The ancient city of Labraunda was an important religious sanctuary for the ancient people called Carians who resided in south-western Anatolia. The cult of their chief deity - Zeus Labrandeus, the god with the double axe - may have even originated in Labraunda itself, at a spring located under a huge split rock just above the temple terrace. The sanctuary of Labraunda was constructed on terraces on a slope of a mountain at the altitude of about 700 meters above sea level and situated 14 kilometres to the north-east of Milas (ancient Mylasa). Mylasa controlled the sanctuary, appointed its priests, and organized religious processions to Labraunda via a 13-kilometer-long Sacred Way.
Historical overview:
The earliest finds, i.e. some shards of pottery, that testify to the existence of a religious sanctuary in Labraunda date back to the mid-7th century BCE, but it was only a small terrace with a tiny temple and a grove of sacred plane trees. It is not inconceivable, however, that the place had been considered sacred even before this period. This sanctuary was held sacred by Carians and Mysians alike. The idea that Labraunda was considered sacred is suggested by a remarkable rock that can be seen just above the sanctuary. This rock appears to have been split in two by a lightning strike. It is possible that in the ancient times, the people believed that this rock was the dwelling place of the sky god, who was later identified with the head of the Greek pantheon - Zeus.
The chief deity was a local variation of the chief god of the Greek pantheon, Zeus, here nicknamed "Labrandeus", depicted standing, with the tall lotus-tipped sceptre upright in his left hand and the double-headed axe, the labrys, in his right hand. The double-headed axe was a prominent symbol at Labraunda. The gold axe had been stored in the Lydian capital of Sardes for several centuries. According to a legend, Gyges, a Lydian king, awarded it to the Carians to commemorate their support in a battle. The Carians then kept this precious, strictly ritual axe in the Temple of Zeus at Labraunda.
Although Labraunda was the leading religious sanctuary in Caria, it was never larger than a village. In 499 BCE, Carian cities joined Miletus and the Ionian cities of Asia Minor in a rebellion against the Persian rule. After the Persian king Darius I the Great defeated them, the Carians took refuge at the sacred precinct of Labraunda, regrouped, and renewed their struggle. In 497 BCE, Darius beat them again at Labraunda and secured control over Caria.
The ancient Greek historian, Herodotus, recorded these events in his Histories: "Daurises made for the cities of the Hellespont and took Dardanus, Abydus, Percote, Lampsacus, and Paesus, each in a single day. Then as he marched from Paesus against Parius, news came to him that the Carians had made common cause with the Ionians and revolted from the Persians. For this reason he turned aside from the Hellespont and marched his army to Caria. [...] the Carians being informed of it gathered together at the place which is called the "White Pillars" and at the river Marsyas, which flows from the region of Idrias and runs out into the Maiander. [...] when the Persians had come and had crossed the Maiander, the Carians engaged with the Persians on the river Marsyas and fought a battle which was obstinately contested and lasted long; but at length they were worsted by superior numbers: and of the Persians there fell as many as two thousand, but of the Carians ten thousand. Then those of them who escaped were shut up in Labraunda within the sanctuary of Zeus Stratios, which is a large sacred grove of plane-trees."
After the Greek victory over the Persians at Salamis in 479 BCE, the Persian control of Caria waned until about 400 BCE. Then the Persians appointed the local Carian prince Hetacomnus as a satrap (governor) for Caria. Hetacomnus consolidated power in the region and was succeeded by his son Mausolus in 377 BCE. To accommodate Carian public opinion, Mausolus and his brother Idrieus significantly upgraded and expanded the Carian religious sanctuary at Labraunda.
The brothers built the Temple of Zeus, two large Andrones (halls for sacrificial meals), the North Stoa, the Oikoi Building, the South Propylon (monumental gate), and the Doric Building. The shrine at Labraunda was reached by the pilgrims walking on an 8-meter-wide, paved road, called the Sacred Way, which ran all the way from the city of Mylasa. The cult statue of Zeus Labrandeus was the gift of the founder of the dynasty, Hecatomnus himself, as recorded in a surviving inscription. The investment at Labraunda by both Mausolus and his brother Idrieus was especially intensive, and the annual procession to Labraunda from Mylasa became a centrepiece of the Hecatomnid royal cult.
