Κνίδος(in Ancient Greek) | |
 The port of Knidos | |
  Knidos Shown within Turkey | |
| Alternative name | Cnidus |
|---|---|
| Location | Yazıköy,Muğla Province, Turkey |
| Region | Caria |
| Coordinates | 36°41′09″N27°22′30″E / 36.68583°N 27.37500°E /36.68583; 27.37500 |
| History | |
| Associated with | Eudoxus,Ctesias,Sostratus |
| Events | Battle of Cnidus |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1857–1858 |
| Archaeologists | Charles Thomas Newton |
| Public access | Yes |
| Website | [1] |
Knidos orCnidus[1][2] (/ˈnaɪdəs/;Ancient Greek:Κνίδος,Ancient:[knídos],Modern:[ˈkniðos],Knídos) was aGreek city inancient Caria and part of theDorian Hexapolis, in south-westernAsia Minor, modern-day Turkey. It was situated on theDatça peninsula, which forms the southern side of theSinus Ceramicus, now known asGulf of Gökova. By the 4th century BC, Knidos was located at the site of modernTekir, opposite Triopion Island. But earlier, it was probably at the site of modernDatça (at the half-way point of the peninsula).[3]
It was built partly on the mainland and partly on the Island of Triopion or Cape Krio. The debate about it being an island or cape is caused by the fact that in ancient times it was connected to the mainland by a causeway and bridge. Today the connection is formed by a narrow sandyisthmus. By means of the causeway the channel between island and mainland was formed into two harbours, of which the larger, or southern, was further enclosed by two strongly built moles that are still in good part entire.[2]
The extreme length of the city was little less than a mile, and the whole intramural area is still thickly strewn with architectural remains. The walls, both of the island and on the mainland, can be traced throughout their whole circuit; and in many places, especially round the acropolis, at the northeast corner of the city, they are remarkably perfect.[2]
Knidos was a Hellenic city of high antiquity. According toHerodotus'Histories (I.174), the Cnidians wereLacedaemonian colonists; however, the presence ofdemiurges there argues for foundation or later influence by otherDoric Greeks, possiblyArgives.Diodorus Siculus (Bibliotheca Historica 5.53) claimed that Cnidus was founded by both Lacedaemonians and Argives.[5] Along withHalicarnassus (present dayBodrum, Turkey) and Kos, and theRhodian cities ofLindos,Kamiros andIalyssos it formed theDorian Hexapolis, which held its confederate assemblies on the Triopian headland, and there celebrated games in honour ofApollo,Poseidon and thenymphs.[2] This was also the site of theTemple of Aphrodite, Knidos.
The city was at first governed by anoligarchicsenate, composed of sixty members, and presided over by a magistrate; but, though it is proved by inscriptions that the old names continued to a very late period, the constitution underwent a popular transformation. The situation of the city was favourable for commerce, and the Knidians acquired considerable wealth, and were able to colonize the island ofLipara, and founded a city onCorcyra Nigra in theAdriatic. They ultimately submitted toCyrus, and from thebattle of Eurymedon to the latter part of thePeloponnesian War they were subject toAthens.[2] During theHellenistic age, Knidos boasted amedical school; however, the theory that this school already existed at the beginning of theclassical age is an unwarranted extrapolation.[6]
In their expansion into the region, theRomans easily obtained the allegiance of Knidians, and rewarded them for help given againstAntiochus III the Great by leaving them the freedom of their city.[2]
Eudoxus, theastronomer,Ctesias, the writer onPersian history, andSostratus, the builder of the celebratedPharos at Alexandria, are the most remarkable of the Knidians mentioned in history.[2]Artemidorus, a minor character in theShakespeare play "Julius Caesar", was also from Knidos.
During theByzantine period there must still have been a considerable population: for the ruins contain a large number of buildings belonging to the Byzantine style, and Christian sepulchres are common in the neighbourhood.[2]
Bishop Ioannes of Cnidus took part in theCouncil of Chalcedon in 451 CE and was one of the signatories of the letter that in 458 the bishops of theRoman province ofCaria, to which Cnidus belonged, wrote toByzantine EmperorLeo I the Thracian after the murder ofProterius of Alexandria. Bishop Evander was at theSecond Council of Constantinople in 553 and Bishop Stauratius at theSecond Council of Nicaea in 787.[7][8] No longer a residential bishopric, Cnidus is today listed by theCatholic Church as atitular see.[9]
The first Western knowledge of the modern site was due to the mission of theDilettante Society in 1812, and the excavations executed byC. T. Newton in 1857–1858.[2]
Theagora, the theatre, anodeum, a temple ofDionysus, a temple of the Muses, a temple ofAphrodite[10] and a great number of minor buildings have been identified, and the general plan of the city has been very clearly made out. The most famous statue byPraxiteles, theAphrodite of Knidos, was made for Cnidus. It has perished, but late copies exist, of which the most faithful is in theVatican Museums.[2]
In a temple enclosure Newton discovered the fine seated statue ofDemeter of Knidos, which he sent back to theBritish Museum, and about three miles south-east of the city he came upon the ruins of a splendid tomb, and a colossal figure of a lion carved out of one block ofPentelic marble, ten feet in length and six in height, which has been supposed to commemorate the great naval victory, theBattle of Cnidus in whichConon defeated theLacedaemonians in 394 BC.[2] The Knidos Lion is now displayed under the roof of theGreat Court in the British Museum.
In 2022, the low tide revealed ruins of an ancient port near the site which is believed to have been the port of Knidos.[11]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cnidus".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 573.
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