Nysa on the Maeander

Coordinates: 37°54′06″N 28°08′48″E / 37.90167°N 28.14667°E / 37.90167; 28.14667
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Nysa
Νῦσα (in Greek)
The bouleuterion/odeion of Nysa
Nysa on the Maeander is located in Turkey
Nysa on the Maeander
Shown within Turkey
LocationSultanhisar, Aydın Province, Turkey
RegionCaria
Coordinates37°54′06″N 28°08′48″E / 37.90167°N 28.14667°E / 37.90167; 28.14667
TypeSettlement
Not to be confused with Nisa (Lycia) or Nyssa (Cappadocia).
Map of ancient cities of Caria
Ancient cities of Caria

Nysa on the Maeander (

Asia Minor, whose remains are in the Sultanhisar district of Aydın Province of Turkey, 50 kilometres (31 mi) east of the Ionian city of Ephesus, and which remains a Latin Catholic titular see
.

At one time it was reckoned as belonging to

metropolitan see of Ephesus.[3][4][5]

Nysa was situated on the southern slope of mount Messogis, on the north of the

Sparta, and founded three towns on the north of the Maeander; but in the course of time Nysa absorbed them all; the Nysaeans, however, recognise more especially Athymbrus as their founder.[12][6]

History

In Greek mythology, Dionysus, the god of wine was born or raised in Nysa or Nyssa, a name that was consequently given to many towns in all parts of the world associated with cultivation of grapes.[2] The name "Nysa" is mentioned in Homer's Iliad (Book 6.132-133), which refers to a hero named Lycurgus, "who once drove the nursing mothers of wine-crazed Dionysus over the sacred mountains of Nysa".

The town derived its name of Nysa from Nysa, one of the wives of Antiochus I Soter, who reigned from 281 to 261 BC and founded the city on the site of an earlier town called Athymbra (Ἄθυμβρα),[13] a name that continued in use until the second half of the 3rd century BC, but not in the earliest coinage of Nysa, which is of the next century.[1][14] According to Stephanus of Byzantium, the town also bore the name Pythopolis (Πυθόπολις).[15]

The Library of Nysa

Nysa appears to have been distinguished for its cultivation of literature, for

Tamerlane in 1402. The coins of Nysa are very numerous, and exhibit a series of Roman emperors from Augustus to Gallienus
.

Ecclesiastical history

Patriarchate of Constantinople
. Of the Byzantine bishops of Nysa in Asia, several are historically documented:[3][4][5]

Titular see

The diocese was nominally restored in 1933 as Latin

Titular bishopric of Nysa in Asia (Latin) / Nisa di Asia (Curiate Italian) / Nysæus in Asia (Latin adjective),[17]
of the Episcopal (lowest) rank, but it remains vacant, never having had an incumbent.

Remains

Architrave fragment from the Bouleuterion of Nysa

There are important ruins on the site from the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods. The well-preserved theatre, built during the Roman Imperial period, is famous for its friezes depicting the life of Dionysus, god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine. It has a capacity 12,000 people. The library dating from the 2nd century A.D. is considered to be Turkey's second-best preserved ancient library structure after the "Celsus Library" of Ephesus. The stadium of Nysa, which suffered from floods and is therefore partially damaged, has a capacity of 30,000 people. The bouleuterion (municipal senate), later adapted as an odeon, with 12 rows of seats, offers room for up to 600-700 people. Other significant structures include the agora, gymnasion and the Roman baths. The 100 m long Nysa Bridge, a tunnel-like substructure, was the second largest of its kind in antiquity.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Bean, G.E. (1976). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites. Tufts University, Princeton, N.J. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b Smith, William. "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854)". Perseus. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
  3. ^ a b Michel Lequien, Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus, Paris 1740, Vol. I, coll. 705-708
  4. ^ a b Pius Bonifacius Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, Leipzig 1931, p. 444
  5. ^ a b Pascal Culerrier, Les évêchés suffragants d'Éphèse aux 5e-13e siècles, in Revue des études byzantines, vol. 45, 1987, p. 158
  6. ^ a b c Strabo. Geographica. Vol. xiv. p.650. Page numbers refer to those of Isaac Casaubon's edition.
  7. Homeric Hymn
    4.17
  8. ^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia. Vol. 5.29.
  9. ^ Ptolemy. The Geography. Vol. 5.2.18.
  10. ^ a b Hierocles. Synecdemus. Vol. p. 659.
  11. ^ Stephanus of Byzantium. Ethnica. Vol. s.v.
  12. ^ Stephanus of Byzantium. Ethnica. Vol. s.v. Ἄθυμβρα.
  13. ^ Stephanus of Byzantium. Ethnica. Vol. s.v.v. Ἀντιόχεια, Ἄθυμβρα.
  14. ISBN 0-520-08329-6
    ), p. 257.
  15. ^ Stephanus of Byzantium. Ethnica. Vol. s.v. Πυθόπολις.
  16. ^ Cicero Fam. 13.6.4.
  17. ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1
    ), p. 941
  18. ^ Klaus Grewe, Ünal Özis et al.: "Die antiken Flußüberbauungen von Pergamon und Nysa (Türkei)", Antike Welt, Vol. 25, No. 4 (1994), pp. 348–352 (352)

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Nysa". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.

Sources and external links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nysa (Caria).
Bibliography - ecclesiastical history
  • Pius Bonifacius Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, Leipzig 1931, p. 444
  • Michel Lequien, Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus, Paris 1740, Vol. I, coll. 705-708
  • Pascal Culerrier, Les évêchés suffragants d'Éphèse aux 5e-13e siècles, in Revue des études byzantines, vol; 45, 1987, p. 158

Further reading

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