Μύρα(in Ancient Greek) | |
 Thetheater of Myra, with the rock-cut tombs of the ancientLyciannecropolis on the cliff in the background. | |
  Shown within Turkey | |
| Location | Demre,Antalya Province,Turkey |
|---|---|
| Region | Lycia |
| Coordinates | 36°15′33″N29°59′07″E / 36.25917°N 29.98528°E /36.25917; 29.98528 |
| Type | Settlement |
Myra (/ˈmaɪrə/;[1]Ancient Greek:Μύρα,Mýra) was a city inLycia. The city was probably founded byLycian on the river Myros (Ancient Greek:Μύρος; Turkish:Demre Çay), in the fertilealluvial plain between, the Massikytos range (Turkish:Alaca Dağ) and theAegean Sea. By the 3rd century BC the city wasHellenized. Following thewars of the diadochi the area came under the loose control of thePtolemies, theSeleucids, and finally theRomans.[2][3]
The region remained underRoman control until it was conquered by theSeljucks and later theOttomans. During the Ottoman rule the small Turkish town of Kale was established in the area of Myra in the present-dayAntalya Province ofTurkey. Kale was renamed toDemre in 2005.
Although some scholars equate Myra with the town, of Mira, inArzawa, 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 theLycian League (168 BC–AD 43); according toStrabo (14:665), it was one of the largest towns of the alliance.
The ancient Lycian citizens worshipedArtemis Eleutheria, who was the protective goddess of the town.Zeus,Athena andTyche were venerated as well.[4]Pliny the Elder writes that in Myra there was the spring ofApollo called Curium and when summoned three times by the pipe the fishes come to give oracular responses.[5] In the Roman period, Myra formed a part of theGreek speaking world that rapidly embraced Christianity. One of its early Lycian bishops wasSaint Nicholas.
Alluvial silts mostly cover the ruins of the Lycian and Roman towns. Theacropolis on the Demre-plateau, theRoman theatre and theRoman baths (eski hamam) have been partly excavated. The semi-circular theatre was destroyed in anearthquake in 141, but rebuilt afterward.
There are twonecropoleis ofLycianrock-cut tombs in the form of temple fronts carved into the vertical faces of cliffs at Myra: the river necropolis and the ocean necropolis. The ocean necropolis is just northwest of the theatre. The best-known tomb in the river necropolis, 1.5 km (0.93 mi) up the Demre Cayi from the theatre, is the "Lion's tomb", also called the "Painted Tomb". When the travelerCharles Fellows saw the tombs in 1840 he found them still colorfully painted red, yellow and blue.
Andriake was the harbor of Myra in ancient times, but silted up later on. The main structure there surviving to the present day is a granary (horrea) built during the reign of the Roman emperorHadrian (117–138 AD). Beside this granary is a large heap ofMurex shells, evidence that Andriake had an ongoing operation to produce purple dye.[7]
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 theLycian 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.[8]
In 1923, its Greek inhabitants was required to leave by thepopulation exchange between Greece and Turkey, at which time its church was finally abandoned.
The author of theActs of the Apostles (probablyLuke the Evangelist)[9][10] andPaul the Apostle changed ships here during their journey fromCaesarea toRome for Paul's trial, arriving in acoastal trading vessel and changing to a sea-faringskiff secured by the Roman centurion responsible for Paul's transportation to Rome.[11]
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TheActa Pauli probably testify to the existence of a Christian community at Myra in the 2nd century.[12]Le Quien opens his list of the bishops of this city withSt. Nicander, martyred underDomitian in 95, who, according to the GreekMenologion, was ordained bishop bySaint Titus. In 325, Lycia again became aRoman province distinct from that ofPamphylia, with Myra as its capital. Ecclesiastically, it thus became themetropolitan see of the province. The bishop of Myra at that time wasSaint Nicholas. The 6th-centuryIndex ofTheodorus Lector is the first document that lists him among the fathers of theFirst Council of Nicaea in 325.[13] Many other bishops of Myra are named in extant documents, including Petrus, the author of theological works in defence of theCouncil of Chalcedon quoted by SaintSophronius of Jerusalem and byPhotius (Bibliotheca, Codex 23). Theodorus and Nicolaus were both at theSecond Council of Nicaea in 787, the former recanting his previousiconoclast position, the latter being the orthodox bishop whom the iconoclasts had expelled. TheNotitia Episcopatuum of Pseudo-Epiphanius, composed in about 640 under theByzantine EmperorHeraclius, reports that Myra at that time had 36suffragan sees. The early 10th-centuryNotitia attributed to EmperorLeo VI the Wise lists only 33.[14][15][16]
Myra is today listed by theCatholic Church as atitular see both in theLatin Church and as a bishopric of theMelkite Greek Catholic Church in particular. Latin bishops are no longer appointed to this see, though Melkite bishops are.[17]
Myra was besieged and sacked byAbbasid troops in 809, but soon return to Roman control. Early in the reign of emperorAlexius I Comnenus (ruled between 1081 and 1118), Myra was once more overtaken by Islamic invaders, this time theSeljuk Turks. Sailors fromBari, itself a former Roman possession in Italy that had only recently beingconquered by Normans, exploited the situation andstole the relics of Saint Nicholas taking them to Bari.[18][19]
The city was brought back once more under Roman control during theKomnenian restoration, before it was eventually lost at some point after theFourth Crusade.
The earliest church of St. Nicholas at Myra was built at the time ofEastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire in the 6th century. The present-day church was constructed mainly from the 8th century onward; anEastern Orthodox Church[citation needed] monastery was added in the second half of the 11th century.
In 1863,EmperorAlexander II of Russia purchased the building and began restoration, but the work was never completed. In 1923 the church was abandoned when the city's Christian inhabitants were forced to leave for Greece by thePopulation exchange between Greece and Turkey. In 1963 the eastern and southern sides of the church were excavated. In 1968 the formerconfessio (tomb) of St. Nicholas was roofed over.
The floor of the church is made ofopus sectile, amosaic of coloured marble, and there are some remains offrescoes on the walls. Amarblesarcophagus had been reused to bury the Saint; but his bones were stolen in 1087 by merchants fromBari, and are now held in that city, in theBasilica of Saint Nicholas.
The church is currently undergoing restoration. In 2007 the Turkish Ministry of Culture gave permission for theDivine 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.[20]
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.[21] In February 2021,Akdeniz University researchers led by Nevzat Çevik announced the discovery of dozens of 2,200-year-oldterracotta 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 Greek deities and the names of artists.[22][23][24]
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