They also organized splendid festivals and athletic games, thousands of people from all over Caria visited Labraunda, made animal sacrifices dedicated to Zeus and participated in feasts and games in his honour. Zeus himself was said to answer questions and give advice via oracular eels of Labraunda, supposedly adorned with necklaces and earrings, kept in a sacred pool. The fish swam in a square pool of water and could answer questions with "yes" or "no", depending on whether they accepted or refused the offered food. Every year, a 5-day-long sacrificial feast was celebrated at Labraunda. It was during the festival of 355 BCE, when king Mausolus had a narrow escape from an assassination attempt by disaffected subjects during the royal procession. To celebrate his narrow escape, several structures were added to the sanctuary, including the artificial terraces, a monumental stairway, and the Temple of Zeus itself.
In the Hellenistic period, only a well-house was added to Labraunda, but the Romans added many structures to the sanctuary, including Andron C, the East and the South Baths, and the restored parts of the Doric Building, the West Stoa and the adjoining terraces. The North Stoa was also rebuilt. The sanctuary remained active under the Romans until a major 4th-century fire destroyed the complex.
After the abolishment of the cult of the ancient gods in the late 4th century CE, a church was constructed beside the East Propylon in the mid-5th century CE. The site was occupied until the mid- to late-Byzantine period, and the second church was added in the 6th century CE, at the entrance of the site.
Archaeological research:
The Swedish Institute at Athens was initially in charge of archaeological excavations at Labraunda, and carried out a series of campaigns in 1948-53. It was first headed by Axel W. Persson and taken up, after the latter's sudden death, by Gösta Säflund. The findings of the Swedish team were published in a long series, grouped as four volumes, from 1955 onwards.
From 2014, Labraunda was excavated by an international team under French directorship, led by archaeologists Olivier Henry and Ömür Dünya Çakmaklı. According to Olivier Henry, among the finds made by that team in 2018 there was a new (Roman) stoa above the temple and a Byzantine (probably 6th century CE) necropolis at the southern part of the site. The survey started in 2017 brought many new discoveries, including fortifications, necropoleis, small farms, and olive and wine presses.
Until 1960, the inscriptions, sculptures and architectural fragments found during excavations were either taken to Bodrum or left at the site. For instance, the sculpture of a sphinx with a Persian-style headdress from Labraunda can be seen within the courtyard of the Museum of Underwater Archaeology in Bodrum, located at the castle of Saint Peter.
The Izmir Archaeological Museum houses a collection of ceramics and other small finds, including Carian inscriptions. Some recent excavations have yielded finds that are displayed at the Milas Museum.
Sightseeing:
The tour of Labraunda begins from the South Propylon - a monumental gate that once greeted the pilgrims to the sanctuary of Zeus Labrandeus. This gate building had two marble columns of Ionic order, reaching the height of 5.4 meters, both at the front and the back. Its construction dates back to the reign of Mausolus' brother and successor, Idrieus, i.e. the period from 351 to 344 BCE.
Near the South Propylon, the ruins of the structure called the Doric Building can be seen. Originally, this rectangular structure, more than 8 meters wide, was fronted with four Doric columns. It was also erected on the orders of Idrieus, as testified by the inscription that states, "Idrieus, son of Hekatomnos, from Mylasa, dedicated". The original function of this building was identified to be a fountain-house, and the water basic occupied its interior. In the Roman period it became a part of the East Baths complex, whose hypocaust (heating system) is located to the east. Even later, in the Byzantine times, the Doric Building may have served as a source of water for the ritual ablutions before the mass that was held in the East Church.
Just to the east of the Doric Building, the structure now called simply the East Bath was built in the Roman times, in the 1st century CE, funded by a certain Claudius Menelaos. The traces of a hypocaust and a praefurnium, i.e. the room and the furnace that ensured the heating of the hot and warm premises of the Roman baths, were found by the archaeologists.
At the end of the 4th or the beginning of the 5th century CE, a church was built into a part of the East Baths. It had no columns inside, but the piers supported the side walls. The floor of this church was paved with white marble slabs. An apse and two small side rooms are at the eastern end of the building. Just to the north of this church, there are the remains of the East Propylon, another monumental gate to the sanctuary at Labraunda.
From the East Propylon, a 12-meter-wide, well-preserved stairway leads up to the temple terrace and to the androns, located further to the west. The androns were ancient meetinghouses, reserved exclusively for men, and equipped with couches and tables used for banquets and social events.
