display the facades of pillared Greek Temples following the resurgence of Greek influence in the erea, from the 2nd quarter of the 4th century BCE (375–350 BCE).
Several tombs were excavated by
Sir Charles Fellows, an Englishman who excavated in the Levant and Asia Minor, and were transported to the British Museum in 1848 C.E.
Monumental pillar tombs
Lion Pillar
![Lycian tombs Xanthos IMGP8884](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Lycian_tombs_Xanthos_IMGP8884.jpg)
The “Lion Pillar,” named because of the large
lion in high relief, was located east of the
Acropolis of Xanthos and stands around three meters high (around ten feet). The stone chest is made of white
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, carved to fit the body. It has been postulated that this tomb was created between the early- and mid-sixth century
B.C.E. Contrast is created between the high relief sculpture on the ends and the low relief sculpture in the center of the chest.
The details of the friezes indicate that the craftsmen were Greek, not Lycian. The stylistic features that distinguish Greek craftsmanship are revealed through the depictions of the human form on the West side of the chest. A lion is held by a man, whose body simply delineated: nude and with few defining curves. His archaic smile and hair falling in locks also indicates a strong Archaic Greek style.
On the south side of the front of the chest is the figure of a recumbent lion, carved in high relief. The lion is facing left, its body contained within the end of the block. The small head of a
bull
A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions,
includin ...
, who has been pinned by the lion, rests between its paws. Below the bull was a tablet, the inscription on which has faded. The North side of the monument features more imagery of lions, in a position of caring for young, as a lion interacts with her cubs. The carving technique used in this relief is similar to the one used on the South side of the frieze, with the details and outline of the form delineated by use of line. While the lion on the South side has weight and mass, the lion on the east side has a thinner form.
On the east side of the monument, the composition is broken up into registers, the lower half remaining undecorated and the upper half most likely containing a low relief
frieze
In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...
. However, the complete length of the top frieze is unknown because part of it has broken off, limiting the information that can be gained from the images. On the left part of the east side of the monument, militaristic scenes in low relief depict soldiers with gear for war, including a shield, a Corinthian helmet, and a weapon. On the right side of the frieze is a horseman, dressed in a short cloak and a helmet, accompanied by an attendant wearing a chiton, a Greek-style tunic, carrying a spear.
The unique iconography used in the monument has received much scholarly attention. It was meant to express legitimacy of the tomb's owner as well as his association to the
Achaemenids
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest emp ...
. The Archaic pillar tomb itself, which is the oldest example of an architectural style unique to Lycia, alludes to his Lycian origin. Seyer concludes that the owner was probably a Lycian inaugurated as the first local ruler under the Achaemenids.
Harpy Tomb
The "
Harpy Tomb" was most likely made around 480-470 B.C.E. The decorations are made in the Greek Archaic Style and the tomb was located on the Acropolis of Xanthos.
The interpretation of the iconography of the “Harpy Tomb” have developed over time. Initially, it was believed that the winged females on the frieze referenced a myth about violence done to the Lycian royal family. Then, it was postulated that because the tomb was fabricated by Greek artisans and workmen, the imagery referenced a scene of the underworld, using iconography to underscore the funerary use of the structure. Tombs on mainland Greece produced at this time did not include the figures of gods, as are depicted, so a third theory was developed. The third theory is that the multiple generations of figures depicted around the image are an indication of hero worship centered around the individuals who could have been buried within the tomb.
Inscribed Pillar
The Inscribed Pillar of Xanthos, also known as the "
Xanthian Obelisk
The Xanthian Obelisk, also known as the Xanthos or Xanthus Stele, the Xanthos or Xanthus Bilingual, the Inscribed Pillar of Xanthos or Xanthus, the Harpagus Stele, the Pillar of Kherei and the Columna Xanthiaca, is a stele bearing an inscription ...
", was made around 400 B.C.E.
Like the other pillar tombs at Xanthos, the inscribed pillar supported a raised daise with a chamber tomb, decorated on the outside with friezes. Additionally, a statue of the occupant, a king in the Xanthian Dynasty, was positioned on top.
The chamber tomb was surrounded by friezes depicting scenes from the life of the owner, including hunting and battle scenes.
