Making Cnidos more appealing to the tourists

Cnidos is a magical place to visit for many different reasons, either because of its double harbor, its precious memories of the first nude Aphrodite, or simply because of its location as it is spread over two opposite hills. Sailing into the harbor of Cnidos situated at the tip of the Dorian Peninsula, 18 miles due south of Halicarnassus, is a unique experience too (see: What did Alexander the Great know of Cnidos?)

Beyond the buildings now in ruins, Cnidos is said to be the hometown of the Greek astronomer and mathematician, Eudoxus (408-355 BC) who was a pupil of Plato. What seems to be the first sundial ever was discovered here at Cnidos, the gnomon, and has been attributed to Eudoxus as well. More great men have their roots in Cnidos: Euryphon (early 5^th century BC), a Greek physician; Polygnotos (end 5^th century BC), a Greek vase painter; Ctesias (5^th century BC) who as a Greek historian wrote a history of Persia and as physician served Artaxerxes Mnemon of Persia; and finally Sostratos, a Greek engineer and architect who designed the incomparable lighthouse of Alexandria.

In 2013, new excavations were focused mainly on the largest Byzantine Church and the theatre, while attention was also given to possible underwater artifacts. Work has also started at the Temple of Dionysus, of which the floor was swept clean. Yet during Byzantine times, this temple was often converted into a church of which we can only see the rounded apse. Excavators are now defining the propylon of this temple and erecting the columns in the gallery. In the process, many loose blocks, ornamental or not, will be prepared for restoration, including the Stoa that runs parallel to the length of the temple over a distance of one hundred meters.

It will be interesting to see what has been done here since my last visit in 2012. It always pays to go back, doesn’t it?