The southernmost Andron C was built in the Roman period, while Andrones A and B are from the Hecatomnid times. Mausolus built Andron B adjacent to the Roman one, and his brother Idrieus constructed the well-preserved mid-4th century BCE Andron A situated higher uphill, closer to the Temple of Zeus.
Andron B, erected on the orders of Mausolus, dates back to the period of 377-352 BCE. It is more than ten meters high, and its 12-meter-wide marble front was decorated with two Ionic columns and a Doric frieze with triglyphs, i.e. vertically channelled tablets. Inside the building, there were couches placed along the walls and a niche at the back wall, most probably holding the statues of Mausolus, his wife Artemisia, and Zeus.
The third structure of its kind in Labraunda, Andron A, was built slightly later by Idrieus. It has the similar dimensions to Andon B, and its front was decorated in the same manner. The interior also served for ceremonial banquets, and the niche at the back wall held the statues of Idrieus, his wife Ada, and, again, Zeus.
The temple of Zeus, on the rectangular plan measuring 25 to 16 meters, was first built in the 5th century BCE and, as an inscription attests, expanded in the 4th century BCE under Mausolus and finished by Idrieus. It had an Ionic colonnade surrounding the temple, with six columns on the shorter sides, and eight - along the longer sides. The cult statue of Zeus was held inside. The temple was excavated and explored by Swedish archaeologists from 1948 to 1960 together with the surrounding facilities.
In order to transport the marble blocks, which weighed up to three tons, from which the temple of Zeus was erected, up the mountain, Mausolus had paved the 14 kilometres of road to the then capital Mylasa (today Milas). The roughly hewn blocks were brought on sledges and further processed at the site of the sanctuary. The largest marble block measures 52×63×480 cm and is estimated to weigh 5.5 tons. Interestingly, 134 Greek inscriptions were found throughout the sanctuary, some with exact dates.
Just to the west of the temple, the so-called Oikoi Building (meaning simply the building with rooms) was identified. It has two rooms placed behind a marble portico with four Doric columns, more than four meters high. It was dedicated by satrap Idrieus to Zeus and possibly served as the temple's treasury.
The stoa to the north of the Zeus Temple was a roofed portico, first built by Mausolus. It was later reconstructed in the early 2nd century CE by a priest called Poleites, who had 12 Corinthian columns made of marble placed on its front.
Further up the hill, to the north towards the acropolis, there is a 4th century BCE monumental tomb with a large front courtyard and two burial chambers one in front of the other. They contain five sarcophagi, and it is believed to be the burial place of Idrieus. The chamber has a false (corbelled) vault.
To the north of the sanctuary in Labraunda, there is the Acropolis Fortress, towering over the site. It was most probably built in the 4th century BCE. It measures 90 meters across and 135 meters in length, and was surrounded by the walls with nine defensive towers. The traces of the inner wall and the building that could serve as barracks for soldiers were also identified. The additional defence system of Labraunda constituted of five freestanding towers below the acropolis.
The south-western part of the site is occupied by the remains of the so-called South Baths. It was constructed in the Roman times, for the purpose of serving the pilgrims who arrived at Labraunda, similarly as the baths that were erected in Didyma to welcome the pilgrims arriving along the Sacred Way from Miletus. In Labraunda, the baths were actually the largest building within the sanctuary. Their thick walls indicate that the structure was roofed with brick and concrete vaults. The underground furnace was found in the northwestern part and it still has a brick barrel vault. The baths were oriented in such a way that they faced the south to maximise the heating from the sun.
To the north-west of the sanctuary, there are the scanty remains of a stadium which was 176 meters long. It had two starting and ending stones for athletic games dedicated to Zeus.
Visitor tips:
In 2024, entry to the Labraunda archaeological site was free of charge. The visitors can enter the site from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm.
Getting there:
The Labraunda archaeological site can be reached from Milas by a long and winding, rather difficult road through the mountains. At the site, you can park the car near the entrance in the southeast corner of the site.
By car: Driving on the main road from the centre of Milas, it is difficult to miss the signs to the Labraunda archaeological site. Head towards Ortaköy. From there, a 14-kilometre and winding road leads to the site. After about 8 kilometres, the road turns into a terrible path, which is very difficult to drive on with a normal car. You have to drive very slowly and carefully until you reach the site.
