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Letoon (Λητῷον) was a sanctuary four kilometers south of the ancient city of Xanthos. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage site listed along with Xanthos.
History of Letoon
Letoon was founded in the 6th century BC. It was dedicated to the goddess Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis. Leto may have been identified with an earlier Luwian goddess who was worshipped at the site starting in the 8th century BC. In addition to its religious importance, Letoon was the place where Lycian rulers announced their decisions to the public.
The site remained active through the Roman period and was Christianized in the Early Christian period. It was abandoned by the late 7th century. Excavations began in the 1950s. French archaeologists Henri Metzger (1912-2007), Jacques des Courtils, and Emmanuel Laroche (1914-1991) have all led work since 1962.
Visiting Letoon
Letoon is open daily and admission for foreigners is €3 (as of May 2024). It’s a relatively small and well organized site, unlike Xanthos. Some of the facilities were under construction and not open at the time of my visit. Check the official website for more info.
In front of the ticket booth is a scale model of the entire archaeological site. It gives a good overview of what you’ll see during your visit.
Theatre of Letoon
The Theatre is the first structure you’ll come to along the path from the entrance. It’s one of the best preserved Lycian theatres and was built around the 2nd century BC atop an early necropolis. The Theatre, which has not yet been fully excavated, had a capacity of 7,800.
The Theatre was built into the hillside. The middle section of the seating area was carved directly into the bedrock while the side sections were constructed on blocks. There are 36 rows divided in two parts by a horizontal walkway, with 19 rows in the lower section and 17 in the upper section. 11 stairways divide the seating area into 10 wedges in the lower section, and 21 stairways with 20 wedges in the upper section. The diameter of the orchestra is 80 meters. A fabric covering shaded the audience.
Vaulted passageways on either side allowed entry to the theatre. Both entrances have a Doric façade. The northeast entrance is decorated with metopes depicting 16 different faces and masks while the southwest entrance is undecorated.
Porticoes
Colonnaded porticoes bordered the sanctuary on the north and west sides. They were originally built during the Hellenistic period in the 2nd century BC.
The north portico was expanded to create a double corridor during the reign of Claudius in the Roman period. The rooms were designed for the imperial cult. The porticoes were damaged by an earthquakes in 141 and rebuilt with funds donated by Opromaos of Rhodiapolis.
Temenos of Letoon
The Temenos was the most sacred area of Letoon. It’s comprised of three temples lined up side by side. This layout is unusual in ancient architecture. The best look at the Temenos is via a path leading uphill from the porticoes.
The Temenos was accessed via a sacred road from the west. It sat under a propylon and was lined with inscriptions and sculptures on both sides.
Temple of Leto
The Temple of Leto, which sits on the west side of the Temenos, was the largest of the three temples at Letoon. It’s one of the best preserved temples of the ancient world, as 80% of its architectural blocks have survived to this day. It has been dated to between 160 and 130 BC.
The Temple of Leto measures 15.75 x 32.25 meters. It had 30 total columns, with 6 on the short sides and 11 on the long sides, not counting the corners twice. The pronaos opens to a cella with semi-columns topped with Corinthian semi-capitals.
Temple of Artemis
The Temple of Artemis sits in the middle. It’s the worst preserved and smallest of the three temples, measuring 9.5 x 18 meters. It dates to the early 4th century BC.
The Ionic temple features rocks in the middle of the cella, representing the mountains a cliffs believed to have housed Artemis. Two inscriptions identifying the temple were found at its entrance.
Temple of Apollo
The Temple of Apollo sits on the east side of the Temenos. It’s next to a short cliff and slightly smaller than the Temple of Leto. It measures 27.97 x 15.07 meters. Like the Temple of Leto, it had 30 total columns, with 6 on the short sides and 11 on the long sides, not counting the corners twice.
The Temple of Apollo was built during the Hellenistic period on the site of an older temple measuring 4.9 x 7.6 meters. A remarkable mosaic floor depicting a lyre, a bow and arrow, and a rose was found in the middle of the cella. It has been replaced with a copy and the original is now in the Fethiye Museum. The mosaic is visible from the cliffs above.
Nymphaeum
Water from the sacred spring at Letoon filled the Nymphaeum, which was built in the 2nd century and dedicated to Hadrian. The spring was on the east side, with a rectangular stone paved terrace built around it. It was separated from the façade of the Nymphaeum by a semicircular pool 16 meters in diameter. The niche on the west side was decorated with marble sculptures, including one depicting Hadrian.
Church and Monastery
East of the Nymphaeum and south of the temples are the remains of a Byzantine period church. It was part of a monastery complex built between the late 6th and early 7th centuries, and was discovered in the 1960s.
The church was built of local limestone blocks and fragments from the temples. The nave has three aisles. The floors were decorated with geometric and botanical mosaics.
The apse on the east side has a synthronon with three steps covered in opus sectile. A column drum from the Temple of Leto served as the altar.
A fountain in the atrium held holy water while a clover-shaped baptistry sat on the southeast corner. An inscription on the floor mosaic of the baptistry states the church was built by Eutyches. The rooms on the south side of the church were part of the monastery, with some rooms used as burial chambers.
Arruntii Monument
The Arruntii Monument sits near the Temple of Apollo. It honors Marcus Arruntius Claudianus, who became the first Lycian senator of the Roman Empire, serving under Domitian and Trajan. He was from the Arruntia family of Xanthos and also served as a soldier during the reign of Vespasian. This was a very important event for the province of Lycia.
The Letoon Trilingue, a stele with inscriptions in Lycian, Greek, and Aramaic, was found nearby. It was dedicated either 358 BC or 337 BC and provides information on relations between Lycia and Caria as well as rules and regulations on how the sanctuary of Letoon should operate. Its discovery also helped decipher the Lycian language. The Letoon Trilingue is now on display at the Fethiye Museum.
Old Excavation House
Finally, the path from the porticoes leads up to the Old Excavation House. It’s an original village home where the excavation team stayed in 1951. It does not have a title deed, which presents a problem for future excavations. Also at the top of the path are some of the best views of the archaeological site.
