Page 186 - Sarpedon’dan Keykubad’a Bir Zamanlar Antalya

Gaius Caesar And Limyra

Is a person native to where he was born? Or is he the native
of the place where he died? Of course, we will not ask this ques-
tion for Gaius Caesar because he was a great Roman comman-
der. Gaius was also the illegitimate heir of the emperor Augus-
tus. However, a part of him also belongs to Antalya. Because
although he was not born here, he died here. His soul left his
body in the city of Limyra, where the cold waters of the Limyros
river passed through the city. Then his body went to Rome, but
then to show their respect to their great commander, the people
of Limyra built a large tomb, a monumental cenotaph.
In the First century AD, the commander Gaius, the adopted
son of Augustus, embarked on a diplomatic tour of the east,
but was badly wounded in the Artagira campaign in Armenia.
When he approached the vicinity of the ancient city of Limyra,
within the borders of present-day Antalya, the prince, who was
no longer in a fit state to travel, had to stop here. Despite all the
interventions of the Limyra doctors, Gaius could not get rid of
the disease and he died on the 21st of February, 4 AD That is
the day that Gaius was also, in a way, from Limyra. Because the
people of Limyra built an empty tomb (a cenotaph) in the name
of the great commander whose body was sent on to Rome. The
people of Limyra built such a tomb in the name of Prince Gai-
us that this monumental tomb was an architectural wonder, 60
meters long, a mausoleum covered with marble slabs on which
there are carved scenes from the life story of the prince. Today,
it is possible to see a part of Gaius depicted on horseback in the
Antalya museum (Borchhardt 2002).

185