Pydnae

Pydnae (also known as Kydna or Pydnai) is the site of a small Hellenistic town on the coast of ancient Lycia, now in Turkey.[1][2] The English lexicographer William Smith suggested in 1870 that the settlement was referred to by Ptolemy as Cydna, and placed at the foot of Mount Cragus.[3]

Pydnae, now at modern Gâvur Ağlı,[4] is near Ozlen, on the Lycian Way, a 540 kilometres (340 mi) way-marked footpath around the coast of Lycia from Fethiye to Antalya.[5] The site, which is 4 acres (1.6 ha) in size, is located at the western end of Patara Beach, and occupies the eastern slope of a hill near the shore. The defensive walls of the fort-like structure are 3 feet (0.91 m) thick.[4][6] They are of well-preserved polygonal masonry, with 11 towers and seven stairways leading up to the battlements. The only building in the interior is a small church.[6]

Inscriptions have been found in and around the fort; all are of Imperial date.[6]

• Bean, George Ewart (1978). Lycian Turkey: An Archaeological Guide. London: Benn. ISBN 978-05100-3-205-0.
• Clow, Kate (2000). The Lycian Way. Ankara: Upcountry (Turkey) Ltd. ISBN 978-09539-2-180-5.
• Smith, William (1870). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. Boston: Little, Brown. OCLC 847907716.
• Talbert, Richard J.A., ed. (2000). Barrington Atlas Map-by-Map Directory. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-06910-4-945-8.

• Bayburtluoğlu, Cevdet (2004). Lycia. Antalya: Suna & İnan Kıraç Research Institute on Mediterranean Civilizations. ISBN 978-97570-7-820-3.