The coins of the city of Olympos date back to the 2nd century BC. It was
described by Cicero as an ancient city full of riches and works of art.
The city became one of the six leading cities of the Lycian League. In
the 1st century BC, Olympos was invaded and settled by Cilician pirates.
This ended in 78 BC, when the Roman commander
Publius Servilius Isauricus, accompanied by the young Julius Caesar, took
the city after a victory at sea, and added Olympos to theRoman Empire.
The pirate Zenicetes set fire to his own house and perished. The emperor
Hadrian visited the city after which it took the name of Hadrianopolis
for a period, in his honour.
The chief deity of Olympos was Hephaestus,
god of fire and blacksmiths. Near Olympos, located in the neighbouring
village of Çıralı and about 200 metres above sea level, the eternal
flames called the Chimaera may be seen issuing from the ground. The fuel
source for the flames is natural gas, largely methane, seeping through
cracks in the earth. The mythical Chimaera - or Chimera - was a monster
with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a serpent,
who roamed these woods and sprouted fire from her mouth.
In the
Middle Ages, Venetians, Genoese and Rhodians built two fortresses along
the coast, but by the 15th century Olympos had been abandoned. Today the
site attracts tourists, not only for the artifacts that can still be
found (though fragmentary and widely scattered), but also for its scenic
landscapes supporting wild grapevines, flowering oleander, bay trees,
figs and pines
