Trysa is a small city built on a ridge that runs parallel to the coastline north of the village of Davazlar, along the Demre-Kaş highway, about 5 km east of Kyaneai. Its Lycian name is thought to have been Trusñ. It was likely an independent city during the Lycian League period, as evidenced by coins minted with its own name. However, there is no information about the city in ancient sources, and its name is not mentioned in the Patara Road Monument. For this reason, it might seem like an insignificant settlement.
Nevertheless, one of the most famous Lycian dynastic monuments—the Heroon of Trysa—was found in this city (see below). In the modern period, Julian August Schönborn was the first person to visit the city and identify the heroon in 1842. The first publication about the city was made by Benndorf and Niemann in 1884.
The ruins of the city are located on the ridge and the south-facing slopes. The acropolis, surrounded by walls, is on the east side—the highest part of the hill. The necropolis lies at the western end, at a lower terrace level. Besides about 30 sarcophagi, some of which are quite high-quality, there was also a pillar tomb that no longer stands. Only a few of the reliefs surrounding its burial chamber have survived, but it is thought to be one of the oldest pillar tombs in Lycia.
Apart from tombs and cisterns, the number of structures whose functions can be clearly defined is quite small. Near the necropolis are the remains of a temple that may have been dedicated to Helios or Zeus. It is believed that the city survived until the Byzantine period.
Heroon of Trysa and the Eastern Necropolis
The heroon, built in a unique style within Lycian monumental tomb architecture, is located on a ridge at the easternmost end of the acropolis, where the settlement’s eastern necropolis was established. It consists of a rock-cut tomb that imitates classical Lycian wooden house architecture, set within a half-acre courtyard surrounded by walls approximately 3 meters high, forming an almost perfect square. The southern outer walls, gate, and four inner walls were decorated with friezes on the two upper layers of stone. However, none of these decorations remain in situ today. Only the base of the rock tomb, carved from the bedrock, and a few fragments of the sarcophagus have survived.
All of the friezes, most of which were intact, were cut by Benndorf and his team in 1881–1882 and transported to Vienna. Although the tomb structure was originally shown as single-story in the 1889 reconstruction model prepared under Benndorf’s guidance—now displayed in the museum—later findings suggest that it actually had two stories. Since the monument is made of limestone, the overall conservation status of the friezes is generally poor. Nevertheless, the craftsmanship of the figural reliefs and the compositions of some motifs are unique.
In traditional Lycian fashion, the friezes depict the life and achievements of the tomb owner, who was undoubtedly a dynast or a member of a dynastic family. The themes reflect influences from Greek myths and Persian iconography, including scenes featuring mythological heroes such as Bellerophon, Perseus, Theseus, Odysseus, and Meleager. Other scenes depict wars with Amazons and Centaurs, a city siege, and a battle scene that researchers suggest may represent either the landing before Troy or a battle against the Greeks led by Melesander.
The surviving fragments from the tomb in the courtyard also provide insight into the reliefs on the sarcophagus. These include depictions of the tomb owner within a family circle and at a banquet table. Due to the absence of any inscriptions, the identity of the tomb’s owner remains uncertain. Researchers date the tomb to the end of the 5th century BCE and associate it with Trbbenimi, who may have been the father or brother of Perikle, the dynast of Limyra.
In the eastern necropolis area, just east of the heroon walls, there are remains of three rock tombs and a sarcophagus. All the rock tombs were of the classical Lycian house type, imitating wooden architecture, but are badly damaged. Only the lower floor of one tomb—thought to have once been two-storied—remains partially intact. The well-preserved sarcophagus was taken to Vienna by Benndorf along with the heroon friezes. It is known as the Dereimis-Aischylos sarcophagus, named after the individuals mentioned in a short Greek inscription on it. While the chest of the sarcophagus, which stood on a three-stepped podium, is plain and undecorated, the Lycian-style ogival-shaped lid is richly decorated with reliefs.
References:
Benndorf, O. & G. Niemann. 1889. Das Heroon von Gjölbaschi-Trysa, Wien.
Çevik, N. 2021. Lykia Kitabı: Arkeolojisi, Tarihi ve Kültürüyle Batı Antalya, Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara.
Deltour-Levie, C. 1982. Les Piliers Funéraires de Lycie, Louvain-la-Neuve.
Landskron, A. 2015. Das Heroon von Trysa, Wien.
Marksteiner, T. 2002. Trysa. Eine zentrallykische Niederlassung im Wandel der Zeit., Wien.
Petersen, E. & F. Von Luschan. 1889. Reisen in Lykien Milyas und Kibyratis. Reisen im Südwestlischen Kleinasien II, Wien.
Plattner G. & A. Gottsmann (eds.) 2022. Das Heroon von Trysa, Akten Akten des Internationalen Symposions, ÖHI in Rom, 28 Oktober 2016, Vol 7.
Wurster, W. W. 1993. ‘Dynast ohne Palast – Überlegungen zum Wohnbereich lykischer Feudalherren’, in: Akten Lykien II Bd. 2, 27-30.
Image sources:
iDAI Arachne ID:1147728
O. Benndorf & G. Niemann, 1889
E. Petersen & F. Von Luschan, 1889
W. W. Wurster, 1993
G. Plattner & A. Gottsman, 2022
Bora Bilgin, 2022
Tayfun Bilgin, 2022
İlkhan Selçuk Erdoğan, 2022
Reha Özer, 2022