The Lycia Project

Trysa is situated on a steep ridge at the eastern end of the Kyaneai territory just above the only mountain pass which links the Yavu region with the Demre alluvial plain (above, left). Thus, this settlement controlled a trade route which may have generated a certainamount of wealth through toll collection. Trysa consisted of a fortified acropolis (above, right), a residential quarter stretching along the steepslopes, and an extensive necropolis. The settlement, however, occupied an important position only for a short duration at the beginning of the fourth century B.C. At this time, Trysa was controlled by a Dynast whocould afford to construct the famous Heroon of Trysa with its grand 120m. long series of reliefs (today on display in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). These reliefs from the Heroon contain some masterful examples representing not only scenes from Greek mythology (bottom, right: the flight of Adrastos in the mythological tale of the Seven against Thebes), but also scenes inspired by local history. In addition to the reliefs, the Heroon is impressive for its location on the northeastern spur of the acropolisand for the precise execution of its masonry (bottom, left) After the middle of the fourth century B.C., when Kyaneai assumed a place as the central power within the Yavu mountain region, Trysa became, as a sarcophagus inscription indicates, a demos in the Kyaneai polis territory. The settlement survivedon a modest scale until the Middle Ages, as a small Byzantine chapel on the acropolis indicates.

Bibliography:

1. Th. Marksteiner, Trysa, Korba, Tyberissos und Teimiussa: Lykische Herrensitze in klassischer Zeit, in: F. Kolb (Hg.), Lykische Studien 1 (Asia Minor Studien 9), Bonn 1993, 97-138
2. W. Oberleitner, Das Heroon von Trysa: Ein lykisches Fürstengrab des 4. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. (Zaberns Bildbände zur Archäologie 18), Mainz 1994
3. W. Tietz, Der fliehende Adrastos: Ein Stück polygnotischer Malerei in den Reliefs des Heroons von Trysa?, Lykia 3, 1996/97, 58-64
4. Th. Marksteiner, Trysa - Eine zentrallykische Niederlassung im Wandel der Zeit. Siedlungs-, architektur- und kunstgeschichtliche Studien zur Kulturlandschaft Lykien, Wien 2002