APPENDIX TWO LYCIAN CULTS 1 Introduction To provide any sort of comprehensive view of the religious cults of Lycia is an impossible task/ due to the nature of the evidence that is available. Compared to the amount to be had for interpreting, for instance, Athenian religious practices, that available for Lycia is minimal. At least one relig­ ious decree does exist (the Letoon Trilingual; p. 10), and others may be ex­ tant but not yet identified as such. 2 Moreover, often epigraphic material from the period with which we are concerned today is in the native Lycian language, which remains only partially understood. The scholar is left to piece together the scraps of material into a rather speculative wider picture. Little is known, for instance, about the role of the Lycian rulers in their re­ ligion, though there does seems to be evidence for one Lycian 'king' offi­ ciating at sacrifices (TAM i 44),3 and another made dedications in the na­ tional sanctuary of the Lycians at the Letoon (SEG 28 1245). Nor is much known about the actual cult practices of Lycia (with the exception of that of the Basileus Kaunios known from the Letoon Trilingual). It seems reasonable to assume that in origin their religious traditions derived from the same source as other Anatolian peoples, and so it proves. However, as with all other aspects ofLycian life, progressively through the period with which this work deals an increased Greek influence came to be exerted upon the religious traditions of the Lycians. Lycian deities were progressively assimilated to Greek gods and goddesses. 4 The acceleration of this absorption by the conquests of Alexander means that one can never be sure, particularly about late Hellenistic and Roman religious practices, how much they represented earlier customs, or whether Greek influences altered native practice beyond all recognition, or perhaps even imported a 1 As pointed out by Le Roy 1990: 41. 2 E.g. TAM i 65 (mid-fourth century), \Wien Bryce 1986: 89 sugge&s may deal with religious rites, following Sokolowski 1955: 174-75 no. 76; TAM i 26 may also be a religious decree (see Laroche 1979: 80). 3 See Bryce 1996: 45. 4 Bryce 1996: 44 sugge&s that the earlie& appearances of Greek deities oo Lycian coinage in the fifth century may simply be artistic motifs, with no necessary implicatioo of identificatioo of Lycian deities with Greek this early. 194 APPENDIX Two Greek practice wholesale.' What this does mean is that in the study of Classical Lycia, there is a fine opportunity, if some form of reconstruction can be attempted. of examining the process by which an Anatolian relig­ ious system was assimilated to the Olympian deities. This does not mean that one should necessarily view Lycian religion as in any way organized or systematized on a country-wide basis. Though there was a degree of cultural and political unity in Lycia, one must not as­ sume that this means the same deities would be honoured throughout the land. It must finally be pointed out, as a last word of introduction, that this appendix can be no more than a preliminary study. There is, as has al­ ready been said. much that is unknown about the Lycians, and new discov­ eries continue to be made. So for instance, Fraser in 1977 stated in Rho­ dian Funerary Monuments that ''the humble persons denominated as 'heroes' certainly did not receive elaborate public festivals", 6 a pro­ nouncement accepted by a paper published as recently as 1996.7 Yet the very next year after Fraser's pronouncement, Robert published an inscrip­ tion, 8 unfortunately undatable but certainly not to be placed much before c. 200, since it mentions the Lycian koinon, which did not exist much before that date (p. 178-80). This inscription demonstrated quite clearly that there were games in Xanthos at the Sarpedoneia, certainly a festival in honour of the Lycian hero Sarpedon. So it may well be that the picture of Lycian religious practices will change quickly as new inscriptions are un­ earthed through excavation. With this in mind. it is possible to look at certain aspects of the religion of Lycia. It should be pointed out, however, that this survey is in no way meant to be comprehensive; rather it is an examination of some of the most important and interesting deities and cults. For a comprehensive account, one should consult the chapter on "Gods and Oracles" from Bryce, or the listing of gods by Frei.9 2 Leto and her children By far the most important sanctuary in Lycia was that of Leto, the so­ called Letoon, in the territory of Xanthos. This lies some distance inland ' Thou!!Ji Bryce 1996: 43 does note that religious practices are amen!¢ the most ccnserva- tive in any sociay, and so most likely to reach back into the Dynastic period. 6 Fraser 1977: 77. 7 Keen 1996a: 231 n. 13 ( mea culpa!). 8 Robert 1978: 33-34; SEG 28 1248. 9 Bryce 1986: 172-20l;Frei 1990b. Forothermoredaailedstudies,seeLarodJ.e 1980: 1-6; and Le Roy 1990: 41-44. .