Letoon
A Lycian sanctuary of Leto and her twins, on the World Heritage List with Xanthos since 1988.
The Turkish name
Letoon
At a glance
- Province
- Muğla, Seydikemer (Kumluova)
- UNESCO
- World Heritage, Xanthos-Letoon, 1988
- Partner site
- Xanthos, Kınık, Kaş (Antalya)
- Also spelled
- Litoon
Read more
This page was written from these sources.
- Letoon ↗Wikipedia · Checked 2026-09-23
- Xanthos ↗Wikipedia · Checked 2026-09-23
- Kumluova, Seydikemer ↗Vikipedi · Checked 2026-09-23
The story
Letoon was the religious centre of Xanthos and of the Lycian League, a sanctuary rather than a town. It stands near Kumluova in Seydikemer, once part of Fethiye district, about 4 km from Xanthos. Three temples stand side by side, dedicated to Leto and to her children Artemis and Apollo, with a fountain house and a church nearby.
In 1973 archaeologists found a stone here inscribed in Lycian, Greek and Aramaic. Dated to 337 BC, the Letoon trilingual helped scholars understand the Lycian language and is kept in the Fethiye Museum.
UNESCO inscribed "Xanthos-Letoon" as one World Heritage site in 1988. The two halves lie in different provinces: Letoon in Muğla, and Xanthos at Kınık, in Kaş district of Antalya.
