Simena
On the Lycian coast 11 km W of Myra. First mentioned by Pliny (who misplaces it), then by Stephanos and the Stadiasmus. Apparently it was an independent city until Imperial times, when it became a minor member of a sympolity headed by Aperlai. There is no coinage.
The picturesque site is on a hill rising directly from the shore. The S part of the hill carries a fortification wall constructed mainly of bossed ashlar, with polygonal masonry in places. On the N part is a well-preserved mediaeval castle, inside which is a tiny theater, entirely rock-cut, with seven rows of seats holding some 300 persons, but no stage. Below the castle are remains of a stoa, and on the shore modest baths dedicated to Vespasian. There are many Lycian tombs, especially on the N hill; among them is a rock-tomb with an inscription in Lycian, proving the antiquity of the site.
BIBLIOGRAPHYE. Petersen & F. von Luschan, Reisen in Lykien (1889) I, 28-29; II, 48-52; R. Heberdey & E. Kalinka, Bericht über zwei Reisen (1896) 17-18.
G. E. BEAN