Seismic activity in antiquity likely caused the chamber tomb of fall off.
The inscriptions on the side of the pillar provide room for scholarly speculation as to the creators of the monument. Greek and two different types of Lycian inscriptions mark the sides of the pillar, with each inscription addressing different topics.
The Greek inscription is a dedication of the monument, likely to twelve
Greek gods
The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion.
Immortals
The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house th ...
, and is the oldest Greek inscription known in Lycia.
The inscriptions in
Lycian B has not yet been fully deciphered, but the inscriptions in
Lycian A, the last to be inscribed on the pillar, has been translated.
The creator of the Inscribed Pillar is unknown, because several of the letters forming the individual's name in the Lycian inscription are missing.
Other monumental burials
Nereid Monument
The “
Nereid Monument
The Nereid Monument is a sculptured tomb from Xanthos in Lycia (then part of the Achaemenid Persian Empire), close to present-day Fethiye in Mugla Province, Turkey. It took the form of a Greek temple on top of a base decorated with sculpted friez ...
” is another monumental tomb, named for the three figures of women between the columns on the front of the building. The tomb was built in the Ionic order (as the columns have volutes at tops and bases underneath them) and its form resembles an Ionic temple.
The temple was built around 380 B.C.E. by Greek sculptors and architects.
This funerary architecture parallels the religious architecture well-developed in Greece during the late Classical period. Just as the Nereid monument was influenced by Greek art and architecture, so too did it influence regional architecture after it. In fact, the
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus ( grc, Μαυσωλεῖον τῆς Ἁλικαρνασσοῦ; tr, Halikarnas Mozolesi) was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC in Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, an ...
, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was directly influenced by the Nereid Monument.
![Xanthus, tomb of the Nereids, podium](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Xanthus%2C_tomb_of_the_Nereids%2C_podium.jpg)
The building and the podium it rests upon are covered in relief sculpture. The women who lend their title to the monument have been identified as Nereids, as they could have appeared to the Greeks, or as water nymphs who were part of a local Lycian cult. The “hybrid iconography” present in the monument allows for multiple interpretations.
The expression of power is a pervasive theme in the monument, despite being a tomb. The grand size and position within a dynastic tradition of pillar tombs helps to express the sources of power of the ruler, King Erbinna of the Xanthian Dynasty, buried within. Throughout the monument are many references to Erbinna's power, as the friezes depict both scenes of political development (court scene) as well as scenes of battle. On the podium, the iconography is mixed, utilizing Greek iconography on the bottom two friezes and the 8th to 7th century B.C.E. Assyrian iconography of power on the top two reliefs.
Each set of friezes, in the podium, architrave, and interior, each show scenes of political life and recreation, as well as civic and religious duties.
Additional tombs
Other tombs were present at Xanthos. They include the "Pillar of the Wrestlers", the "Theatre Pillar", the "Acropolis Pillar", and the "
Tomb of Payava
The Tomb of Payava is a Lycian tall rectangular free-standing barrel-vaulted stone sarcophagus, and one of the most famous tombs of Xanthos. It was built in the Achaemenid Persian Empire, for Payava, who was probably the ruler of Xanthos, Lycia a ...
".
Stylistic Influences
The tombs at Xanthos derived their form and decoration from multiple international sources.
The form of the pillar tomb was a distinctively Lycian architectural type.
Lycian, Greek, and Persian styles and iconographies combined in the relief sculpture of the tombs at Xanthos.
Lycian imagery included predominant Late Classical Greek ideas of art such as a connection with the viewer, individualist expressions, centralized power and wealth, and new definitions of divinity.
These themes can be seen through an examination of the relief sculpture of the monuments, specifically relating to the dynastic continuity between generations of Lycian rulers. Depictions of powerful individuals using styles from surrounding regions, even after the individuals's death, indicates cultural awareness and control.
The tombs at Xanthos feature distinctive styles of relief sculpture that attest to the Greek influence in Anatolia during the Late Classical period. The use of Greek style in regions east of Greece are known as "East Greek" style.
Some Greek stylistic influence was very direct, with some relief sculpture in Xanthos made by Greek artisans. Examples include the reliefs sculpture on the Nereid Monument and depictions of hunters and lions in the Greek Archaic style on the Lion Tomb.
