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{{Short description|Ancient Greek peninsular city of Caria, Turkey}}
{{for|the ancient Greek city in northeastern Cyprus|Knidos, Cyprus}}
{{Infobox ancient site
  |name = Knidos
  |native_name = Κνίδος {{in lang|grc}}
  |alternate_name = Cnidus
  |image = Knidos-Häfen.jpg
  |alt = 
  |caption = The port of Knidos
  |map_type = Turkey
  |map_alt = 
  |map_size = 270
  |coordinates = {{coord|36|41|09|N|27|22|30|E|display=inline,title}}
  |location = Yazıköy, [[Muğla Province]], Turkey
  |region = [[Caria]]
  |type = 
  |part_of = 
  |length = 
  |width = 
  |area = 
  |height = 
  |builder = 
  |material = 
  |built = 
  |abandoned = 
  |epochs = <!-- actually displays as "Periods" -->
  |cultures = 
  |dependency_of = 
  |occupants = [[Eudoxus of Cnidus|Eudoxus]], [[Ctesias]], [[Sostratus of Cnidus|Sostratus]]
  |event = [[Battle of Cnidus]]
  |excavations = 1857–1858
  |archaeologists = [[Charles Thomas Newton]]
  |condition = 
  |ownership = 
  |management = 
  |public_access = Yes
  |website = [https://muze.gov.tr/muze-detay?DistId=KND&SectionId=KND01]
  |notes = 
}}

'''Knidos''' or '''Cnidus'''{{sfn|''EB''|1878|p=44}}{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|aɪ|d|ə|s}}; {{langx|grc|Κνίδος}}, {{IPA|grc|knídos|label=Ancient:}}, {{IPA|el|ˈkniðos|label=Modern:}}, '''Knídos''') was a [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] city in [[ancient Caria]] and part of the [[Dorian Hexapolis]], in south-western [[Asia Minor]], modern-day Turkey. It was situated on the [[Datça peninsula]], which forms the southern side of the [[Sinus Ceramicus]], now known as [[Gulf of Gökova]]. By the 4th century BC, Knidos was located at the site of modern [[Tekir, Turkey|Tekir]], opposite Triopion Island. But earlier, it was probably at the site of modern [[Datça]] (at the half-way point of the peninsula).<ref>Simon Hornblower, ''A Commentary on Thucydides'' '''3''':849, 2009. {{ISBN|0-19-927648-X}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=KwUIQNQdbfIC&dq=knidos+Dat%C3%A7a&pg=PT870 cited text]</ref>

It was built partly on the mainland and partly on the Island of Triopion or Cape Krio. The debate about it being an island or cape is caused by the fact that in ancient times it was connected to the mainland by a causeway and bridge. Today the connection is formed by a narrow sandy [[isthmus]]. By means of the causeway the channel between island and mainland was formed into two harbours, of which the larger, or southern, was further enclosed by two strongly built moles that are still in good part entire.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

The extreme length of the city was little less than a mile, and the whole intramural area is still thickly strewn with architectural remains. The walls, both of the island and on the mainland, can be traced throughout their whole circuit; and in many places, especially round the acropolis, at the northeast corner of the city, they are remarkably perfect.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

==History==
[[File:Roman gold vase.JPG|thumb|left|Gold vase found off the sea near Knidos dating to 25BC- 50AD now in the [[British Museum]]<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=466058&partId=1&place=34940&plaA=34940-3-2&page=1 British Museum Collection]</ref>]]

===Antiquity===
Knidos was a Hellenic city of high antiquity. According to [[Herodotus]]' ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]]'' (I.174), the Cnidians were [[Lacedaemonian]] colonists; however, the presence of [[Demiurge (magistrate)|demiurges]] there argues for foundation or later influence by other [[Dorians|Doric Greeks]], possibly [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argives]]. [[Diodorus Siculus]] ([[Bibliotheca Historica]] 5.53) claimed that Cnidus was founded by both Lacedaemonians and Argives.<ref>Duncker, Maximillian Wolfgang, ''History of Greece: From the Earliest Times to the End of the Persian War'', S.F. Alleyne, trans., London: Richard Bentley & Son, 1883.</ref> Along with [[Halicarnassus]] (present day [[Bodrum]], Turkey) and Kos, and the [[Rhodes|Rhodian]] cities of [[Lindos]], [[Kamiros]] and [[Ialyssos]] it formed the [[Dorian Hexapolis]], which held its confederate assemblies on the Triopian headland, and there celebrated games in honour of [[Apollo]], [[Poseidon]] and the [[nymph]]s.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}  This was also the site of the [[Temple of Aphrodite, Knidos]].

