Ancient city in Asia Minor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abonoteichos (Ancient Greek: Ἀβώνου τεῖχος, romanized:Abṓnou teîchos, demonym: Αβωνοτειχίτης, Abōnoteichítēs), later Ionopolis (Ιωνόπολις, Ionópolis; Turkish: İnebolu), was an ancient city in Asia Minor, on the site of modern İnebolu (in Asian Turkey), and remains a Latin Catholic titular see.
Abonoteichos was a town on the coast of Paphlagonia, memorable as the birthplace of the infamous fortuneteller Alexander Abonoteichites, founder of the cult of Glycon, of whom Lucian left an amusing account in the treatise bearing his name.[1] According to Lucian, Alexander petitioned the Roman emperor (probably Antoninus Pius) that the name of his native place should be changed from Abonoteichos to Ionopolis; and whether the emperor granted the request or not, we know that the town was called Ionopolis in later times.[2]
Not only does this name occur in Marcian of Heraclea[3] and Hierocles,[4] but on coins of the time of Antoninus and Lucius Verus we find the legend Ionopoliton (ΙΩΝΟΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ), as well as Abonoteichiton (ΑΒΩΝΟΤΕΙΧΙΤΩΝ). The modern Turkish name İnebolu is evidently a corruption of Ionopolis.[5][6][7][8]
It was the site of a 2nd-century AD temple of Apollo.[9]
Louis Vivien de Saint-Martin, Historical and geographical description of Asia Minor, including ancient times, the Middle Ages and modern times (A. Bertrand, 1845) p436