Kaunos was a city of ancient Caria, Anatolia, a few km west of the modern town of Dalyan, Muğla Province, Turkey. Kaunos was said to have been founded by Kaunos, son of Miletos and Kyane, on the southern coast of Caria, opposite Rhodes. It was in a district later under the jurisdiction of Rhodes known as Peraea, Peræa Rhodiorum (Latin form) “the Rhodian Shore”, at the foot of Mount Tarbelos. Its acropolis was called Imbros. It exported, chiefly to Rome, highly prized figs. It was the home of the painter Protogenes. It was a member of the Chrysaorian League.
The ruins of the city are near Dalyan, on the right bank of the ancient Kalbis. Among them are a theatre, a large rectangular building that may have been a temple, others of uncertain description, a Byzantine church, and rock-hewn tombs.
According to a myth, the city that is at the other side of Ortaca - Dalyan mountain pass has been established by Kaunos, who is one of the twin children of Miletos, at Karya - Likia border. Kaunos, which was a harbor city in Archaic Period, is very far away from the shore today. At the entrance to the city, rock graves are opuses that draw the attention of the visitors. On the other hand, the city walls having a length of 3 km and surrounding the city, Stoa, agora, fountain, bath, theatre and temple ruins evidence that Kaunos was a city having full organization in he Archaic Period. The city, which has been subject to a dense settlement in the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Periods, has been left in ..th century AD. The upper acropolis has been used for a period in the Middle Age by being surrounded, but this settlement has not had a long period.
Tags: Kaunos, Kaunos in Fethiye