The city was at first governed by an [[oligarchy|oligarchic]] [[senate]], composed of sixty members, and presided over by a magistrate; but, though it is proved by inscriptions that the old names continued to a very late period, the constitution underwent a popular transformation. The situation of the city was favourable for commerce, and the Knidians acquired considerable wealth, and were able to colonize the island of [[Lipara]], and founded a city on [[Korčula|Corcyra Nigra]] in the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic]]. They ultimately submitted to [[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus]], and from the [[battle of Eurymedon]] to the latter part of the [[Peloponnesian War]] they were subject to [[Athens]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} During the [[Hellenistic age]], Knidos boasted a [[medical school]]; however, the theory that this school already existed at the beginning of the [[classical age]] is an unwarranted extrapolation.<ref>[[Vincenzo Di Benedetto]]: [[Kos|Cos]] e Cnido, in: Hippocratica - Actes du Colloque hippocratique de Paris 4-9 septembre 1978, ed. [[Mirko Grmek|M. D. Grmek]], [[Paris]] 1980, 97-111, see also [[Antoine Thivel]]: Cnide et Cos ? : essai sur les doctrines médicales dans la [[Corpus Hippocraticum|collection hippocratique]], Paris 1981 (passim), {{ISBN|22-51-62021-4}}; cf. the review by [[Otta Wenskus]] [https://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/27688435?uid=3737864&uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&sid=21104394691947 (on JSTOR)].</ref>

In their expansion into the region, the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] easily obtained the allegiance of Knidians, and rewarded them for help given against [[Antiochus III the Great]] by leaving them the freedom of their city.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

[[Eudoxus of Cnidus|Eudoxus]], the [[astronomer]], [[Ctesias]], the writer on [[History of Persia|Persian history]], and [[Sostratus of Cnidus|Sostratus]], the builder of the celebrated [[Lighthouse of Alexandria|Pharos at Alexandria]], are the most remarkable of the Knidians mentioned in history.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} [[Artemidorus Knidos|Artemidorus]], a minor character in the [[Shakespeare]] play "[[Julius Caesar (play)|Julius Caesar]]", was also from Knidos.

===Byzantine era===
During the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] period there must still have been a considerable population: for the ruins contain a large number of buildings belonging to the Byzantine style, and Christian sepulchres are common in the neighbourhood.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

Bishop Ioannes of Cnidus took part in the [[Council of Chalcedon]] in 451 CE and was one of the signatories of the letter that in 458 the bishops of the [[Roman province]] of [[Caria]], to which Cnidus belonged, wrote to [[Byzantine Emperor]] [[Leo I the Thracian]] after the murder of [[Proterius of Alexandria]]. Bishop Evander was at the [[Second Council of Constantinople]] in 553 and Bishop Stauratius at the [[Second Council of Nicaea]] in 787.<ref>Michel Lequien, [https://books.google.com/books?id=0agp0mJFG_sC ''Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus''], Paris 1740, Volume I, coll. 917-918</ref><ref>Raymond Janin, v. ''Cnide'', in [http://booksnow.scholarsportal.info/ebooks/oca2/4/dictionnairedhis13bauduoft/dictionnairedhis13bauduoft.pdf ''Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques''], volume XIII, Paris 1956, col. 179</ref> No longer a residential bishopric, Cnidus is today listed by the [[Catholic Church]] as a [[titular see]].<ref>''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 {{ISBN|978-88-209-9070-1}}), p. 872</ref>

