Herakleia-by-Latmos

Herakleia-by-Latmos is one of those odd places to visit. The remains of the ancient city are squeezed between the Latmos Mountains and the edge of Lake Bafa. However, you have to find them! 

Today’s village of Kapıkırı holds few promises of interesting ruins as its houses are built on top of the ancient remains. It takes a careful eye to spot abandoned walls, towers, column drums rooted into a tree, and other heart-shaped drums among the modern constructions. 

To start with, the place is off the beaten path and hard to find. That was not always the case because, in antiquity, Herakleia had full access to the sea deep inside a vast gulf. Over the centuries, this gulf has mainly been silted up with the alluvia carried along by the Meander River. By the end of the 3rd century AD, access from the sea was cut off, and all that remained was Lake Bafa. 

When Alexander the Great besieged Miletus, he and his army arriving from Priene had to march along the shores of this vast Latmian Gulf. Now, looking south from Priene towards Miletus, we’ll notice a flat plain that was once at the bottom of the sea. 

It is generally admitted that Herakleia was founded by Pleistarchus, son of Antipater (see: Antipater and Alexander), in the early 3rd century BC. He ruled over large parts of Caria and made Herakleia his capital, initially named after him, Pleistarcheia. 

Pleistarcheia/Herakleia prospered in Hellenistic times as goods arriving by sea from the west were forwarded further by road into the Carian hinterland. An extensive network of roads, probably conceived by Pleistarchus exiting the city, has been discovered. It is not easy to piece the remaining sections together because, over the centuries, its stones have been reused elsewhere. As the pavement shows no ruts from carts and is occasionally interrupted by stairs, these roads were only used by pedestrians, horses, and beasts of burden. They connected, however, with essential thoroughfares in the valley of the Meander. 

Archaeologists eventually bring the scattered remains to life by recognizing the constructions from antiquity. The open space of the Agora is easiest to spot by the modern visitor as it functions as a parking lot. The marketplace measured an impressive 60x110m and was surrounded by marble colonnades in the Doric style. This was the center for commerce and trade of cattle, agricultural products, and honey in particular. 

Overlooking the Agora are the walls of a temple built in the Doric order with two, now missing, columns at the entrance. It was most probably dedicated to Athena. Inscriptions on the outside walls of the temple reveal that it served as an archive to the city. They also give us essential information about the history of Herakleia and Asia Minor in the early 2nd century BC. In those days, the ambition of the Seleucid king Antioch III was to rule over all of Asia Minor. However, the Romans defeated him at the Battle of Magnesia ad Sipylum in 190 BC. The blocks with these inscriptions are scattered on the temple's north side. From the south side, another inscription was recovered that is being kept at the Louvre. This is a letter by Lucius Cornelius Scipio, Consul of Rome, and Publius Scipio, his brother, addressed to the Boulé and the people of Herakleia. 

Also dating from the 2nd century BC are the Bouleuterion, the theater, and the Gymnasium. There are, of course, many other remains from temples and houses that need further investigation. From later dates are the Roman Baths, a Nymphaeum, as well as remains of the city walls. The ramparts are among the best-preserved of their time, extending for more than 6 km and counting over 40 towers. In places, they stand to a height of 6 meters. 

Herakleia’s necropolis is located in the far south of the city, as always outside the walls. A large, not yet excavated tumulus is believed to belong to Pleistarchus. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of rock-cut graves do not immediately catch the eye as they appear as mere rectangular openings in the rock wall. 

The conclusion is that there is far more to explore and discover than one would expect at first sight! As mentioned in my bibliography, I’ll gladly refer to the beautiful book, although written in German Herakleia in Latmos by A. Peschlow-Bindokat.