Little
is know about the origins of Olympos, But the city presumably
took its name from Mount Olympos, thought to be present-day Tahtali
Dag, one of many mountains with the name Olympos in the classical
world. The first city appeared in history in the second century
BC, when it was minting its own coins in the mannner of the Lycians.
The
principal deity of Olympos was Hephaistos ( Vulcan to the Romans
), god of fire and of blacksmiths. He was considered a native
of this region, and the remains of a temple dedicated to him can
be found near the Chimaera. Ýn the first century BC, the
importance of Hephaistos diminished when the Cilician pirates
led by Zenicetes overran Olympos and introduced the worship of
Mithras, a god of indo-European origin and whose rites were preformed
on Mount Olympos. Zenicetes was defeated in 78 BC by the Roman
governor of Cilicia, and again in 67 BC by Pompey. The fortunes
of the city revived after it was absorbed into the Roman Empire
in 43 AD. Later Christianity became prominent. Olympos
was used as a trading base by the Venetians and the Genoese in
the eleventh and twelfth centuries, but was abandoned in the fifteenth
century, in the wake of Turkish domination of the Mediterranean.
South
along the beach from Cirali, the site of Olympos is located on
the banks of a well shaded stream between high cliffs. Here is
a good place to study the natural wildlife of the region. The
main site lines the banks of this river. The
first thing you will notice are the extensive Byzantine-Genoese
fortifications overlooking the beach and from each creek bank.
At the base of the fort on the north bank are two recently revealed
''harbour tombs'', recognizably Lycian in form, with a epigraph
translated for viewers. Further along on the south bank stands
part of a quay wall and an arcaded warehouse. To the east on the
same side lie the walls of a Byzantine church. In the river itself
is a well preserved pillar from a vanished bridge. Back in the
undergrowth is a theatre most of whose seats have vanished.
On the north bank of the river are the most striking ruins. On
the hill to the east of the path looms a well-preserved marble
door frame built into a wall of ashlar masonary. At the foot of
the carved doorway is a statue base dedicated by an inscription
to Marcus Aurelius, with the dates 172-175. East of the portal
is a hidden Byzantine villa with mosaic floors, a mausoleum-style
tomb and a Byzantine aqueduct that carried water to the heart
of the city. Though paths have been recently cleared the aqueduct
trough remains your best path for navigation.
North of Olympos the eternal flame of the Chimaera is about
an hour stroll from the Cirali village and it is possible to drive
to the bottom of the ascent and walk from the car park. Tracks
to the trailhead are well marked and the path ( now part of the
Lycian Way ) are well trodden. The climb is most rewarding and
coolest as dusk falls, since the fire is best seen at night. The
Chimaera, a series of flames issuing ot of cracks in the bare
hillside, is one of the most unusual sites in the whole of Lycia.
It' s not known what causes the phenomenon but traces of methane
in the gas can be detected. The flames can be extinguished temporarily
if they are covered over but will spontaneously reignite.
What is known is that the fire has been burning since antiquity,
and inspired the local worship of Hephaistos ( Vulcan ), generally
celebrated in places where fire sprang from the earth. The mountain
was also the haunt of a fire-breathing monstor with a lion's head
and forelegs, a goat's rear and a snake for a tail known as the
Chimaera. The legend as told by Homer in his Ýliad relates
how Bellerophon was ordered by the king of Lycia to kill the Chimarea
in atonement for the supposed rape of his daughter. On the winged
horse Pegasus, Bellerophon succeeded in this mission by killing
the monster and dropping it into the mouth of the mountain but
the flames were not extinguished. This is said to be the reason
there is an eternal flame in Cirali. According
to some research historians the Olympic Flame was first brought
from the Chimarea and this tradition continued for hundreds of
years |
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