Xanthian Obelisk
stele bearing a trilingual inscription on the acropolis of the Lycian city of Xanthos
The Xanthian Obelisk, also known as the Xanthos or Xanthus Stele, the Xanthos or Xanthus Bilingual, the Inscribed Pillar of Xanthos or Xanthus, the Harpagus Stele, the Pillar of Kherei and the Columna Xanthiaca, is a stele bearing an inscription currently believed to be trilingual, found on the acropolis of the ancient Lycian city of Xanthos, or Xanthus, near the modern town of Kınık in southern Turkey. It was created when Lycia was part of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, and dates in all likelihood to c. 400 BC. The pillar is seemingly a funerary marker of a dynastic satrap of Achaemenid Lycia. The dynast in question is mentioned on the stele, but his name had been mostly defaced in the several places where he is mentioned: he could be Kherei (Xerei) or more probably his predecessor Kheriga (Xeriga, Gergis in Greek).
The obelisk or pillar was originally topped by a tomb, most certainly belonging to Kheriga, in a way similar to the Harpy Tomb. The top most likely fell down during an earthquake in ancient times. The tomb was decorated with reliefs of his exploits, and with a statue of the dynast standing on top.
The three languages are Ancient Greek, Lycian and Milyan (the last two are Anatolian languages and were previously known as Lycian A and Lycian B respectively). During its early period of study, the Lycian either could not be understood, or was interpreted as two dialects of one language, hence the term, bilingual. Another trilingual from Xanthus, the Letoon trilingual, was subsequently named from its three languages, Greek, Lycian A and Aramaic.
“Xanthian Obelisk” enters the record as stele bearing a trilingual inscription on the acropolis of the Lycian city of Xanthos. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Xanthian, Obelisk and stele can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Xanthian Obelisk” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Xanthian, Obelisk and stele provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2601304. Authority coordinates are 36.357, 29.319. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Xanthian Obelisk” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.