The Legend of Hyllarima

Nestled in the northeastern part of ancient Caria, near the village of Derebağ (Mesevle) in the Kavaklıdere district of modern-day Muğla, lies Hyllarima, an inland city whose origins stretch back into legend and ancient mythology. The name of the settlement appears in ancient Greek sources as Hyllarima, which is thought to derive from the epithet of the local deity Zeus Hyllos. According to traditional beliefs and local lore, Hyllos may originally have been a native Anatolian god who merged with Zeus through syncretism. Similar divine fusions in the region, such as Zeus Panamaros at Panamara or Zeus Labraundos at Labraunda, serve as classic examples of how local deities were adapted and renamed within the Greek pantheon.

The historical and legendary roots of the community may reach as far back as the 2nd millennium BCE if Wallarima is indeed an early form of Hyllarima. This suggests that the settlement existed as early as the 14th century BCE during the Bronze Age, endowing the region with a deep and layered mythical past. According to the historian Diodorus Siculus, the otherwise unknown toponym Kaprima is considered to be a corrupted form of Hyllarima, marking the site where Eupolemus was defeated by Ptolemaeus. Such linguistic shifts correspond with the well-documented alternations between initial sounds in Carian toponyms, adding an air of geographic mystery to the area.

Although its political history remains obscure before the Hellenistic period, the earliest known inscription from the vicinity shows that the city recognized the conquest of Alexander the Great, dating its creation in the kingship of Philip. Because Philip III Arrhidaeus was only a nominal king, Hyllarima was likely under the control of Asander, the satrap of Caria since the Partition of Babylon. Subsequently, Antigonus I conquered Caria, and the dynast Pleistarchus governed Hyllarima in the 290s BCE, fortifying the hilltop. Inscriptions from Pleistarchus's time demonstrate that Hyllarima had adopted the institutions of a Greek polis by the 3rd century BCE, headed by an eponymous archon. Later falling under Seleucid control, it eventually became part of the Rhodian Peraia following the Treaty of Apamea before being absorbed into Roman Asia.

Hyllarima was not merely a political settlement but also an important religious center that governed a number of rural sanctuaries. The most notable among these was the sanctuary dedicated to Zeus Hyllos, pointing to the distinctive religious practices and local cults of the region. The city maintained its religious significance throughout the Roman period, as evidenced by a 2nd-century CE dedication comparing the emperor Antoninus Pius to Zeus Hyllos. Following its conversion to Christianity, Hyllarima became the seat of a bishopric in antiquity, and today it endures as a titular see within the Roman Catholic Church. Ancient sources also record that Hierocles, an athlete who later became a philosopher, hailed from this city.

Archaeological investigations have revealed the physical evolution of the settlement over the centuries. Excavations indicate that sometime in the 4th century BCE, the community relocated from one fortified hilltop settlement at modern Asarcıktepe to another nearby fortified hilltop at modern Kapraklar. Such shifts, typically driven by political upheavals, population growth, or changing defense strategies, offer tangible clues about the community's turbulent history. Excavations at the site were initiated in 1997 by a joint French-Turkish team led by Pierre Debord and Ender Varinlioğlu, with their findings published in 2018.

Today, visitors encountering the ruins can still observe the main theater built in the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE, which suggests a peak population of approximately 1,500 people. The city’s agora preserves structures dating from the Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods. Furthermore, Hyllarima is celebrated as the type-site for a variant of the Carian alphabet, having yielded about 30 inscriptions. Among these, an inscribed list of the 'priests of the gods of Hyllarima' provides invaluable linguistic evidence, allowing the voice of this ancient and legendary Carian community to echo into the modern day.