Lost Cities of Ancient Caria

The Carian and Lycian coasts of western Turkey offer glorious blue water and an extraordinary tapestry of traces of past civilisations, Hittite, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and the still partly mysterious Carian and Lycian kingdoms, each with their own language and art forms. The archaeology of the area constantly confronts the visitor with visions of thriving cultures, now lost and too often apparently settled into melancholy disuse. Richard Hunter, the Regius Professor of Greek, will introduce this part of the Mediterranean and in his talk will focus on two themes in particular: Bodrum (ancient Halicarnassus) as a city of writing and myth, and Knidos, where Praxiteles’ famous’ statue of the naked Aphrodite attracted both visitors and a rich body of legend.