View source for Nysa on the Maeander

{{Short description|Ancient city of Caria, Turkey}}
{{Infobox ancient site
|name = Nysa
|native_name = Νῦσα {{in lang|el}}
|alternate_name =
|image = Nysa, Anatolia.JPG
|alt =
|caption = The [[bouleuterion]]/[[Odeon (building)|odeion]] of Nysa
|map_type = Turkey
|map_alt =
|map_size = 270
|coordinates = {{coord|37|54|06|N|28|08|48|E|display=inline,title}}
|location = [[Sultanhisar]], [[Aydın Province]], [[Turkey]]
|region = [[Caria]]
|type = Settlement
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{{distinguish|Nisa (Lycia)|Nyssa (Cappadocia)}}
[[File:MapaTopográficoDeAsiaMenor-Caria.png|thumb|Ancient cities of [[Caria]]|alt=Map of ancient cities of Caria]]
'''Nysa on the Maeander''' ({{langx|el|Νύσα or Νύσσα}}) was an ancient city and bishopric of [[Asia Minor]], whose remains are in the [[Sultanhisar]] district of [[Aydın Province]] of [[Turkey]], {{convert|50|km|mi}} east of the [[Ionia]]n city of [[Ephesus]], and which remains a Latin Catholic [[titular see]].
At one time it was reckoned as belonging to [[Caria]] or [[Lydia]],<ref name=Bean/><ref name=Smith/> but under the [[Roman Empire]] it was within the [[Roman province|province]] of [[Asia (Roman province)|Asia]], which had Ephesus for capital, and the [[bishop]] of Nysa was thus a [[suffragan]] of the [[metropolitan see]] of Ephesus.<ref name=Lequien/><ref name=Gams/><ref name=Culerrier/>
Nysa was situated on the southern slope of mount Messogis, on the north of the [[Maeander]], and about midway between [[Tralles]] and [[Antioch on the Maeander]]. The mountain torrent [[Eudon]], a tributary of the Maeander, flowed through the middle of the town by a deep ravine spanned by a bridge, connecting the two parts of the town.<ref name=Strabo>{{Cite Strabo|xiv. p.650}}</ref><ref>''[[Homeric Hymn]]'' 4.17</ref><ref>{{Cite Pliny|5.29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Ptolemy|5.2.18}}</ref><ref name=Hierocles>{{Cite Hierocles|p. 659}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Stephanus|''s.v.''}}</ref> Tradition assigned the foundation of the place to three brothers, Athymbrus (Ἀθυμβρός), Athymbradus (Ἀθύμβραδος), and Hydrelus (Ὕδρηλος), who emigrated from [[ancient Sparta|Sparta]], and founded three towns on the north of the Maeander; but in the course of time Nysa absorbed them all; the Nysaeans, however, recognise more especially Athymbrus as their founder.<ref>{{Cite Stephanus|''s.v.'' Ἄθυμβρα}}</ref><ref name=Strabo/>
== History ==
In [[Greek mythology]], [[Dionysus]], the god of wine was born or raised in Nysa or Nyssa, a name that was consequently given to many towns in all parts of the world associated with cultivation of grapes.<ref name=Smith>{{cite web|last1=Smith|first1=William|title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854)|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0064%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DN%3Aentry+group%3D6%3Aentry%3Dnysa-geo|website=Perseus|access-date=29 January 2015}}</ref> The name "Nysa" is mentioned in [[Homer]]'s [[Iliad]] (Book 6.132-133), which refers to a hero named Lycurgus, "who once drove the nursing mothers of wine-crazed Dionysus over the sacred mountains of Nysa".
The town derived its name of Nysa from Nysa, one of the wives of [[Antiochus I Soter]], who reigned from 281 to 261 BC and founded the city on the site of an earlier town called '''Athymbra''' (Ἄθυμβρα),<ref>{{Cite Stephanus|''s.v.v.'' Ἀντιόχεια, Ἄθυμβρα}}</ref> a name that continued in use until the second half of the 3rd century BC, but not in the earliest coinage of Nysa, which is of the next century.<ref name=Bean>{{cite book|last1=Bean|first1=G.E.|title=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites|date=1976|publisher=Tufts University, Princeton, N.J.|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0006:id=nysa|access-date=29 January 2015}}</ref><ref>Getzel M. Cohen, ''The Hellenistic Settlements in Europe, the Islands, and Asia Minor'' (University of California Press, 1996: {{ISBN|0-520-08329-6}}), p. 257.</ref> According to [[Stephanus of Byzantium]], the town also bore the name '''Pythopolis''' (Πυθόπολις).<ref>{{Cite Stephanus|''s.v.'' Πυθόπολις}}</ref>
[[File:Tr nysa.jpg|thumb|left|The Library of Nysa]]
Nysa appears to have been distinguished for its cultivation of literature, for [[Strabo]] mentions several eminent philosophers and rhetoricians; and the geographer himself, when a youth, attended the lectures of [[Aristodemus]], a disciple of [[Panaetius]] and grandson of the famous [[Posidonius]], whose influence is manifest in Strabo's ''[[Geographica|Geography]].'' Another Aristodemus of Nysa, a cousin of the former, had been the instructor of [[Pompey]].<ref name=Strabo/><ref>[[Cicero]] ''Fam.'' 13.6.4.</ref> Nysa was then a centre of study that specialized in Homeric literature and the interpretation of epics. Nysa was ruled by the [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] [[Seleucid Empire]], the [[Roman Empire]], its continuation the [[Byzantine Empire]], and by the Turks, until its final abandonment after being sacked by [[Tamerlane]] in 1402. The coins of Nysa are very numerous, and exhibit a series of Roman emperors from [[Augustus]] to [[Gallienus]].
