Praksiteles

The Athenian Praxiteles, one of the greatest sculptors of the 4th century BC, created the "Aphrodite of Knidos", regarded as history's first monumental female nude. Carved in white marble, this cult statue was displayed in a temple at the ancient city of Knidos on the western tip of the Datça Peninsula. It was so famous that ancient sources describe visitors travelling to Knidos from across the Mediterranean to see it.

The Aphrodite of Knidos made ancient Datça a "centre of art and pilgrimage", carrying the city beyond its era; it is considered the starting point of the nude-figure tradition in Western art history and one of the strongest symbols of Datça's ancient identity.