Oinoanda was built on the top of a high mountain in the
ancient province of Lycia, which is now modern
southwest Turkey. Toward the end of his life, the
second-century AD philosopher Diogenes presented to his city a
large inscribed limestone wall conspicuously located in an open area generally referred to as the
"Esplanade." The inscription
proclaimed
the wisdom of Epicurus, who had lived five
centuries earlier. This
unique text, rediscovered in the late nineteenth century, has attracted
many modern readers.
Unlike most
ancient cities, a great part of Oinoanda wasn't buried under the soil.
The steep terrain of its locale makes it impractical to remove
the inscribed blocks away from the
city –
so perhaps the entire inscription is still there. The wall
itself, however, has long been demolished. Its blocks were used for
building houses, paving streets, etc. –
most probably during the early
Christian era. They were discovered one by one.