Λέβεδος(in Ancient Greek) | |
 Lebedos was located on and around the Kısık Peninsula. | |
  Lebedus Shown within Turkey | |
| Alternative name | Lebedos |
|---|---|
| Location | Ürkmez,İzmir Province,Turkey |
| Region | Ionia |
| Coordinates | 38°4′41″N26°57′53″E / 38.07806°N 26.96472°E /38.07806; 26.96472 |
| Type | Settlement |
Lebedus orLebedos (Ancient Greek:Λέβεδος) was one of the twelve cities of theIonian League, located south ofSmyrna,Klazomenai and neighboringTeos and beforeEphesus, which is further south. It was on the coast, ninetystadia (16.65 km) to the east of Cape Myonnesus, and 120 (22.2 km) west ofColophon.
The city was built on and around a very small peninsula (175 m long, reaching a height of 61 m and with an isthmus 201 m wide), which is called the Kısık Peninsula today and depends on the coastal township ofÜrkmez, part ofSeferihisar locality, a district center depending on the province seat ofİzmir.
According toPausanias, the town was inhabited byCarians when the Ionian Greeks immigrated there under the guidance of Andræmon, a son of Codrus.Strabo, however, states that it was colonized by Andropompus (Ancient Greek:Ἀνδρόπομπος) and that it previously bore the name of Artis inLydia.Velleius Paterculus wrote that Greeks fromAthens established the city as well as other cities inIonia.[1] Lebedos became a flourishing city thanks to its commerce, and was famous for itsmineral springs, but it was one of the smaller cities of the Ionian League, handicapped by the limited space of its hinterland and a comparatively unsuitable port.
In theHellenistic period, around 304 BC,Antigonus I Monophthalmus tried to join the city withTeos; however, this operation was incomplete and eventually annulled byLysimachus, who moved its population toEphesus in 292 BC. At some point, the namePtolemais (Πτολεμαΐς) was bestowed on the town, probably byPtolemy III Euergetes.[2]
The poetHorace in one of hisEpistles (1.11.7–8) describes it as very quiet: 'a small town more deserted thanGabii orFidenae'. He imagines his friend Bullatius contemplating a life of retirement there.[3]
Under Roman rule, it flourished anew, becoming the meeting place of the actors of allIonia when these were temporarily exiled from Teos, and festivals were celebrated in honour ofDionysus.
Its scanty remains are near the modern town ofSeferihisar. Pieces of attic black-glazed pottery were uncovered in the area during an archeological survey carried out byKütahya Dumlupınar University inTurkey between 2017 and 2019.[4]
Lebedus was anepiscopal see, suffragan ofEphesus until the 12th or 13th century.[5] Threebishops are known: Cyriacus, who witnessed theSecond Council of Ephesus in 449; Julian, represented byhis metropolitan at theCouncil of Chalcedon in 451;[6] Theophanes or Thomas, who attended theSecond Council of Nicaea in 787.
Lebedus remains as aRoman Catholictitular see.[7]
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913)."Lebedus".Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.| Geographic | |
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