Tlos is located on the eastern side of the Xanthos Valley, at the foot of the Kragos Mountains (Akdağlar), approximately 25 km north of Xanthos. The site was first identified by Charles Fellows in 1838. The city’s Lycian name was Tlawa, and it appears in Hittite sources as Dalawa. Archaeological research conducted in Tlos and its surrounding region indicates that the area has been inhabited since the 10th millennium BCE.
Tlos was one of the most powerful cities of Lycia. According to Strabo, by around 100 BCE it was one of six major cities holding three votes in the Lycian League. The Patara Road Monument places Tlos at the intersection of seven routes, underscoring its strategic importance.
Systematic excavations have been ongoing since 2005. During the Dynastic period, settlement was concentrated on the acropolis hill, where the most prominent surviving remains are the rock-cut tombs surrounding it. In the Hellenistic period, the city expanded eastward from the acropolis, while in the Roman period the urban center developed across the plain at its base.
A notable Roman-period structure is the 148 m-long stadium, parts of which—including nine seating rows leaning against the acropolis slope—remain visible today. To the east of the Roman city lies a large theater with 37 seating rows, adjacent to a complex consisting of an agora, gymnasium, palaestra, baths, and temples. Although originally constructed in the Hellenistic period, the theater was expanded during Roman times.
A distinctive feature of the theater is the Doric temple situated at the center of the upper cavea, a rare example in Anatolia. A comparable structure is known only from the theater at Patara. This temple is thought to have been added during the Augustan period and to have functioned as an oracular center for a significant time.
Another important structure is a Corinthian-order temple located west of the agora. It is unique in Lycia as the only known temple dedicated to Kronos, the ancient Titan god.
Izraza Monument
Although the Izraza Monument survives only in fragmentary form and is heavily weathered, it remains a remarkable example of Lycian relief art due to the richness of its decorative program. Charles Fellows took plaster casts of the reliefs during his visit in 1842, while Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt and Edward Forbes were the first to document the monument in their 1847 travel accounts.
Before its transfer to the Fethiye Museum in 1974, the monument suffered further damage and fragmentation. It was eventually reconstructed from six surviving fragments. Its present form consists of two rectangular prisms stacked in a pyramidal arrangement, with all surfaces decorated in relief.
The function of the monument remains debated. The reliefs depict scenes of warfare and victory—common themes in Lycian funerary art—leading many scholars to interpret it as a tomb monument. However, its architectural form does not correspond to any known Lycian tomb type, leaving its original purpose uncertain. The name “Izraza” is inscribed in Lycian letters beside a warrior figure on two faces of the monument (TL 24). The same name also appears in another Lycian inscription (TL-26), which was later used as spolia in the construction of the theater.
Based on stylistic analysis, the monument is dated to between 350 and 330 BCE.
Bellerophon Tomb
The acropolis of Tlos is surrounded by numerous Lycian rock-cut tombs of the Classical period, many of which feature façades imitating wooden architecture. Among these, several stand out with temple-style façades, most notably the so-called Bellerophon Tomb, distinguished by its monumental scale and rich decoration.
The tomb has an Ionic temple-style façade with four columns, an architrave, and a triangular pediment. Behind the façade lies an antechamber, which provides access—through two doorways—to two separate burial chambers. Between these doorways, the rock surface is carved in the form of a two-winged pseudo-door in Ionic style. The upper and lower sections of the doorways are decorated with animal figures.
On the upper part of the left wall of the antechamber is a relief that gives the tomb its modern name: it depicts the Lycian hero Bellerophon riding the winged horse Pegasus in combat with the Chimera, a fire-breathing monster from Greek mythology.
Although the tomb is architecturally elaborate, the column details of the Ionic façade appear unfinished, suggesting that construction may not have been completed. Archaeological evidence, however, indicates that the tomb was reused in later periods.
Within the triangular pediment, another heavily eroded relief is visible. At its center is a long-haired male bust holding a double-edged axe in one hand and possibly a thunderbolt in the other, flanked by two reclining lions. This imagery deviates from typical Lycian funerary iconography and instead resembles depictions of the Anatolian Storm God—either Tarhunna or Tarhunza. It is therefore thought to represent the Lycian counterpart of these deities, Trqqas. A Lycian inscription (TL 22) on the left side of the façade identifies the tomb’s owners as Hrixttibili and his wife. Dated to the first half of the 5th century BCE, this structure is considered the earliest known tomb in Tlos.
References:
Benndorf, O. & G. Niemann. 1884. Reisen in Lykien und Karien (Reisen im südwestlichen Kleinasien I), Wien.
Borchhardt, J., G. Neumann & K. Schulz. 1976. “Das Izraza-Monument von Tlos,” RA1, 76-90.
Fellows, C. 1839. A Journal Written During an Excursion in Asia Minor, London.
Fellows, C. 1847. Lycia, Caria, Lydia, illustrated Mr. George Scharf with descriptive letter-press by Sir Charles Fellows, London.
Işık, F. 2016. “The Powerful City of the ‘Land of Lukka’: Tlos,” in From Lukka to Lycia: The Land of Sarpedon and St. Nicholas, eds. H. İşkan & E. Dündar, 206-223, İstanbul.
Korkut, T. 2015a. Arkeoloji, Epigrafi, Jeoloji, Doğal ve Kültürel Peyzaj Yapısıyla Tlos Antik Kenti ve Teritoryumu, Seydikemer Kaymakamlığı Yayınları 1, Ankara.
Korkut, T. 2015b. Akdağlar’ın Yamacında Bir Likya Kenti, Tlos, İstanbul.
Korkut, T. 2015c. “Tlos Antik Kenti Bellerophon Kaya Mezarı,” in Studies in Honour of Ömer Özyiğit, eds. E. Okan & C. Atila, 287-299, İstanbul.
Korkut, T., G. Işın, Ç. Uygun & B. Özdemir. 2018. “Excavations at the Ancient City of Tlos (2005-2017),” ANMED 16:132-141.
Wurster, W. W. 1976. “Antike Siedlungen in Lykien. Vorbericht über ein Survey-Unternehmen im. Sommer 1974,” AA 48, 23–49.
Yücel, T. 2012. Tlos Izraza Anıtı, Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Akdeniz Üniversitesi, Antalya.
Images:
British Museum
C. Fellows, 1839, 1847
O. Benndorf & G. Niemann, 1884
W. W. Wurster, 1976
T. Korkut, 2015c
Tayfun Bilgin, 2022
Bora Bilgin, 2022, 2023, 2024
Ertuğrul Anıl, 2024