Corycus

Coordinates: 36°27′55″N 34°9′15″E / 36.46528°N 34.15417°E / 36.46528; 34.15417
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the ancient city of Corycus in Cilicia. For other uses, see Corycus (disambiguation).
Corycus
Fortress of Corycus
Corycus is located in Turkey
Corycus
Shown within Turkey
LocationMersin Province, Turkey
Coordinates36°27′55″N 34°9′15″E / 36.46528°N 34.15417°E / 36.46528; 34.15417
Fortress of Korikos in Cilician Armenia built c. the thirteenth century.

Corycus (

Cilicia Trachaea, Anatolia, located at the mouth of the valley called Şeytan deresi; the site is now occupied by the town of Kızkalesi (formerly Ghorgos), Mersin Province, Turkey
.

The city

Antiochus the Great was defeated by the Romans
. In the Roman times it preserved its ancient laws; the emperors usually kept a fleet there to watch over the pirates. Corycus was also a mint in antiquity and some of its coins survive.

Corycus was controlled by the Byzantine Empire.[1] Justinian I restored the public baths and a hospital. The admiral Eustathios Kymineianos re-fortified the island on the orders of Alexios I Komnenos at the beginning of the 12th century, adding a supplementary castle on a small island. This castle was later called "maidens castle", because it was told that a king held his daughter here in captivity until she was killed by a venomous snake. It was prophesied she would die by a snake bite. So she was taken to the sea castle to protect her, but a serpent was taken by basket to the castle, she was bitten and died. Corycus was conquered by the Armenians soon after it was rebuilt by the Byzantines.

Until the mid-14th century the Armenians held both the mainland and island castles, which guarded this strategic port for the

Mamelukes and assumed suzerainty. In the late 14th century it fell again to the Turks. From 1448 or 1454 it belonged alternately to the Karamanids, the Egyptians, the Karamanids a second time, and finally to the Ottoman Empire
.

Archaeological surveys published in 1982 and 1987 found that the Armenians maintained (with occasional repairs) the

Kizkalesi
on the island has the extensive remains of Armenian rebuilding. The island was once connected to the mainland fort by a breakwater.

Views of the Fortress and ruins of the town (c. 1860)

The ruins of the city are extensive. Among them are a triumphal arch, a

sarcophagi
, etc. The two medieval castles, one on the shore, the other in an islet, connected by a ruined pier, are partially preserved; the former was reputed impregnable. The walls of the castle on the mainland contain many pieces of columns; and a mole of great unhewn rocks projects from one angle of the fortress about a hundred yards across the bay. Three churches are also found, one decorated with frescoes. The walls of the ancient city may still be traced, and there appear to be sufficient remains to invite a careful examination of the spot.

Bishopric

The city figures in the

Trullan Council in 692. In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, Corycus became the seat of Latin Church bishops, one of whom, named Gerardus, took part in a council at Antioch in 1136.[6][7][8][9] No longer a residential bishopric, Corycus is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.[10]

Two Armenian inscriptions that were discovered at the castles of Korykos were credited to its construction to

Hetum I.[11]

Corycian Cave

In the Corycian Cave (now Cennet ve Cehennem), 20 stadia inland, says Strabo, the best crocus (saffron) grows. He describes this cave as a great hollow, of a circular form, surrounded by a margin of rock, on all sides of a considerable height; on descending into this cavity, the ground is found to be uneven and generally rocky, and it is filled with shrubs, both evergreen and cultivated; in some parts the saffron is cultivated: there is also a cave here which contains a large source, which pours forth a river of pure, pellucid water, but it immediately sinks into the earth, and flowing underground enters the sea: they call it the Bitter Water. Pomponius Mela (i.13) has a long description of the same place apparently from the same authority that Strabo followed, but more embellished. This place is probably on the top of the mountain above Corycus.

This place is famed in Greek mythology. It is the Cilician cave of Pindar (Pythian Ode i. 31), and of Aeschylus (Prom. Vinct. 350), and it is the lair of Zeus' fiercest opponent, the monster Typhon or Typhoeus.

See also

  • Kızkalesi, Mersin
    (current settlement)

Gallery

  • Land castle of Korykos Southwest front
    Land castle of Korykos Southwest front
  • Land castle of Korykos Southwest and southeast front
    Land castle of Korykos Southwest and southeast front
  • Land castle of Korykos Southwest and southeast front
    Land castle of Korykos Southwest and southeast front
  • Land castle of Korykos View from necropolis across the road
    Land castle of Korykos View from necropolis across the road
  • Land castle of Korykos Northwest front
    Land castle of Korykos Northwest front
  • Land castle of Korykos Northeast side
    Land castle of Korykos Northeast side
  • Land castle of Korykos Channel along Northeast side
    Land castle of Korykos Channel along Northeast side
  • Land castle of Korykos Spolia
    Land castle of Korykos Spolia
  • Land castle of Korykos View northeast with possible harbour entrance
    Land castle of Korykos View northeast with possible harbour entrance
  • Land castle of Korykos Channel along Northeast side
    Land castle of Korykos Channel along Northeast side
  • Land castle of Korykos Southeast side
    Land castle of Korykos Southeast side
  • Land castle of Korykos Southeast front
    Land castle of Korykos Southeast front
  • Land castle of Korykos Inside southeast walls
    Land castle of Korykos Inside southeast walls
  • Land castle of Korykos Interior looking northeast
    Land castle of Korykos Interior looking northeast
  • Land castle of Korykos Interior
    Land castle of Korykos Interior
  • Korykon Soldier's grave
    Korykon Soldier's grave
  • Korykon Necropolis and castles
    Korykon Necropolis and castles
  • Korykon Sarcophagus
    Korykon Sarcophagus
  • Korykon Sarcophagi and church
    Korykon Sarcophagi and church
  • Korykon Church
    Korykon Church
  • Korykon Church
    Korykon Church
  • Korykon Church
    Korykon Church
  • Korykon Church
    Korykon Church
  • Korykon Church
    Korykon Church
  • Korykon Church
    Korykon Church
  • Korykon Church
    Korykon Church

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-8028-9017-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  2. ISBN 0-88402-163-7
    .
  3. ^ Edwards, Robert W., “Ecclesiastical Architecture in the Fortifications of Armenian Cilicia: First Report, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 36, 1982, pp.173-75, pls.38-42.
  4. ^ Siméon Vailhé, "Corycus" in Catholic Encyclopedia (New York 1908)
  5. ^ John Fulton, Index Canonum: The Greek Text, an English Translation, and a Complete Digest of the Entire Code of Canon Law of the Undivided Primitive Church (Wipf and Stock Publishers, 16 Sep 2014 page 151.
  6. ^ Michel Lequien, Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus, Paris 1740, Vol. II, coll. 879-882
  7. ^ Pius Bonifacius Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, Leipzig 1931, p. 435
  8. ^ Konrad Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi, vol. 1 Archived 2019-07-09 at the Wayback Machine, p. 210; vol. 6, pp. 184–185
  9. ^ H. Rudt de Collenberg Wipertus, Le royaume et l'Église de Chypre face au Grand Schisme (1378-1417) d'après les Registres des Archives du Vatican, in Mélanges de l'École française de Rome, t. 94, n° 2, 1982, pp. 638 e 652
  10. ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1
    ), p. 874
  11. ^ Langlois, op. cit (supra, note 21), 48.

External links
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