Phaselis Antik Kenti

It is said that Phaselis Ancient City was founded on a small peninsula extending into the Mediterranean in the 7th century BC by Rhodian colonists. In the foundation legend, it is told that when the colonists offered the local people corn or dried fish, they replied by asking for fish. Its geographical location shows that it was an important port city. It has three harbors, one on the north of the peninsula, another in the northeast, and the third on the southwest coast. Its harbors, agoras, and ship depictions on the city coins emphasize the commercial port identity of Phaselis.

Photo: Antalya Museum Directorate

Phaselis is sometimes shown as a city of the Lycia region and sometimes of the Pamphylia region. In fact, it is located between the borders of both regions. In the city, the rule of the Persians in the 5th century BC, the Carian Satrap Mausolos in the 4th century, and finally King Perikles of the neighboring city of Lmyra are seen in sequence. Their welcoming Alexander the Great with a golden crown in 333 BC is one of the most colorful pages of the city's history. After Alexander, Phaselis changed hands many times, became a member of the Lycian League in 167 BC, and minted league coins. After being subjected for a while to the plundering of pirates together with the neighboring city of Olympos, it came under Roman rule in 43 BC, and this period marks the beginning of reconstruction in the city and prosperity that would last at least 300 years. The city was visited by Emperor Hadrian in 129. The monumental single-arched triumphal arch at the entrance of the main street starting from the south harbor was erected in memory of this visit.

The 5th and 6th centuries are the centuries under Byzantine rule, and Phaselis was among the cities that participated in the Council of Chalcedon in 451. After the Arab raids in the 7th century, a new period of prosperity began in the 8th century. After the Seljuk siege in 1158, and due both to earthquakes and the loss of functionality of its harbor, Phaselis lost its importance and was completely abandoned from the beginning of the 13th century onward. Mostly Roman and Byzantine period remains have survived to the present day. These are lined up on both sides of the main street that forms the main axis of the city and connects the north and south harbors. The street widens between the agora and the theater, forming a small square. At the southeast corner of the square, steps provide access to the theater and the acropolis. The theater is a small-sized typical Hellenistic Period theater. It is understood from the remains that a stage building was added in the Roman period, and in the Late Byzantine period the wall of the stage building was partly part of the new fortifications protecting the city. On the right of the bend at the entrance of the ruins, the city's old walls (3rd century BC) and foundation remains that may have belonged to a temple or monumental tomb can be seen. The slope behind the north harbor is the city's necropolis area.

Photo: Servet Uygun

The most monumental structure surviving to the present day is the aqueducts. The water needed by the city was brought from the spring located on the hill to the north.

Photo: Gülcan Acar

There are three agoras, one opposite the theater and the other two on the right of the main street leading to the south harbor. Inside the agora opposite the theater are today the remains of a small basilica belonging to the Byzantine period. The city's two other important remains are the ruins of two baths in the city square, one small and the other large. Especially the remains of the small bath provide information about the heating system of the Roman Bath. Historians write that the chief goddess of the city was Athena, the goddess of war and wisdom. It is thought that the Temple of Athena, which has not yet been found, and other important structures were located on the acropolis hill, which is today covered with forest.

Source: "Phaselis", Dünden Bugüne Antalya II. Cilt, Antalya İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü (2012)

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