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Harpy Tomb
36°21′24.5″N 29°19′4.7″E / 36.356806°N 29.317972°E
The Harpy Tomb is a marble chamber from a pillar tomb that stands in the abandoned city of Xanthos, capital of ancient Lycia, a region of southwestern Anatolia in what is now Turkey. Built in the Persian Achaemenid Empire, and dating to approximately 480–470 BC, the chamber topped a tall pillar and was decorated with marble panels carved in bas-relief. The tomb was built for an Iranian prince or governor of Xanthus, perhaps Kybernis.
The marble chamber is carved in the Greek Archaic style. Along with much other material in Xanthos it is heavily influenced by Greek art, but there are also indications of non-Greek influence in the carvings. The reliefs are reminiscent of reliefs at Persepolis. The monument takes its name from the four carved female winged figures, resembling Harpies. The identities of the carved figures and the meaning of the scenes depicted are uncertain, but it is generally now agreed that the winged creatures are not Harpies. The Lycians absorbed much of Greek mythology into their own culture and the scenes may represent Greek deities, but it is also possible they are unknown Lycian deities. An alternative interpretation is that they represent scenes of judgement in the afterlife and scenes of supplication to Lycian rulers.
The carvings were removed from the tomb in the 19th century by archaeologist Charles Fellows and taken to England. Fellows visited Lycia in 1838 and reported finding the remains of a culture that until then was virtually unknown to Europeans. After obtaining permission from the Turkish authorities to remove stone artefacts from the region, Fellows collected a large amount of material from Xanthos under commission from the British Museum in London, where the reliefs are now on display. According to Melanie Michailidis, though bearing a "Greek appearance", the Harpy Tomb, the Nereid Monument and the Tomb of Payava were built according main Zoroastrian criteria "by being composed of thick stone, raised on plinths off the ground, and having single windowless chambers".
Lycian culture was at one time viewed as a branch of Greek culture by scholars, especially from the Classical period onwards, when Lycian architecture and sculpture were very much in the Classical Greek style. But the Lycians had a distinct culture of their own, and their religious and funerary rites can be distinguished from the Greek. The Lycian language, although it is Indo-European, isn't closely related to Greek and was instead more closely related to Hittite and most probably directly descended from the related Luwian language. Several groups speaking Hittite-related languages continued to exist in Asia Minor for many centuries after the Hittite Empire had passed into history.
Lycia occupied a strategic position between Europe and the Near East. The Greek and Persian worlds met in Lycia, and the Lycians were heavily influenced by both. At one period Persian influence would dominate and at another, Greek, resulting in Lycian culture being an amalgam of both.
Greek influence is found in Lycia from an early date. The Lycian alphabet is derived from Rhodian Greek, with borrowings from other alphabets, possibly Phoenician. The country was conquered by Harpagus in 540 BC, who was acting for the Persians. Lycia's culture was influenced by its annexation into the Persian Empire, but also by its neighbours, the Ionian Greeks. The influence of Greek culture increased after Xerxes' army was defeated at the Battle of Plataea by Greek forces in 479 BC. Kybernis, for whom the Harpy Tomb is thought to have been built, may have died as a consequence of wounds he received in the defeat of Xerxes, either at Plataea or the naval battle of Salamis. He was succeeded by Kuprlli, and then Kheriga, who took an Iranian name and appeared to be pro-Persian. After Alexander the Great's conquest of the country rapid Hellenisation took place in Lycia, and its culture became subsumed in the Greek.
Lycia features heavily in Greek mythology. The Titan goddess Leto fled to Lycia after giving birth, or in order to give birth, to Apollo and Artemis. The Lycians play a part in the Iliad, under their leader Sarpedon, as allies of Troy. Bellerophon killed the fire-breathing monster Chimera which was ravaging Lycia.
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Harpy Tomb
36°21′24.5″N 29°19′4.7″E / 36.356806°N 29.317972°E
The Harpy Tomb is a marble chamber from a pillar tomb that stands in the abandoned city of Xanthos, capital of ancient Lycia, a region of southwestern Anatolia in what is now Turkey. Built in the Persian Achaemenid Empire, and dating to approximately 480–470 BC, the chamber topped a tall pillar and was decorated with marble panels carved in bas-relief. The tomb was built for an Iranian prince or governor of Xanthus, perhaps Kybernis.
The marble chamber is carved in the Greek Archaic style. Along with much other material in Xanthos it is heavily influenced by Greek art, but there are also indications of non-Greek influence in the carvings. The reliefs are reminiscent of reliefs at Persepolis. The monument takes its name from the four carved female winged figures, resembling Harpies. The identities of the carved figures and the meaning of the scenes depicted are uncertain, but it is generally now agreed that the winged creatures are not Harpies. The Lycians absorbed much of Greek mythology into their own culture and the scenes may represent Greek deities, but it is also possible they are unknown Lycian deities. An alternative interpretation is that they represent scenes of judgement in the afterlife and scenes of supplication to Lycian rulers.
The carvings were removed from the tomb in the 19th century by archaeologist Charles Fellows and taken to England. Fellows visited Lycia in 1838 and reported finding the remains of a culture that until then was virtually unknown to Europeans. After obtaining permission from the Turkish authorities to remove stone artefacts from the region, Fellows collected a large amount of material from Xanthos under commission from the British Museum in London, where the reliefs are now on display. According to Melanie Michailidis, though bearing a "Greek appearance", the Harpy Tomb, the Nereid Monument and the Tomb of Payava were built according main Zoroastrian criteria "by being composed of thick stone, raised on plinths off the ground, and having single windowless chambers".
Lycian culture was at one time viewed as a branch of Greek culture by scholars, especially from the Classical period onwards, when Lycian architecture and sculpture were very much in the Classical Greek style. But the Lycians had a distinct culture of their own, and their religious and funerary rites can be distinguished from the Greek. The Lycian language, although it is Indo-European, isn't closely related to Greek and was instead more closely related to Hittite and most probably directly descended from the related Luwian language. Several groups speaking Hittite-related languages continued to exist in Asia Minor for many centuries after the Hittite Empire had passed into history.
Lycia occupied a strategic position between Europe and the Near East. The Greek and Persian worlds met in Lycia, and the Lycians were heavily influenced by both. At one period Persian influence would dominate and at another, Greek, resulting in Lycian culture being an amalgam of both.
Greek influence is found in Lycia from an early date. The Lycian alphabet is derived from Rhodian Greek, with borrowings from other alphabets, possibly Phoenician. The country was conquered by Harpagus in 540 BC, who was acting for the Persians. Lycia's culture was influenced by its annexation into the Persian Empire, but also by its neighbours, the Ionian Greeks. The influence of Greek culture increased after Xerxes' army was defeated at the Battle of Plataea by Greek forces in 479 BC. Kybernis, for whom the Harpy Tomb is thought to have been built, may have died as a consequence of wounds he received in the defeat of Xerxes, either at Plataea or the naval battle of Salamis. He was succeeded by Kuprlli, and then Kheriga, who took an Iranian name and appeared to be pro-Persian. After Alexander the Great's conquest of the country rapid Hellenisation took place in Lycia, and its culture became subsumed in the Greek.
Lycia features heavily in Greek mythology. The Titan goddess Leto fled to Lycia after giving birth, or in order to give birth, to Apollo and Artemis. The Lycians play a part in the Iliad, under their leader Sarpedon, as allies of Troy. Bellerophon killed the fire-breathing monster Chimera which was ravaging Lycia.