Oenoanda or Oinoanda ( Hittite: 𒃾𒅀𒉌𒌓𒉿𒀭𒁕 ''Wiyanawanda'', el, τὰ Οἰνόανδα) was a Lycian city, in the upper valley of the River Xanthus. It is noted for the philosophical inscription by the

Epicurean Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism. Few writings by Ep ...

, Diogenes of Oenoanda. The ruins of the city lie on a high isolated site west of the modern village İncealiler in the

Fethiye Fethiye () is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is one of the prominent tourist destinations in the Turkish Riviera. In 2019 its population was 162,686. History Fethiye was formerly known as Makri ...

district of

Muğla Province Muğla Province ( tr, , ) is a province of Turkey, at the country's south-western corner, on the Aegean Sea. Its seat is Muğla, about inland, while some of Turkey's largest holiday resorts, such as Bodrum, Ölüdeniz, Marmaris and Fethiye, ...

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 ...

, which partly overlies the ancient site. The place name suggests that it was known for viticulture.

History

The early history of the settlement is obscure, in spite of an exploratory survey carried out, with permission of the Turkish authorities, by the British Institute at Ankara (BIAA) in 1974–76. The city was known as Wiyanawanda by the

Hittites The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-cent ...

. It means "rich in vines/wine" or "land of the wine". During the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

it was a part of the

Lukka The term Lukka lands (sometimes Luqqa lands), in Hittite language texts from the 2nd millennium BC, is a collective term for states formed by the Lukka people in south-west Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). The Lukka were never subjugated long-term by ...

lands which corresponds to

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 ...

from

classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

. It seems that Oenoanda became a colony of Termessos about 200-190 BC and was also called Termessos Minor (or Termessos i pros Oinoanda). Oenoanda was the most southerly of the Kibyran Tetrapolis, formed in the 2nd c. BC (

Hellenistic Period In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

), with Bubon,

Balbura ''Balbura'' is a genus of moths in the subfamily Arctiinae The Arctiinae (formerly called the family Arctiidae) are a large and diverse subfamily of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical s ...

, and Kibyra which was dissolved by L. Licinius Murena in 84 BC, whereupon Oenoanda became part of the Lycian League, as its inscriptions abundantly demonstrate. Diogenes, a rich and influential citizen of Oenoanda, had a summary of the philosophy of

Epicurus Epicurus (; grc-gre, Ἐπίκουρος ; 341–270 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher and sage who founded Epicureanism, a highly influential school of philosophy. He was born on the Greek island of Samos to Athenian parents. Influence ...

carved onto a

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cul ...

wall of the

stoa A stoa (; plural, stoas,"stoa", ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 2nd Ed., 1989 stoai, or stoae ), in ancient Greek architecture, is a covered walkway or portico, commonly for public use. Early stoas were open at the entrance with columns, usuall ...

showing the inhabitants the road to happiness. The inscription is one of the most important sources for the philosophical school of Epicurus and sets out his teachings on

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Epi ...

, and

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...

. It was originally about 25,000 words and 80 m long and filled 260 m² of wall space. The inscription has been assigned on

epigraphic Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

grounds to the

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania ...

ic period, 117–138.Smith(1996)43-8"> The

was dismantled in the second half of the third century to extend the defensive wall. It was occupied into the Byzantine period when a fortress and churches were built. Oenoanda is a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

The Site

The site was first noted by Hoskyns and Forbes, in 1841, and published in the ''Journal of the Royal Geographical Society'', xii (1843). The extensive philosophical inscriptions of Diogenes of Oenoanda were identified later from scattered fragments, apparently from the stoa. The city walls are well preserved and stand to 10m in places. The Hellenistic city wall is over 65m long and is a superb example of polygonal masonry with small stones on the interior faces while large ashlars were used for the imposing exterior faces. Part of an aqueduct can be seen in terms of stone pipe sections from a

siphon A siphon (from grc, σίφων, síphōn, "pipe, tube", also spelled nonetymologically syphon) is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in a ...

. Evidence for an ancient

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

Bridge at Oinoanda surfaced in the 1990s. Official excavations at the site started only in 1997. New archaeological work was started in 2009 by the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut. By 2012 over 300 fragments of Diogenes' stoa had been identified, varying in size from a few letters to passages of several sentences covering more than one block.The Oinoanda campaign of 2012
", German Archaeological Institute (DAI) website (accessed 27 June 2014) Remains of a screw wine press were also discovered in a house which could prove that the activity suggested in the place name continued to be practised into the late history of the city.

References

External links

Livius.org: Oenoanda
{{coord, 36, 48, 33, N, 29, 32, 59, E, , display=title Populated places in ancient Lycia Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Archaeological sites in the Aegean Region Roman sites in Turkey Former populated places in Turkey Geography of Muğla Province History of Muğla Province Buildings and structures in Muğla Province Catholic titular sees in Asia