Epiphania (Cilicia)
City in Cilicia, now ruined From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Epiphania or Epiphaneia (Ancient Greek: Ἐπιφανεία) was a city in Cilicia Secunda (Cilicia Trachea), in Anatolia.
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| O: laureate draped and cuirassed bust | R: Tyche holding rudder and cornucopia
EΠIΦA_NEΩN·AIT* |
| bronze coin struck by Philip the Arab in Epiphania 244-245 AD; ref.: L&K A1491B (same dies)
*Epiphania dated their calendar from Pompey's victory over the Cilician pirates 67-66 BC. | |
The city was originally called Oeniandos or Oiniandos, and was located in the area of the northern tip of the Gulf of Iskenderun, on the route from Missis to Antioch. In the 2nd century BC the city was renamed Epiphania, in honour of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, King of Syria from 175 BC to 164 BC.
The city is mentioned in the writings of Ptolemy, Ammianus and Pliny the Elder.[1] Cicero stayed there briefly during his exile. In 66 BC, the Roman general Pompey led a campaign against the Mediterranean pirates. After the surrender of the pirates, they were dispersed and many were settled at Epiphania.
According to Gibbon, Saint George was born here, in a fuller's shop[2]
in the late 4th century. Saint Amphion was the earliest known bishop of Epiphania in 325, as a suffragan of the Bishop of Anazarbus. He attended the First Council of Nicaea in 325, and later suffered under the persecutions of Diocletian.
- Marinus
- Nicetus
- Basilius
- Paul
Today, its ruins include the remains of walls, a temple, an acropolis, an aqueduct, and many houses, all built in basalt.
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