Lycia

The holiday resort of Kaş on the Mediterranean coast of southwest Turkey, built on the site of the ancient Lycian town of Antiphellus. There are remains of an ancient theatre, and Lycian rock tombs in the mountain wall above the town.

Ancient coastal district of southwestern Asia Minor, between Caria and Pamphylia. The Lycians feature in Homer's Iliad as allies of Troy.

Lycia was colonized by Greeks at an early date. It was under the Persian control 546-468 (after which it came under Athenian influence), and again from 387 BC until it was conquered by Alexander the Great, King of Macedonia. It retained a large degree of independence during these periods, as well as under Seleucid (Syrian) and Roman supremacy, until the emperor Claudius I annexed it to the empire and united it with Pamphylia.

The principal towns were Xanthus, Myra, and Patara. Various sites have yielded fine specimens of both Greek and indigenous art, many of which are in the British Museum, London.