Letoon is a religious sanctuary located approximately 4 km from the ancient city of Xanthos. According to scholarly research, its development was closely linked to that of Xanthos. It is believed that a sacred precinct was established around a natural water source at the site and was originally dedicated to the mother goddess known in Lycian as Eni Mahanahi. In the Hellenistic period, Eni Mahanahi and her two divine children, Ertemi and Natri, were identified with Leto, Artemis, and Apollo.
Letoon served as a pilgrimage site from early times. During the Hellenistic period, it functioned as the official cult center of the Lycian League and became the most important sanctuary in Lycia, where the league’s decisions were publicly proclaimed. The sanctuary takes its name from Leto, the principal goddess of Lycia. A tripartite cult structure developed, incorporating Leto and her twin children, Apollo and Artemis, and the entire sanctuary was organized around this triadic cult.
At the center of the settlement are three temples built side by side. Based on inscriptions and archaeological evidence, the western temple is generally attributed to Leto, the eastern temple to Apollo, and the smaller central temple to Artemis. The presence of a large bedrock outcrop within the cella of the Artemis temple has led some scholars to suggest the existence of an earlier rock cult tradition dating back to the Archaic period.
The site was first identified in 1841 by Richard Hoskyn during his attempt to reach the ruins of Xanthos. Systematic excavations at Letoon have been ongoing since 1962, revealing the foundations of the three adjacent temples. Based on numerous inscriptions from the site, these temples are generally dated to the late 5th century BCE, during the reign of the Xanthian dynast Arbinas. The temples were destroyed in the Byzantine period, and blocks from the Apollo and Artemis temples were reused in church construction.
Today, only the temple foundations are visible, although a significant portion of the Leto temple has been uncovered through excavation. Archaeological evidence suggests that these stone temples replaced earlier wooden structures. In both the Hellenistic and Roman periods, a fountain structure was constructed over the sacred spring in front of the temples. Terracotta figurines dating from the Archaic to Hellenistic periods have been recovered from this spring, and are interpreted as votive offerings dedicated to the Nymphs, known in Lycian as the Eliyãna.
The stoa complexes surrounding the western and northern sides of the sanctuary were built in the 2nd century BCE and were restored and expanded in the 1st century CE. The remains of the northern stoa overlay earlier structures dating to the 5th or 4th century BCE. Some sculptural fragments recovered from late-period wall fill have been reassembled and are now displayed in the Antalya Museum.
In the northwest of the northern stoa, a finely carved limestone pedestal decorated with a bull’s head and garlands is particularly noteworthy. Due to the high groundwater level, it is visible only during the driest part of the year, at the end of summer. The pedestal likely served as a statue base, and the surrounding architectural context may have been associated with the imperial cult during the Augustan period.
The best-preserved structure at Letoon is the theater, which has 36 seating rows and is dated to the 2nd century BCE. Epigraphic evidence suggests the existence of a stadium at Letoon, although its exact location has not yet been identified.
Trilingual Inscription of Letoon
The Trilingual Inscription of Letoon is arguably the most significant among the numerous inscriptions discovered during excavations at the sanctuary. The 1.35 m-high stele was discovered in 1973 beneath the terrace wall west of the Temple of Apollo. The stele bears parallel texts in Lycian (N 320) and Greek on its two broad faces, while a summary in Aramaic is inscribed on one of the narrow sides. For this reason, it is known as the Trilingual Inscription of Letoon. It is dated to the period of Lycian rule under the Hecatomnid Carian satrapy, more precisely to around 337 BCE.
The inscription records the establishment of a new cult authorized by the Carian satrap Pixodaros. Although the Lycian and Greek versions are not identical word-for-word, their parallel content has been crucial for the decipherment of the Lycian language, which remains only partially understood. The stele is currently exhibited in the Fethiye Museum.
References:
Benndorf, O. & G. Niemann. 1884. Reisen in Lykien und Karien (Reisen im südwestlichen Kleinasien I), Wien.
Bryce, T. R. 1986 The Lycians Vol.1: The Lycians in Literary and Epigraphic Sources, Kopenhagen.
Cavalier, L. & J. des Courtils. 2017. “Le ‘monument à bucranes’ au Létôon de Xanthos,” in Augusta et l’Asie Mineure, eds. L. Cavalier, M. Ferriès & F. Delrieux, 423–441.
des Courtils, J. 2003. Ksanthos ve Letoon Rehberi, İstanbul.
Çevik, N. 2021. Lykia Kitabı: Arkeolojisi, Tarihi ve Kültürüyle Batı Antalya, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara.
Demargne, P. & Coupel, P. 1969. Fouilles de Xanthos III: L’Architecture du monument des Néréides, Paris.
Hoskyn, R. 1842. “Survey of the South Coast of Asia Minor,” in Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, 143–161
Laroche, E. 1979. “L’inscription lycienne,” in Fouilles de Xanthos VI: La stèle trilingue du Létôon, ed. H. Metzger, Paris, 49–127.
Images:
C. Fellows, 1847
O. Benndorf & G. Niemann, 1884
F. N. Pryce, 1929
P. Demargne & P. Coupel, 1969
J. des Courtils, 2003
Bora Bilgin, 2022
Tayfun Bilgin, 2022
Reha Özer, 2022