[[File:Knidos 05831-05844.jpg|center|thumb|700px|Knidos panorama]]

==Excavation history==

The first Western knowledge of the modern site was due to the mission of the [[Dilettante Society]] in 1812, and the excavations executed by [[Charles Thomas Newton|C. T. Newton]] in 1857–1858.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

[[File:GiorcesCnido5.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Knidos sundial]]

The [[agora]], the theatre, an [[Odeon (building)|odeum]], a temple of [[Dionysus]], a temple of the Muses, a temple of [[Aphrodite]]<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-04-24|title=Iris Love, archaeologist who discovered the Temple of Aphrodite – obituary|language=en-GB|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2020/04/24/iris-love-archaeologist-discovered-temple-aphrodite-obituary/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2020/04/24/iris-love-archaeologist-discovered-temple-aphrodite-obituary/ |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-18|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and a great number of minor buildings have been identified, and the general plan of the city has been very clearly made out. The most famous statue by [[Praxiteles]], the [[Aphrodite of Knidos]], was made for Cnidus. It has perished, but late copies exist, of which the most faithful is in the [[Vatican Museums]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}
[[File:Knidos lion.jpg|thumb|left|200px|[[Lion of Knidos]] on display in the [[British Museum]], London]]
In a temple enclosure Newton discovered the fine seated statue of [[Demeter of Knidos]], which he sent back to the [[British Museum]], and about three miles south-east of the city he came upon the ruins of a splendid tomb, and a colossal figure of a lion carved out of one block of [[Pentelic marble]], ten feet in length and six in height, which has been supposed to commemorate the great naval victory, the [[Battle of Cnidus]] in which [[Conon]] defeated the [[Lacedaemon]]ians in 394&nbsp;BC.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} The Knidos Lion is now displayed under the roof of the [[Queen Elizabeth II Great Court|Great Court]] in the British Museum.

In 2022, the low tide revealed ruins of an ancient port near the site which is believed to have been the port of Knidos.<ref>[https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/low-tide-reveals-ruins-of-ancient-port-near-knidos-172351 Low tide reveals ruins of ancient port near Knidos]</ref>

[[File:Knidos-coin-Aphrodite.jpg|right|thumb|300px|[[Engraving]] of a Knidian [[coin]] showing the [[Aphrodite of Knidos|Aphrodite]], by [[Praxiteles]]]]
{{clear left}}

==See also==
* [[Battle of Cnidus]]
* [[Iris Love]]
* [[List of ancient Greek cities]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite EB9 |mode=cs2 |wstitle=Cnidus |volume=6  |ref={{harvid|''EB''|1878}} |page=44 }}
* {{EB1911 |wstitle=Cnidus |volume=6 |page=573}}

== Further reading ==
* [https://www.academia.edu/36263886/Marin_Buovac_Prilog_boljem_poznavanju_simbolike_zoomorfnih_recipijenata_iz_anti%C4%8Dke_luke_u_Zatonu_kraj_Nina_-_Toward_better_understanding_of_the_symbolism_of_the_zoomorphic_receptacles_from_the_ancient_port_of_Zaton_near_Nin_Diadora_vol._31_2017 Marin Buovac: Prilog boljem poznavanju simbolike zoomorfnih recipijenata iz antičke luke u Zatonu kraj Nina - Toward better understanding of the symbolism of the zoomorphic receptacles from the ancient port of Zaton near Nin, ''Diadora'', vol. 31, 2017.]

==External links==
{{Commons category}}

*[https://muze.gov.tr/muze-detay?DistId=KND&SectionId=KND01 Official website]
*[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/greece/hetairai/tivoli.html The ''Knidia'' of Praxiteles and its setting]

{{Former settlements in Turkey}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Archaeological sites in the Aegean region]]
[[Category:Greek colonies in Caria]]
[[Category:Doric Hexapolis]]
[[Category:Spartan colonies]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Turkey]]
[[Category:History of Muğla Province]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Muğla Province]]
[[Category:Members of the Delian League]]
[[Category:Greek city-states]]
[[Category:Populated places in ancient Caria]]