Rock Carving Detail

View of a mysterious rock carving located about 220 yds. [200 m.] northeast of the Church of St. Peter.

The interpretation of these figures is difficult.  In the center is the central figure, thought to be Charon (Charonion)—the mythological ferryman who rowed spirits across the River Styx to Hades.

Just to the left of the face is a standing figure—difficult to discern—that may be the Seleucid king Antiochus IV (175–164 B.C.).

It has been suggested that the figures were carved during a plague, during the reign of Antiochus IV, in order to appease the god Charon.

For a general view of this area Click Here.

Click Here for a map and a brief description of “Antakya on the Orontes.”