The city of Myra was a chief Lycian port in antiquity. Including
both the city and the harbor a short distance away, the once prosperous
city was near to the Lycian tombs (a short walk to the north), a rock
carved necropolis with an impressive façade from the C4 BCE and onward.
Along with the necropolis, there was a Roman theatre erected, which
still appears in a good state of preservation. The port regularly
serviced Alexandrian grain ships, serving the needs of the Lycian
Cities. Though not extensively excavated, the city has significant
remains.
Julius the Centurion chose the ill-fated
ship bound for Italy to take Paul for his requested presentation to
Caesar (Acts 27:5-6). The
contrary winds and waves eventually overwhelmed the vessel. Christianity
took hold in the city, and a world famous Christian bishop of Myra.
St. Nicolas is remembered in the restored C 11 CE Byzantine basilica.
Nicolas was a late C4 CE bishop who served the people of his region
with zeal, and is remembered as a particularly selfless and giving
Christian. After a gift of three small bags of gold were left as dowry
payments from three young women of Patara (to aid them in escaping
a life of prostitution) the fame of his selfless acts grew in historical
legend. It was said that Nicolas sold possessions dear to him to gain
the money to care for these women. Today, a pawnbroker uses the three
balls of gold to remember this gift. St. Nicolas is today the patron
of Russia, virgins and sailors in liturgical settings, and is remembered
world wide in the Santa Claus tradition.
Myra was a leading city of the Lycian Union and
surpassed Xanthos in early Byzantine times to become the capital city
of Lycia. Its remains are situated about 1.5 km north of today's
Demre, on the Kaş-Finike road. Most of the ancient city is now covered
by Demre and alluvial silts, for it is located on the river Demre Cay
in a fertile alluvial plain. Today this large plain is almost covered
with greenhouses stuffed full of tomatoes. In ancient times this area
was probably farmed extensively, for export and trade with the
interior of Lycia.
The date of Myra's foundation is unknown. There
is no literary mention of it before the 1st century BC, when it is
said to be one of the six leading cities of the Lycian Union (the
other five were Xanthos, Tlos, Pinara, Patara and Olympos). It is
believed to date back much further however, as an outer defensive wall
has been dated to the 5th century BC.
The city is well known for its amphitheatre (the
largest in Lycia) and the plethora of rock-cut tombs carved in the
cliff above the theatre.
The origin of Myra's name is uncertain and may be
a modified form of a Lycian name, like Tlos and Patara. The name was
popularly associated with the Greek name for myrrh and the emperor
Constantine Porphrogenitus describled the city as "Thrice blessed,
myrrh-breathing city of the Lycians, where the mighty Nicolaus,
servant of God, spouts forth myrrh in accordance with the city's
name." However, Myra does not seem to be known for its production of
myrrh, the only product actually recorded is rue.
Myra once had a great temple of the goddess
Artemis Eleuthera (a distinctive form of Cybele, the ancient mother
goddess of Anatolia), said to be Lycia's largest and most splendid
building. It was built on large grounds with beautiful gardens and
had an inner court defined by columns, an altar and a statue of the
goddess. Not a trace of it remains today, however, since St. Nicholas
(the bishop of Myra in the 4th century AD) in his zeal to stamp out
paganism in the region, had the temple of Artemis, along with many
other temples, completely destroyed. See more about St. Nicholas
below.
In Roman times the emperor Germanicus and his
wife Agrippina paid Myra a visit in 18 AD and were honoured with
statues of themselves erected in Myra's harbour (Andriace, located 5
km southwest of Myra).
St. Paul changed ships at Myra's port on his way
to his trial in Rome, in about 60 AD, after he had been arrested in
Jerusalem after being charged with inciting to riot. Andriace was a
chief port for Egyptian vessels passing through the area; Egypt was
the breadbasket of the Roman Empire and the imperial government had a
fleet of grain ships that carried grain to Rome and other parts of the
Empire. Andriace was a major trans-shipment point for grain from
Alexandria - grain came from the plain near Myra, and was also
possibly brought in by boats, to be shipped onwards from Lycia. It is
likely that Paul made the trip to Rome on a grain ship, these were
often used to transport passengers as well.
Emperor Hadrian visited Myra in 131 AD and built
a huge granary at Andriace composed of seven rooms and decorated with
portraits of himself and his wife who accompanied him on his visit.
You can still
see the granary as you drive along the main Kaş-Finike
highway into Demre (the western part of Demre).
The Eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II made Myra
the capital of the Byzantine Eparchy Lycia until the city fell to the
caliph Harun ar-Rashid in 808 AD after a seige and quickly went into
decline. Then, early in the reign of Alexius I Comnenus (1081-1118
AD), Myra was overtaken by Seljuk invaders.
Because of the
terrible plague
that swept through Anatolia (Myra lost one-third of its population to
it in 542-3 AD), Muslim raids, flooding and earthquakes, Myra was
mostly abandoned by the 11th century. What remains is very impressive
- a large theatre with the backdrop of Myra’s famous rock-cut
tombs. The sight of these is quite striking.