Dolichiste
Encyclopedia
Doliche or Dolichiste was an island noted by ancient geographers in the Mediterranean Sea
off the Lycia
n coast, in Asia Minor
, now called Kekova Adası (or Kakava in Modern Greek), which is located in present-day Antalya Province
, Turkey
.
Stephanus of Byzantium
(s. v.) describes Doliche as an island close to the Lycian coast, on the authority of Callimachus
; and he adds that Alexander, in his Periplus of Lycia, calls it Dolichiste. It is mentioned by Pliny
(v. 31) and Ptolemy
(v. 3). Pliny places it opposite to Chimaera (geography)
; and both Pliny and Ptolemy name it Dolichiste. Doliche or Dolichiste, is a long island, as the name implies. It lies near the southern coast of Lycia, west of the ruins of Myra
, and in front of the spacious bay now named Kekova. The island is a narrow ridge of rock, incapable of yielding a constant supply of water; each house had therefore a tank hollowed in the rock, and lined with stucco. William Martin Leake
speaks of the ruins of a large city, with a noble theatre, in a fine harbour formed by a range of rocky islands. But this theatre appears, from what Leake says, to be on the coast of the mainland; and Beaufort observes that the whole of these islands and bays may be included under the general Greek name Kakava. By the 1850s, the island was uninhabited.
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
off the Lycia
Lycia
Lycia Lycian: Trm̃mis; ) was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire...
n coast, in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
, now called Kekova Adası (or Kakava in Modern Greek), which is located in present-day Antalya Province
Antalya Province
Antalya Province is located on the Mediterranean coast of south-west Turkey, between the Taurus Mountains and the Mediterranean sea.Antalya Province is the centre of Turkey's tourism industry, attracting 30% of foreign tourists visiting Turkey. The province of Antalya corresponds to the lands of...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephen of Byzantium, also known as Stephanus Byzantinus , was the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled Ethnica...
(s. v.) describes Doliche as an island close to the Lycian coast, on the authority of Callimachus
Callimachus
Callimachus was a native of the Greek colony of Cyrene, Libya. He was a noted poet, critic and scholar at the Library of Alexandria and enjoyed the patronage of the Egyptian–Greek Pharaohs Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Ptolemy III Euergetes...
; and he adds that Alexander, in his Periplus of Lycia, calls it Dolichiste. It is mentioned by Pliny
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
(v. 31) and Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
(v. 3). Pliny places it opposite to Chimaera (geography)
Chimaera (geography)
Mount Chimaera was a place or places in ancient Lycia, notable for volcanic phenomena and said by some ancient sources to be the origin of the myth of the Chimera.Ctesias is the oldest traceable author to offer this euhemerizing theory...
; and both Pliny and Ptolemy name it Dolichiste. Doliche or Dolichiste, is a long island, as the name implies. It lies near the southern coast of Lycia, west of the ruins of Myra
Myra
Myra is an ancient town in Lycia, where the small town of Kale is situated today in present day Antalya Province of Turkey. It was located on the river Myros , in the fertile alluvial plain between Alaca Dağ, the Massikytos range and the Aegean Sea.- Historical evidence :Although some scholars...
, and in front of the spacious bay now named Kekova. The island is a narrow ridge of rock, incapable of yielding a constant supply of water; each house had therefore a tank hollowed in the rock, and lined with stucco. William Martin Leake
William Martin Leake
William Martin Leake, FRS , British antiquarian and topographer, was born in London.After completing his education at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and spending four years in the West Indies as lieutenant of marine artillery, he was sent by the government to Constantinople to instruct the...
speaks of the ruins of a large city, with a noble theatre, in a fine harbour formed by a range of rocky islands. But this theatre appears, from what Leake says, to be on the coast of the mainland; and Beaufort observes that the whole of these islands and bays may be included under the general Greek name Kakava. By the 1850s, the island was uninhabited.