Pinara
Encyclopedia
Pinara was a large ancient city of Lycia
at the foot of Mount Cragus
(now Mount Babadağ
), and not far from the western bank of the River Xanthos, homonymous with the ancient city of Xanthos
(now Eşen Stream).
The name Pinara has somewhat been assimilated to the name of the present-day village of Minare, half an hour below the ruins and depending Fethiye
district of Muğla Province
, Turkey
.
The remains of several ancient temples can be seen in Pinara, as well as rock tombs including one "royal tomb", an upper and a lower acropolis
, a theatre
, an odeum, an agora
and a church.
, the Lycian hero of the Trojan War
, in Pinara, which led some sources to conclude that he was a native of the city.
According to the Lycian history of Menecrates
, quoted by Stephanus of Byzantium
the city was a colony of Xanthos
, its original name would be Artymnesos. This name would have preceded the Lycian language
name Pinara, derived from the form "Pilleñni" or "Pinale" meaning a "round hill" or simply "round", based on a hypothesis of interchange of liquid consonant
s. The town is indeed situated on such a great round mass of rock and a more or less circular crag towers over the ruins. Another source, Panyassis
, also mentions an eponymous founder by name Pinarus, son of Tremiles or Termilus, and this account is viewed by some sources as unsubstantial as the rest relating to the precedence of names.
asserts, one of the largest cities of Lycia, its chief port city until the harbor silted up to form the reed-filled wetlands of today.
Yet another rare mention of the city in ancient sources is in connection with the help it provided, along with several other Lycian cities, to Pixodarus of Caria
.
Pinara was a member of the Lycian League, in which it held three votes. The city surrendered to Alexander the Great in 334 BC. After Alexander's death, the city fell to the kingdom of Pergamum. Pinara became a Roman city when Pergamum was willed by its last king Attalus III
to the Roman Republic
in 133 BC
. The city enjoyed prosperity during Roman rule, but was badly damaged by earthquakes in 141 and 240 AD. In the first occurrence, the city is recorded to have received a contribution from Opramoas
for the repair of public buildings.
Pinara was Christianized early. Five bishops are known: Eustathius, who signed the formula of Acacius of Cæsarea at the Council of Seleucia
in 359; Heliodorus, who signed the letter from the bishops of Lycia to the emperor Leo I the Thracian (458); Zenas, present at the Trullan Council
(692); Theodore, at the Second Council of Nicaea
(787); Athanasius, at the synod that reinstated Patriarch Photius I of Constantinople (the Photian Council) in 879. Pinara was the birthplace of Nicolas of Myra. Under repeated pressure from invading forces, the city became uninhabited in the ninth century.
It remains a titular see
of the Roman Catholic Church
, Pinarensis; the seat has been vacant since the death of the last bishop
in 1974.
Lycia
Lycia Lycian: Trm̃mis; ) was a region in Anatolia in what are now the provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey. It was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire...
at the foot of Mount Cragus
Mount Cragus
Mount Cragus or Mount Cragos or Mount Kragos – also recorded as Hiera Acra – is a mountain in Turkey, in what was formerly ancient Lycia, Asia Minor.Strabo Mount Cragus or Mount Cragos or Mount Kragos (Greek: ) – also recorded as Hiera Acra – is a mountain in Turkey, in...
(now Mount Babadağ
Babadag (mountain)
Babadağ is a mountain near Fethiye, in Muğla Province, southwest Turkey.The mountain has a principal summit at an elevation of and a second one called "Karatepe" at an elevation of . These two summits face each other and are separated by a flood valley, which led to the term "mountain range" to...
), and not far from the western bank of the River Xanthos, homonymous with the ancient city of Xanthos
Xanthos
Xanthos was the name of a city in ancient Lycia, the site of present day Kınık, Antalya Province, Turkey, and of the river on which the city is situated...
(now Eşen Stream).
The name Pinara has somewhat been assimilated to the name of the present-day village of Minare, half an hour below the ruins and depending Fethiye
Fethiye
Fethiye is a city and district of Muğla Province in the Aegean region of Turkey with about 68,000 inhabitants .-History:...
district of Muğla Province
Mugla Province
Muğla Province is a province of Turkey, at the country's south-western corner, on the Aegean Sea. Its seat is Muğla, about inland, while some of Turkey's largest holiday resorts, such as Bodrum, Ölüdeniz, Marmaris and Fethiye, are on the coast in Muğla....
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
The remains of several ancient temples can be seen in Pinara, as well as rock tombs including one "royal tomb", an upper and a lower acropolis
Acropolis
Acropolis means "high city" in Greek, literally city on the extremity and is usually translated into English as Citadel . For purposes of defense, early people naturally chose elevated ground to build a new settlement, frequently a hill with precipitous sides...
, a theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, an odeum, an agora
Agora
The Agora was an open "place of assembly" in ancient Greek city-states. Early in Greek history , free-born male land-owners who were citizens would gather in the Agora for military duty or to hear statements of the ruling king or council. Later, the Agora also served as a marketplace where...
and a church.
Name
There was a cult of PandarusPandarus
Pandarus is a Trojan aristocrat who appears in stories about the Trojan War. In Homer's Iliad he is portrayed as an energetic and impetuous warrior, but in medieval literature he becomes a witty and licentious figure who facilitates the affair between Troilus and Cressida...
