Lieux de mémoire en Lycie

Abstract

Starting from the concepts of «memory of the invisible» and of «history-making memory», as they have been recently elaborated by J.-P. Vernant, from the concept of «places of memory» as described by P. Nora, and finally from the works of G. Dumézil and M. Halbwachs, it is shown that the civilization of Lycia (South-West Anatolia) has consciously built up, in the classical and hellenistic periods (5th-2nd century B. C.) a system of mythical traditions and cult space organization that have contributed, in the middle of extended hellenic influence, to the preservation of its Anatolian identity. Moreover, one has tried to describe the instruments (pre-achaemenid myths, Homeric epic poetry) and the visible signs (ancient cult monuments inserted in Greek buildings) that were used to this aim. The synthesis, that succeeded for a time, of Anatolian tradition and hellenism is the key of Lycian originality.