Sillyon Antik Kenti

About Sillyon Antik Kenti

Sillyon was a city of ancient Pamphylia and today lies in the Yanköy neighbourhood of Serik. A widely accepted view holds that its name derives from Šalluša, a name found in Hittite texts, rather than from Greek; the native Pamphylian Greek form was Selywiys, and in Byzantine times it was called Syllaion. Its modern Turkish names are Yanköy Hisarı or Asar Köy. The Ministry of Culture describes it as one of the rare ancient cities in Anatolia that show traces of every historical period in a single view, with imposing buildings spanning from antiquity to the present. According to one legend the city was founded as a colony of Argos, while another credits its founding, together with Side and Aspendos, to the seers Mopsos, Calchas and Amphilochus after the Trojan War. It is first mentioned around 500 BC by Pseudo-Scylax. From 469 BC it was part of the Athenian-led Delian League and appears in the Athenian tribute lists around 450 BC and again in 425 BC. In 333 BC Alexander the Great is said to have besieged it without success; Arrian records that it was well fortified and held by a strong garrison of mercenaries. The site is about 18 km north-west of Serik town centre. It can be reached by private vehicle, turning off the D-400 highway at the junctions signposted for Sillyon in both directions between Serik and Antalya.