, the Lycian hero of the Trojan War
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta. The war is among the most important events in Greek mythology and was narrated in many works of Greek literature, including the Iliad...
, in Pinara, which led some sources to conclude that he was a native of the city.
According to the Lycian history of Menecrates
Menecrates
Menecrates is the name of:*Menecrates of Ephesus, ancient Greek poet*Menecrates of Syracuse, physician to Philip of Macedon*Menecrates of Xanthus, ancient Greek historian*Menecrates , ancient Greek sculptor...
, quoted by Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephanus of Byzantium
Stephen of Byzantium, also known as Stephanus Byzantinus , was the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled Ethnica...
the city was a colony of Xanthos
Xanthos
Xanthos was the name of a city in ancient Lycia, the site of present day Kınık, Antalya Province, Turkey, and of the river on which the city is situated...
, its original name would be Artymnesos. This name would have preceded the Lycian language
Lycian language
Lycian language refers to the inscriptional language of ancient Lycia, populated by Lycians, as well as its presumed spoken counterpart.-The speakers:...
name Pinara, derived from the form "Pilleñni" or "Pinale" meaning a "round hill" or simply "round", based on a hypothesis of interchange of liquid consonant
Liquid consonant
In phonetics, liquids or liquid consonants are a class of consonants consisting of lateral consonants together with rhotics.-Description:...
s. The town is indeed situated on such a great round mass of rock and a more or less circular crag towers over the ruins. Another source, Panyassis
Panyassis
Panyassis of Halicarnassus, sometimes known as Panyasis , was a 5th century BC Greek epic poet, famous for the Heracleia and the Ionica. It is believed that he also wrote other works which have since been lost. He was critically unappreciated during his lifetime, but was posthumously recognised as...
, also mentions an eponymous founder by name Pinarus, son of Tremiles or Termilus, and this account is viewed by some sources as unsubstantial as the rest relating to the precedence of names.
History
The city, though it is not often mentioned by ancient writers, appears from its vast and beautiful ruins, to have been, as StraboStrabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
asserts, one of the largest cities of Lycia, its chief port city until the harbor silted up to form the reed-filled wetlands of today.
Yet another rare mention of the city in ancient sources is in connection with the help it provided, along with several other Lycian cities, to Pixodarus of Caria
Pixodarus of Caria
Pixodarus was a prince or king of Caria.-Biography:He was the youngest of the three sons of Hecatomnus, all of whom successively held the sovereignty of their native country...
.
Attalus III
Attalus III Philometor Euergetes was the last Attalid king of Pergamon, ruling from 138 BC to 133 BC....
to the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
in 133 BC
133 BC
Year 133 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Scaevola and Frugi...
. The city enjoyed prosperity during Roman rule, but was badly damaged by earthquakes in 141 and 240 AD. In the first occurrence, the city is recorded to have received a contribution from Opramoas
Opramoas
Opramoas was an important civic benefactor in the 2nd century CE. He is the best known ancient euerget. He was a magnate from the small Lycian town of Rhodiapolis . His activities are recorded in extensive Greek inscriptions on the walls of his mausoleum at Rhodiapolis....
for the repair of public buildings.
Pinara was Christianized early. Five bishops are known: Eustathius, who signed the formula of Acacius of Cæsarea at the Council of Seleucia
Council of Seleucia
The Council of Seleucia was an early Christian church synod at Seleucia Isauria .In 358, the Roman Emperor Constantius II requested two councils, one of the western bishops at Ariminum and one of the eastern bishops at Nicomedia to resolve the Arian controversy over the nature of the divinity of...
in 359; Heliodorus, who signed the letter from the bishops of Lycia to the emperor Leo I the Thracian (458); Zenas, present at the Trullan Council
Quinisext Council
The Quinisext Council was a church council held in 692 at Constantinople under Justinian II. It is often known as the Council in Trullo, because it was held in the same domed hall where the Sixth Ecumenical Council had met...
(692); Theodore, at the Second Council of Nicaea
Second Council of Nicaea
The Second Council of Nicaea is regarded as the Seventh Ecumenical Council by Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic Churches and various other Western Christian groups...
(787); Athanasius, at the synod that reinstated Patriarch Photius I of Constantinople (the Photian Council) in 879. Pinara was the birthplace of Nicolas of Myra. Under repeated pressure from invading forces, the city became uninhabited in the ninth century.
Scientific discovery
Pinara's ruins were identified by Sir Charles Fellows. From amidst the ancient city, he says, rises a singular round rocky cliff (the pinara of the Lycians), literally speckled all over with tombs. Beneath this cliff lie the ruins of the extensive and splendid city. The theater is in a very perfect state; all the seats are remaining, with the slanting sides towards the proscenium, as well as several of its doorways. The walls and several of the buildings are of the Cyclopean masonry, with massive gateways formed of three immense stones. The tombs are innumerable, and the inscriptions are in the Lycian characters, but Greek also occurs often on the same tombs. Some of these rock-tombs are adorned with fine and rich sculptures.It remains a titular see
Titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular bishop", "titular metropolitan", or "titular archbishop"....
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, Pinarensis; the seat has been vacant since the death of the last bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
in 1974.