8 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

2500 Years of Animal Love in Termessos Ancient City

We are witnessing more and more of the unscrupulousness, cruelty and torture inflicted on our animal friends every day.These news of rabbits skinned alive for their fur, birds whose feathers were removed, dogs tied to the back of the car, cats whose paws were cut off, and other animal friends who were brutally raped, constantly appear and leaving us in indescribable sorrow.

All conscientious people raise their voices to these brutal crimes against animals and participate in voluntary organizations for governments to make positive policies. Because our animal friends deserve this. We love them.

This conscience and sense of responsibility reach today’s people like a lesson through a tomb in history. This grave descends like a slap for people who are cruel to animals.

We are talking about the dog sarcophagus discovered in the excavations of Termessos Ancient City located within the borders of Antalya.

The sarcophagus unearthed during the Termessos Ancient City excavations was originally thought to be a baby sarcophagus. With the deciphering of the inscription on the sarcophagus, it was determined that this sarcophagus was not made for a baby but belonged to a dog.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



The following is written in the deciphered inscription of the sarcophagus, which was built for Stephanos by a rich woman living in Termessos and who loves her dog, named Rhodope.

animal love
The dog sarcophagus in Termessos Ancient City shows us 2500 years of animal love.

“……It was Rhodepe’s happiness It ……. … they would summon, Those who played with cute Stephanos. He is hiding inside (this grave) what suddenly death takes away. This is the tomb of the disappearing dog Stephanos. Rhodope cried to him and buried him like a human. I am Stephanos the dog, Rhodope built my grave. ”

Where is Termessos Ancient City?

It was a fortified ancient city called Solymi (also known as Solim) by the Pamphylian tribes (descendants of the Luvi) near the top of the Solymos (Mount Gulluk) mountain in the Taurus mountain range. It attracts attention with its unique tombs. The remains of Güllük Mountain can be reached by a special road climbing left from the 24th kilometer of the Antalya-Korkuteli highway.

Termessos, who did not surrender by making a great defense against the siege of Alexander the Great in 333 BC, was taken by Ptolemy afterward. It has a different political relationship with Rome. The Roman Senate was given the right to determine the administration by making its own laws, independently in internal affairs for Termessos. Termessos is a rare city that issued coins in its own name.

Termessos did not exist after the Roman period. Disasters such as earthquakes and floods have been factors affecting the region in terms of the settlement. Termessos has many temples and akropol. The variety and decorations of his tombs are very rich. Büyük İskender döneminin önemli komutanlarından Alketas’ın (MÖ 319) mezarı dikkat çekicidir.

Related Articles

Statue of Roman Emperor Hadrianus found in western Turkey

14 September 2021

14 September 2021

Excavations in the ancient city of Alabanda in the western province of Aydin have uncovered pieces of the statue of...

A Remarkable Underground City Discovered Beneath Historic Yazd Homes in Central Iran

26 January 2025

26 January 2025

A remarkable ‘underground city’ was discovered under five historical houses in the ancient town of Abarkuh in Yazd province in...

In Egypt, archaeologists have discovered a 4,500-year-old Sun temple.

16 November 2021

16 November 2021

Archaeologists discovered an ancient Sun temple in the Egyptian desert that dates back 4,500 years. The remains were discovered under...

Lost sketches by Leonardo Da Vinci show that he understood gravity long before Newton

19 February 2023

19 February 2023

Leonardo da Vinci’s centuries-old sketches show that he may have understood key aspects of gravity long before Galileo, Newton, and...

The 3200-year-old Mycenaean figure that brought Ephesus together with the Hittite civilization: Found in the excavations of Ayasuluk Tepe

11 June 2022

11 June 2022

A 3,200-year-old Mycenaean figurine that could change the perspective on the history of civilization in Western Anatolia during the Bronze...

Scientists discover traces of paint on the Parthenon Sculptures that reveal their true colours

12 October 2023

12 October 2023

Recent research on the Parthenon Sculptures has found traces of the original paint used to decorate the Parthenon Sculptures, revealing...

Dingoes were regarded as “almost human” in pre-colonial Australia

21 October 2023

21 October 2023

When it comes to Australia’s wild dingoes, the phrase “a dog is a man’s best friend” takes on new meaning....

The earliest human remains 11,000-year-old discovered in northern Britain

25 January 2023

25 January 2023

An international team of archaeologists at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has discovered 11,000-year-old human remains in the Heaning...

Vase for holy oil used by ‘hidden Christians’ in Japan

24 May 2023

24 May 2023

After the family that had passed it down through the generations permitted the artifact to be examined, a relic from...

Hundreds of silver coins have been found near the castle of Lukov in Moravia

4 September 2021

4 September 2021

In the forest near the Southern Moravian Fortress Lukov, two members of the Society of Friends of the Lukov Fortress...

3000 years old wooden wishing well discovered in Germany

7 January 2023

7 January 2023

In the town of Germering, in the Germany state of Bavaria, archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a well-preserved Bronze...

Thor’s hammer amulet discovered in Sweden

23 October 2022

23 October 2022

Archaeologists have unearthed the Thor’s Hammer amulet, which they call “one of its kind” in Ysby in southwestern Sweden’s Halland...

Pandemics Determined the Fate of Wars in Ancient Times

7 April 2021

7 April 2021

Epidemics have been one of the factors affecting the fate of wars throughout history. Epidemics have sometimes turned the fate...

New Museum being Built for the Stolen Goddess Cybele in Western Turkey

12 June 2021

12 June 2021

A marble statue of the Anatolian mother goddess Cybele, which was returned to its native home of Turkey’s Afyonkarahisar will...

Egypt opens King Djoser’s 4,500-year-old tomb after a 15-year restoration

15 September 2021

15 September 2021

Egypt on Tuesday showcased an ancient tomb structure belonging to the cemetery complex of King Djoser, a pharaoh who lived more than 4,500...