The origins of the city, which the Lycians called "Zemuri", go back to the 5th century BC. Ancient records and coin finds suggest that in Zemuri the lightning throwing Zeus was worshipped as the main god. What was extraordinary for Lycia, because the main gods of the Lycians were Artemis and Apollo.
Both the German and the Austrian Archaeological Institutes carry out excavations in Limyra. Jürgen Borchardt, Professor of Classical Archaeology at the University of Vienna, was able to prove in 1966 that the Lycian Prince Pericles ruled from Limyra. This gives the city, which was considered insignificant in comparison with the Lycian metropolises Xanthos and Myra, a completely different status. In 366 B.C. Pericles apparently took part in the bloody satrap revolt against the Great King of Persia. The elevated sarcophagus of his brother Xntabura can still be seen diagonally above the theatre.

Limyra was home to the well-known source oracle of Limyra. It is said that holy trout predicted the future. If they accepted the fish food offered, the prognosis was positive, if they spurned the food, they were very sceptical about the event.

A stroke of luck for the city was that in 4 AD the young grandson of Augustus Gaius Caesar died seriously wounded after a campaign in Limyra. He had a large cenotaph built, the ruins of which still tower out of the marshes of the lower town. Rome spent a great deal of money in the place where the emperor's descendants died. For example, the temples were renovated and magnificently furnished. Substantial reconstruction aid was provided after the 141 AD earthquake.

After its conquest by Alexander the Great, Limyra came under the alternate rule of his successor until it was granted to the Rhodes with all of Lycia in 188 BC. In several uprisings the Lycians defended themselves against the hated Rhodians. In 167 B.C. they were able to achieve diplomatic separation from Rhodes and limited autonomy within the Roman administration. In the re-emerging Lycian League of Cities, Limyra temporarily received three voices, which underlines the importance of the city.

The part of the city built in Roman times became marshy in Byzantine times due to the silting up of the Limyros river until it became completely uninhabitable. The people settled in the former harbour of Limyras, Phoinikos, today's Finike. Lymyra lost importance and was finally abandoned completely.

The Theatre

The state of the theatre of Limyra, which can be seen today, shows the state of restoration work in the 2nd half of the 2nd century A.D. After this construction project, it attracted approx. 15,000 spectators. The theatre, like the whole city and several other cities of the Lycian League, was destroyed after a devastating earthquake in 141 AD. The stage house was rebuilt with donations from the Rhodiapolis-based Euerget Opramoas. Today there is not much more of the stage house than the foundations.

The ruins of the ancient city of Limyra are located about 7 km inland from the coastal town of Finike. Before Finike turn off the coastal road D400 onto the national road D635 in the direction of Elmalı After about 5 km you will reach the access road to Limyra, which is marked by a brown sign. 800 metres further on you have reached the ruins of the once Lycian city.