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Located just four kms away
from Xanthos,Letoon was the sacred city in the Lycian union. .Its name
comes from Leto, Apollo and Aretemis’mother .
Three important temples are located here,as well as a beautiful monumental
tomb,the ruins of a Byzantine monastery and an amphitheater still not
excavated.
It
was an important sanctuary in ancient times. First excavated in 1962, the
remains of three 3rd century BC temples, dedicated to Leto,
Aretmis and Apollo, bear testimony to its significance.
Leto
was a nymph who was loved by Zeus, and was jealously hounded by his wife
Hera as a consequence. Wolves guided the pregnant Leto to the River
Xanthos, where she bathed and renamed the place Lycia (from the Greek for
wolf, lykos) before giving birth to Aretmis and Apollo.
Alexander the Great came here and received encouragement for his imminent
battle against the Persians. There is also a Hellenistic theatre and an
inscription found here was instrumental in the eventual deciphering of the
Lycian language.
Letoön is 26km west of Kalkan, off the N-400 to Fethiye. The turn-off is
1.5km west of Kinik, the site is about 4km from the main road.
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