Myra
Μύρα (in Ancient Greek) | |
Location | Demre, Antalya Province, Turkey |
---|---|
Region | Lycia |
Coordinates | 36°15′33″N 29°59′07″E / 36.25917°N 29.98528°E |
Type | Settlement |
Myra (
History
Although some scholars equate Myra with the town, of Mira, in Arzawa, there is no proof for the connection.[citation needed] There is no substantiated written reference for Myra before it was listed as a member of the Lycian League (168 BC–AD 43); according to Strabo (14:665), it was one of the largest towns of the alliance.
The ancient Lycian citizens worshiped Artemis[citation needed] Eleutheria[citation needed], who was the protective goddess of the town. Zeus[citation needed], Athena[citation needed] and Tyche[citation needed] were venerated as well. Although they have their own god names in Lycian. Pliny the Elder[citation needed] writes that in Myra there was the spring of Apollo[citation needed] called Curium and when summoned three times by the pipe the fishes come to give oracular responses.[1] In the Roman period, Myra formed a part of the Koine Greek[citation needed] speaking(?) world that rapidly embraced Christianity. One of its early Lycian bishops was Saint Nicholas.
Alluvial silts mostly cover the ruins of the Lycian and Roman towns. The
There are two
Excavations have been carried out at Andriake since 2009. The granary was turned into the Museum of Lycian Civilizations. The granary has seven rooms and measures 56 meters long and 32 meters wide. Artifacts found during the excavations in the Lycian League were placed in the museum. The structures in the harbor market as well as the agora, synagogue, and a six-meter deep, 24-meter long and 12-meter wide cistern were restored. A 16-meter-long Roman-era boat, a crane, and a cargo car were placed in front of the museum.[4]
In 1923, its Greek inhabitants was required to leave by the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, at which time its church was finally abandoned.
New Testament
The author of the
Bishopric
The
Myra is today listed by the
Siege of 809
After a
Church of St. Nicholas at Myra
The earliest church of St. Nicholas at Myra was built at the time of Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire in the 6th century by Lycians. The present-day church was constructed mainly from the 8th century onward for the city's Byzantine Lycian inhabitants; a Lycian Orthodox[citation needed] monastery was added in the second half of the 11th century.
In 1863,
The floor of the church is made of
The church is currently undergoing restoration. In 2007 the Turkish Ministry of Culture gave permission for the Divine Liturgy to be celebrated in the church for the first time in centuries. On 6 December 2011 Metropolitan Chrysostomos, who has the title of Myra, accordingly officiated.[14]
Archaeology
Archaeologists first detected the ancient city in 2009 using ground-penetrating radar that revealed anomalies whose shape and size suggested walls and buildings. Over the next two years they excavated a small, stunning 13th-century chapel sealed in an uncanny state of preservation. Carved out of one wall is a cross that, when sunlit, beams its shape onto the altar.[15] In February 2021, Akdeniz University researchers led by Nevzat Çevik announced the discovery of dozens of 2,200-year-old terracotta sculptures with inscriptions. Archaeologists also revealed some material remains of the Hellenistic theater made of ceramic, bronze, lead, and silver. The figurines with partly preserved paint contained the appearances of men, women, cavalry, animals, some Lycian deities and the names of artists.[16][17][18]
Notable people
- Saint Nicholas, bishop of Myra.
- Saint Themistocles, a Christian martyr.[19][20]
- Dioskorios (
- Nicolaus (Ancient Greek: Νικόλαος) of Myra, a rhetor and sophist who wrote an Art of Rhetoric and declamations, pupil of Lachares. Brother of Dioskorios of Myra.[23]
See also
References
- ^ "Pliny the Elder, Natural History, §32.8.1".
- ISBN 9780199881451.
- ^ Gerhard Forstenpointer, et al., "Purple-Dye Production in Lycia – Results of an Archaeozoological Field Survey in Andriake (South-west Turkey)." Oxford Journal of Archaeology 26, 2 (2007):201–214.
- ^ "Andriake opens partially to visits".
- ^ Charlesworth 2008, p. no page numbers.
- ^ Burkett 2002, p. 195.
- ^ Acts 27:5–6
- ^ Harnack, Mission und Ausbreitung des Christentums, 465, 487 (cited by Salaviel)
- ^ Heinrich Gelzer, Patrum Nicaenorum nomina, 67, n. 161 (cited by Salaviel)
- OCLC 955922585.
- ^ Sévérien Salaville, v. "Myra" in Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. X, New York 1911
- ^ Pius Bonifacius Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, Leipzig 1931, p. 449
- ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1), p. 931
- ^ romfea.gr
- ^ Pinkowski, Jennifer (7 January 2013). "Sealed Under Turkish Mud, a Well-Preserved Byzantine Chapel". The New York Times.
- ^ "Painted Terracotta Figurines Discovered in Turkey - Archaeology Magazine". www.archaeology.org. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
- ^ February 2021, Yasemin Saplakoglu-Staff Writer 04 (4 February 2021). "Greek gods and ancient mortals 'resurrected' in terracotta figurines discovered in Turkey". livescience.com. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Figurines found in Myra ancient city". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
- ^ "Martyr Themistocles of Myra in Lycia".
- ^ "Themistocles the Martyr of Myra".
- ^ "Suda Encyclopedia, th.530".
- ^ "Suda Encyclopedia, § del.1208".
- ^ "Suda Encyclopedia, §nu.395".
Bibliography
- Burkett, Delbert (2002). An Introduction to the New Testament and the Origins of Christianity. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-00720-7.
- Charlesworth, James H. (2008). The Historical Jesus: An Essential Guide. Abingdon Press. ISBN 978-1-4267-2475-6.
External links
- Sites in Myra
- Demre Guide
- Finally a mass in the church of Saint Nicholas in Myra article from AsiaNews.it
Photos and videos
- QTVR fullscreen panoramas of the Church of St. Nicholas and the Roman theatre
- Myra Guide and Photo Album
- Demre Guide and Photo Album
- Virtual tour of the ancient city
- Livius.org: Myra
- 70 pictures of the classical city, with link to 130 pictures of Saint Nicholas church