 |
|
Caria was called in Ancient Times the southwestern tip of Modern Turkey where a lot of important Greeks cities were founded. It is believed though that the Carians lived in the Aegean most probably before the arrival of the Greeks. When the Greeks arrived, they were forced to limit themselves to southwest Asia Minor (Herodotus, 1.171-172). Carians and Greeks though seem to have lived peacefully together in the area throughout ancient times.
On 8/9 November 1997 the Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung reported that German and Turks archaeologists, who conducted excavations at the ancient site of Kaunos on Asia Minor coast just across the Greek island of Rhodes, unearthed an inscription in two scripts. The top part is inscribed in the Carian language and the same text is repeated in the lower part in classical Greek. The inscription is a resolution of the city of Kaunos to honor two Athenians, one of whom is Nikokles of Lycekleous a fairly know person and contemporary of Demosthenes. Thus, the stone was safely dated to the second half of the 4th c. BCE.
The inscription from Caria is of great importance because it might help the linguists understand better the fairly unknown Carian language and it also offers some additional information on Nikokles in the 4th c. BCE.
Back to Cover
Get your own Free Home Page