The Archaic style manifested itself in gridlike, proportional depictions of forms, not characterized by large amounts of movement. The Nereid Monument exemplifies the combination of Lycian, Greek, and Persian artistic styles because it combines Greek architectural forms and styles of motifs with Near Eastern iconography in the relief sculpture atop the Iconic-style pediment.
;Phoenicia
The shape of the Lycian ogival tomb was adopted for the
"Lycian" sarcophagus of Sidon, a tomb for a king of
Phoenicia
Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
(modern
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
), built by
Ionian artists circa 430–420 BCE.
Indian architectural parallels
The similarity of the
tomb of Payava
The Tomb of Payava is a Lycian tall rectangular free-standing barrel-vaulted stone sarcophagus, and one of the most famous tombs of Xanthos. It was built in the Achaemenid Persian Empire, for Payava, who was probably the ruler of Xanthos, Lycia a ...
, and more generally the Lycian barrel-vaulted tombs, with the Indian
Chaitya
A chaitya, chaitya hall, chaitya-griha, (Sanskrit:''Caitya''; Pāli: ''Cetiya'') refers to a shrine, sanctuary, temple or prayer hall in Indian religions. The term is most common in Buddhism, where it refers to a space with a stupa and a rounded ...
architectural design (starting from circa 250 BCE with the
Lomas Rishi caves in the
Barabar caves group) has also been remarked on.
James Fergusson, in his ''" Illustrated Handbook of Architecture"'', while describing the very progressive evolution from wooden architecture to stone architecture in various ancient civilizations, has commented that "In India, the form and construction of the older Buddhist temples resemble so singularly these examples in Lycia".
The Lycian tombs, dated to the 4th century BCE, are either free-standing or rock-cut barrel-vaulted sarcophagi, placed on a high base, with architectural features carved in stone to imitate wooden structures. There are
numerous rock-cut equivalents to the free-standing structures. Both Greek and Persian influences can be seen in the reliefs sculpted on the sarcophagus. The structural similarities, down to many architectural details, with the
Chaitya
A chaitya, chaitya hall, chaitya-griha, (Sanskrit:''Caitya''; Pāli: ''Cetiya'') refers to a shrine, sanctuary, temple or prayer hall in Indian religions. The term is most common in Buddhism, where it refers to a space with a stupa and a rounded ...
-type Indian Buddhist temple designs, such as the "same pointed form of roof, with a ridge", are further developed in ''The cave temples of India''. Fergusson went on to suggest an "Indian connection", and some form of cultural transfer across the
Achaemenid Empire.
The known Indian designs for the Chaityas only start from circa 250 BCE with the
Lomas Rishi caves in the
Barabar caves group, and therefore postdate the Xanthos barrel-vaulted tombs by at least one century. The Achaemenids occupied the northwestern parts of India from circa 515 BCE to 323 BCE following the
Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley
The Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley occurred from the 6th to 4th centuries BCE, and saw the Persian Achaemenid Empire take control of regions in the northwestern Indian subcontinent that predominantly comprise the territory of modern-d ...
, before they were replaced with the
Indian campaign of Alexander the Great
The Indian campaign of Alexander the Great began in 327 BC. After conquering the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, the Macedonian king Alexander launched a campaign into the north-western regions of the Indian subcontinent (precisely in present-day ...
and subsequent
Hellenistic influence in the region.
Art historian David Napier has also proposed a reverse relationship, claiming that the Payava tomb was a descendant of an ancient South Asian style, and that Payava may actually have been a
Graeco-Indian named "Pallava".
[According to David Napier, author of ''Masks, Transformation, and Paradox'', "In the British Museum we find a Lycian building, the roof of which is clearly the descendant of an ancient South Asian style.", "For this is the so-called "Tomb of Payava" a Graeco-Indian Pallava if ever there was one." in "Masks and metaphysics in the ancient world: an anthropological view" in ]
References
{{Achaemenid Empire
Ancient Greek tombs
Tombs in Turkey
Lycia
Archaeology of the Achaemenid Empire
Achaemenid Anatolia