The surprise of Myndos

Nowadays, Myndos is probably best-known for its underwater causeway running from the city’s harbor to Rabbit Island, which is guarding the mainland. It is a favorite with the tourists who happily walk across the bay when the sea level is only reaching to their knees. Otherwise, the site has very little to offer with cut stones and column drums strewn around. 

These ruins make it very difficult to imagine that Myndos was once a large prosperous city. In 377 BC, King Mausolos of Halicarnassus established Caria’s independence from Persia. He rebuilt the cities of Myndos and Syangela, and moved all other Carians to Halicarnassus, which he proclaimed his new capital (see: Halicarnassus, capital of Caria). 

Myndos, modern Gümüșlük, had a well-sheltered harbor, well-protected against the prevailing wind. The city had a two-mile-long fortification wall and its most vulnerable southeastern section was strengthened with towers. The green granite used for its construction is the same as the one known from the Mausoleum in Halicarnassus. The quarry providing these stones has been located in Koyunbaba, some three kilometers to the north. 

Otherwise, hardly anything else remains from ancient Myndos. Some rock-cut stairs and foundations of houses are found on the hillside, but the ruins that were present in the early 19^th century have entirely disappeared. They are said to belong to a theatre, a stadium, and a late Roman/early Byzantine basilica. 

Until the 1990s, there were more ancient stone blocks and bits of columns lying around in the village. Near a school, about 1.5 kilometers inland, some columns and Roman mosaics could be seen. Strangely, the nearby silver mines (hence the name Gümüșlük) are not mentioned in ancient sources. 

When Alexander besieged Halicarnassus in 334 BC, he speculated that Myndos would offer an easier approach. Some people in Myndos had actually suggested that they might open the city gates if he arrived under cover of darkness. Alexander took their word, but when he showed up at the gates there was no sign of surrender. Facing the betrayal, he ordered his Macedonians to attack without much result because he had not brought any rams, artillery or ladders. Myndos put up a vigorous resistance and soon was joined by Halicarnassus’ troops arriving by sea. Alexander was forced to withdraw and returned to besiege Halicarnassus. 

The capital of Caria was not taken so easily because the Persian commander Orontobates had the support of the Persian fleet. For the time being, Halicarnassus was no longer a real threat. Alexander moved on but left Ptolemy and Asander behind to finally take the city and to evict the remaining Persians. It was only a year later, in Soli, that Alexander received the long-awaited news that Halicarnassus had finally fallen!  At the same time, the town of Myndos came under Macedonian hands (see: A two-month-project to excavate the city of Soli). 

After the king’s death, Myndos was ruled by the Ptolemies from 308 until 275 BC. In 96 BC, it became independent and minted its own coins. Myndos was included in the Roman Province of Asia Minor in 133 BC. 

The harbor city was again in the news after the murder of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, after which Brutus and Cassius were expelled from Rome; they took their fleet to safety here at Myndos. By the end of 42 BC, the two murderers lost the battle against Marc Antony and Octavian in Philippi, and Myndos was given to Rhodes (see: Philippi, Macedonia’s gold and silver mines). Not for long though as the Rhodians treated Myndos harshly and unfairly and became independent again. However, it gradually lost its prosperity, although it may have survived till the 7th century AD. 

Myndos is often referred to as a Lelegian town, dating back to the Bronze Age. Except for its name, it has no connection with the classical city discussed in this article and both have a different history. The Lelegian site is nowadays called Old Myndos and lies a good three kilometers southeast of Gümüșlük.