Interesting data have been found as a result of archaeological studies that have been going on for 1 year in the ancient city of Latmos / Heraklia, located in Bafa Lake in Milas.

HISTORY IS OPENING ITS DOORS

Head of Latmos and Herakleia Excavations, Selçuk University Archeology Department Lecturer Prof. Dr. Zeliha Gezgin Büyüközer explained that the excavations in the region found 8 skeletons that may belong to the last inhabitants of Herakleia. Büyüközer gave information about the studies; He stated that the skeletons found in the excavations are very important for the anthropological studies of the city.

Büyüközer; “We carried out consolidation works on the south wall of the Port Gate, which is located at the entrance of Kapıkırı Village and connects the city and the port in ancient times. We have opened the stone pavement road in front of the door to the use of visitors,” he said. As it will be remembered; German Archaeologist Prof. Dr. Anneliese Peschow Bindokat, during the surveys she carried out from the early 1970s until 2015, in the Beşparmak Mountains rising behind Latmos Heraklaia on the shore of Lake Bafa. He found many rock paintings from 8,000 to 4,000 years ago, as well as some Hittite hieroglyphs and signs.

HERACLEIA OF LATMOS

Latmos; It was a port city founded by the Carians, the indigenous people of Southwest Anatolia, in the ages when Bafa Lake was a bay of the Aegean Sea. However, as a result of the accumulation of alluvium carried by the Büyük Menderes River, the connection of the bay with the sea was cut off and Bafa Lake was formed. Thus, Latmos, which was cut off from the sea, began to lose its importance gradually. B.C. In Latmos, which joined the Caria Satrap in the 4th century, the city of Herakleia was founded in place of the old city at the end of the century. Since there are many cities with the same name, such as Herakleia, which means the city dedicated to “Heracles” (Hercules), the newly established city was called Latmos Heraklia to distinguish it.

LAKE BAFA “IN EVERY FULL MOON, LOVE START”

Lake Bafa has also hosted a legendary love with a mythological depth and People still believe this myth

Endymion is a handsome shepherd who grazes his flocks in the mountains of Latmos.
Endymion retreat to the cave on the slopes of Latmos to spend the night with his flock.

Sun; While fading its lights and leaves the world to the moon goddess Selene by getting out of the night. Selene first bath in Bafa Lake and then rise to the sky as a piece of moon.

While the shepherd Endymion was watching this beauty every sunset, he fall in love madly and start playing his flute with this hopeless love.

Every time the full moon twitches over the lake, this love comes to life again in Bafa Lake.

The love of the Moon Goddess Selene and the shepherd Endymion is expressed as follows in Homer’s lines:

“Countless stars around the bright moon
clear sky with no wind
how it burns brightly.
All the peaks, jagged rocks and meadows
how it is laid out,
the skies are torn and opened,
all the stars are visible
eases the heart of the shepherd…”

The gods watch their love, sometimes with envy and sometimes with pleasure. This great love, which is renewed and renewed every day, is so pleased that Zeus grants Endymion a wish. What can be the answer of a young person who is in love with the phrase “Whatever you wish from me”? Neither power, nor wealth, nor immortality by seeing the blessings of the world; Endymion wishes an eternal eternal sleep in order to make the moments he spends with his lover eternal. Thereupon, Zeus puts Endymion into an eternal sleep in the cave in the Latmos Mountains; so that her lover can come and kiss and hug her every night. That day is today; Bathing in the waters of Lake Bafa, the Moon goddess still touches the Latmos mountains with the love of a woman caressing her lover. For this reason, Selene touches Latmos Mountain with love and still makes Bafa Lake shine like a silver tray. Lake Bafa is still one of the places where the full moon is reflected most beautifully today.