 Fortress of Corycus | |
  Shown within Turkey | |
| Location | Mersin Province, Turkey |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 36°27′55″N34°9′15″E / 36.46528°N 34.15417°E /36.46528; 34.15417 |
Corycus (Greek:Κώρυκος; alsotransliteratedCorycos orKorykos;Armenian:Կոռիկոս,romanized: Koṙikos;Turkish:Kız Kalesi,lit. "maiden castle") was an ancient city inCilicia Trachaea,Anatolia, located at the mouth of the valley called Şeytan deresi; the site is now occupied by the town ofKızkalesi (formerly Ghorgos),Mersin Province,Turkey.
Strabo does not mention a town of Corycus, but reports a promontory so called at the location, but a town Corycus is mentioned byLivy (xxxiii. 20), and byPliny (v. 27), andPomponius Mela (i. 13), andStephanus of Byzantium (s. v. Κώρυκος). In antiquity, Corycus was an important harbor and commercial town. It was the port ofSeleucia, where, in 191 BCE, the fleet ofAntiochus the Greatwas defeated by theRomans. 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 theByzantine Empire.[1]Justinian I restored the public baths and a hospital. The admiralEustathios Kymineianos re-fortified the island on the orders ofAlexios 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 theArmenians 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 theArmenian Kingdom of Cilicia. Simon, the Baron of Koŕikos, attended the coronation of KingLevon I in 1198/99. Subsequent Armenian nobles maintained authority in the area (with a few brief interruptions) until 1360, when Peter I, the King of Cyprus, removed theMamelukes and assumed suzerainty. In the late 14th century it fell again to the Turks. From 1448 or 1454 it belonged alternately to theKaramanids, the Egyptians, the Karamanids a second time, and finally to theOttoman Empire.
Archaeological surveys published in 1982 and 1987 found that the Armenians maintained (with occasional repairs) themainland castle’s simple Byzantine plan with its rectangular double walls, square towers, and two chapels, all of which were built with masonry taken from the nearby late antique city. The only original Armenian construction is one small chapel.[2][3]Kizkalesi on the island has the extensive remains of Armenian rebuilding. The island was once connected to the mainland fort by a breakwater.
_p243_-_CHATEAU_ARMENIEN_DE_GORGHIOS.jpg)
The ruins of the city are extensive. Among them are a triumphal arch, anecropolis with a beautifulChristian tomb,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.
The city figures in theSynecdemus ofHierocles, and in aNotitia Episcopatuum of about 840.[4] Thebishopric of Corycus was asuffragan ofTarsus, the capital of theRoman province ofCilicia Prima, to which Corycus belonged. Of the bishops of the see, Germanus was at theFirst Council of Constantinople in 381; Sallustius took part in theCouncil of Ephesus in 431[5] and asynod held in Tarsus in 434, and was represented at theCouncil of Chalcedon by hismetropolitan bishop Theodorus, who signed the acts of the council on his behalf; Archelaus went toa synod called byPatriarch Menas of Constantinople in 536; Cyprianus was at theSecond Council of Constantinople in 553; and Ioannes participated in theThird Council of Constantinople in 680 and theTrullan Council in 692. In the aftermath of theFourth Crusade, Corycus became the seat ofLatin 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 theCatholic Church as atitular see.[10]
Two Armenian inscriptions that were discovered at the castles of Korykos were credited to its construction toLevon I and then toHetum I.[11]
In the Corycian Cave (nowCennet ve Cehennem), 20 stadia inland, says Strabo, the bestcrocus (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 inGreek mythology. It is theCilician cave ofPindar (Pythian Ode i. 31), and ofAeschylus (Prom. Vinct. 350), and it is the lair of Zeus' fiercest opponent, the monsterTyphon or Typhoeus.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Corycus".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.Authority control databases: Geographic |
|---|
