Cnidus, << NY duhs, >> was an ancient Greek city on the southwest coast of what is now Turkey. The city may have been founded as long ago as 900 B.C. In about 300 B.C., it was moved to a nearby peninsula. Cnidus then became an important harbor and trading center. The Persian, Greek, and Roman empires ruled Cnidus in turn until about A.D. 600, when the city was abandoned.
Archaeologists excavated the site of the city in the mid-1800’s. Fragments of a famous statue of Aphrodite by the Greek sculptor Praxiteles were later discovered at the site.
