In Lycia, Leto, Apollo and Artemis were worshiped above all other Gods. The most important religious sanctuary in Lycia was located in the Xanthos valley.It was dedicated to Leto and was named Letoon after Her. In later times, Leto's twin children, Apollo and Artemis were given equal importance at the sanctuary. Letoon's history may go back to the 7th century B.C.E. Three temples stand here, dedicated to Leto and Her twins, the national Gods of Lycia, as well as a Nymphaeum, a theatre, and a more recent Byzantine church. National festivals were held here and the sanctuary’s priests held the highest status in the Lycian Union. There were other Lycian shrines to Leto in Calinda and Psychus (northwest Lycia) but neither of them were as famous or significant as that of Letoon, which was well-known in the ancient world.
The Cult of Leto was mostly concentrated along the western regions of Anatolia’s southern shore. In Lycia, She was worshiped as a national and domestic Goddess, as well as a Guardian of the Tombs.
According to Greek Religion, Leto was loved by Zeus and persecuted by His wife, Goddess Hera. Fleeing from Hera's wrath, Leto fled to Delos where She gave birth to Her twins. In one story, Leto is harrassed by some Lycian shepherds at a spring as they try to drive Her away from the water. She punishes them by turning them into frogs. In another story, the persecuted Leto is aided by wolves, who guide Her to the river Xanthos, where She quenches Her thirst and washes Her children. In memory of this occasion, Leto changes the name of the country from Termilis to Lycia; "lykos" is the Greek world for "wolf". This story of Leto and the wolves existed for a long time in western Anatolia - coins depicting the fleeing Leto with Her children were minted even under the Roman rule. The cult of the Goddess also existed in Halicarnaussus, Cnidus, Phrygia, Caria and Cilicia.
In the Iliad, Homer mentions Apollo as 'the famous Lycian archer.' Apollo along with his sister, Artemis, aided the Trojans. The name 'Lycia' may have also meant 'illuminated nation' in ancient times, as its God Apollo is the God of Light.
The importance of Leto and Her children in Lycia can also be seen at the capital city of Xanthos, where the northern door to the city bears the inscription "The Great King Antiochus dedicates the city to Leto, Apollo and Artemis".
Telmessos, an important Lycian city (present-day Fethiye), was famous for its soothsayers, who were dedicated to Apollo and were said to have greatly influenced the course of history.
The existence of a temple of Apollo at the Lycian site of Patara is indicated by the discovery of a large bust of Apollo. Many temples have been found at Patara, but the exact location of the Apollo temple is unknown. Archaeologists have found the remains of a temple under a basilica, but since it has been largely destroyed, they are not sure about whether this was the temple of Apollo.
Patara’s oracle at this renowned but undiscovered temple of Apollo was said to rival that of Delphi and the temple equaled the reputation of the famous temple on the island of Delos.
We can see another Apollo temple at the small Lycian settlement of Sura, a dependency of Myra. The temple's location is known, erected directly on the harbor of Sura but today stands upon marshy ground. It was known for its strange oracle ceremonies, which involved live fish. Inside the temple, there are inscriptions which record devotions paid by devotees not to Apollo Surius, but to Sozon- the Anatolian horse-man god and Zeus Atabyrius, the Rhodian deity. At the southwest corner of Sura's acropolis, there is a row of rock-cut stelae with lists of priests attached to the cult of Apollo Surius.
Pliny tells us:
"At Myra in Lycia, at the fountain of Apollo whom they call Surius, the fish, summoned three times on a pipe, come to give their augury. If they tear the pieces of meat thrown to them, this is good for the client, if they wave it away with their tails, it is bad."
Atheanaios describes the fish oracle ceremony in detail:
"I don't want to ignore the people of Lycia who know the art of the fish oracle. Of them, Polycharmus writes in the second book of his Lycian history. '...when they come to the sea, where is the grove of Apollo by the shore, on which is the whirlpool in the sand, the clients present themselves holding two wooden spits, on each of which are ten pieces of roast meat. The priest takes his seat in silence by the grove, while the client throws the spits into the whirlpool and watches what happens. After the spits are thrown, the pool fills with seawater, and a multitude of fish appear as if by magic, and of a size to cause alarm. The prophet announces the species of the fish and the client accordingly receives his answer from the priest. Among the fish there appear sea bass and bluefish and sometimes whales and sawfish and many strange and unknown kinds."
Plutarch and Artemidorus also give us similar offer similar descriptions of the ceremonies at the Apollo Surius temple.
Apollo's sister, Goddess Artemis, had a cult center in the important Lycian city of Myra. Myra's main cult was dedicated to Artemis Eleuthera. Her temple in Myra was truly magnificent, but it was severely damaged by earthquake,in 141 CE. An inscription on the heroon of the Lycian leader Opramoas, indicates that he gave the necessary money for the reconstruction of the temple, which was celebrated as Lycia's largest and most spendid building. It occupied large grounds with beautiful gardens and had an inner court defined by columns, an altar and a statue of the Goddess.
Goddess Artemis was also worshipped (among other places) at Arycanda, in the forms of Artemis Kombike, Lagbene, Tharsenike and Eleuthera.
Nicholaos, the christian bishop of Myra, took strong measures against paganism. The temple of Artemis was among many other temples in the region that were savagely destroyed during his administration.
SOURCE:lycianturkey.com
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