== Ecclesiastical history ==
[[Hierocles (author of Synecdemus)|Hierocles]] classes Nysa among the sees of Asia, and its bishops are mentioned in the Councils of Ephesus and Constantinople.<ref name=Hierocles/> Nysa became a [[suffragan]] of its provincial capital's metropolitan [[Archdiocese of Ephesus]], I the sway of the [[Patriarchate of Constantinople]].
Of the Byzantine bishops of Nysa in Asia, several are historically documented:<ref name=Lequien>Michel Lequien, [https://books.google.com/books?id=0agp0mJFG_sC ''Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus''], Paris 1740, Vol. I, coll. 705-708</ref><ref name=Gams>Pius Bonifacius Gams, [http://www.wbc.poznan.pl/dlibra/doccontent?id=65154&dirids=1 ''Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae''], Leipzig 1931, p.&nbsp;444</ref><ref name=Culerrier>Pascal Culerrier, [http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/rebyz_0766-5598_1987_num_45_1_2207 ''Les évêchés suffragants d'Éphèse aux 5e-13e siècles''], in ''Revue des études byzantines'', vol. 45, 1987, p.&nbsp;158</ref>
* Theodotus took part in the [[Council of Ephesus]] (431)
* Maeonius in the [[Council of Chalcedon]] (451)
* Sisinnius in the [[Third Council of Constantinople]] (680) and the [[Trullan Council]] (692)
* Theodosius in the [[Second Council of Nicaea]] (787)
* Nicholaus in the [[Council of Constantinople (869)]]
* Michael in the 'Photian' [[Council of Constantinople (879)]] on the fate of Patriarch [[Photius I of Constantinople]].
=== Titular see ===
The diocese was nominally restored in 1933 as Latin [[Titular bishopric]] of Nysa in Asia (Latin) / '''Nisa di Asia''' (Curiate Italian) / Nysæus in Asia (Latin adjective),<ref>''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 {{ISBN|978-88-209-9070-1}}), p. 941</ref> of the Episcopal (lowest) rank, but it remains vacant, never having had an incumbent.
== Remains ==
[[File:Architrave of the Nysa's Bouleuterion.jpg|thumb|Architrave fragment from the Bouleuterion of Nysa]]
There are important ruins on the site from the Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine periods. The well-preserved theatre, built during the Roman Imperial period, is famous for its friezes depicting the life of [[Dionysus]], god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine. It has a capacity 12,000 people. The [[library]] dating from the 2nd century A.D. is considered to be Turkey's second-best preserved ancient library structure after the "Celsus Library" of [[Ephesus]]. The [[stadium]] of Nysa, which suffered from floods and is therefore partially damaged, has a capacity of 30,000 people. The [[bouleuterion]] (municipal senate), later adapted as an [[odeon (building)|odeon]], with 12 rows of seats, offers room for up to 600-700 people. Other significant structures include the [[agora]], [[Gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasion]] and the Roman baths. The 100&nbsp;m long [[Nysa Bridge]], a tunnel-like substructure, was the second largest of its kind in antiquity.<ref>Klaus Grewe, Ünal Özis et al.: "Die antiken Flußüberbauungen von Pergamon und Nysa (Türkei)", ''Antike Welt'', Vol. 25, No. 4 (1994), pp. 348–352 (352)</ref>
== See also ==
* [[List of ancient Greek cities]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{DGRG|title=Nysa}}
== Sources and external links ==
{{Commons category|Nysa (Caria)}}
* [http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t1270.htm GCatholic - (former and) titular see]
; Bibliography - ecclesiastical history
* Pius Bonifacius Gams, ''Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae'', Leipzig 1931, p.&nbsp;444
* Michel Lequien, ''Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus'', Paris 1740, Vol. I, coll. 705-708
* Pascal Culerrier, ''Les évêchés suffragants d'Éphèse aux 5e-13e siècles'', in ''Revue des études byzantines'', vol; 45, 1987, p.&nbsp;158
== Further reading ==
* Walther von Diest: ''Nysa ad Maeandrum, nach Forschungen und Aufnahmen in den Jahren 1907 und 1909'', Reimer, Berlin 1913 (Jahrbuch des Kaiserlich Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts, Erg.-Heft 10)
* Vedat İdil: ''Nysa ve Akharaka = Nysa and Acharaca'', Istanbul 1999, {{ISBN|975-6934-04-2}}
* Musa Kadioğlu, '''Die scaenae frons des Theaters von Nysa am Maeander''. Diss. University of Freiburg im Breisgau 2002
* Musa Kadıoğlu: ''Die Scaenae Frons des Theaters von Nysa am Mäander''. von Zabern, Mainz 2006. (Forschungen in Nysa am Mäander; 1) {{ISBN|3-8053-3610-1}}.
* Musa Kadıoğlu, ''Der Opus Sectile-Boden aus dem Gerontikon-Bouleuterion von Nysa ad Maeandrum'', in: ''Asia Minor Studien'', Band 34, 1999, 175-188. Taf. 34-35; in Turkish: “Menderes Nysası Bouleuterion-Gerontikon'u Opus Sectile Döşemesi”, in: Türk Arkeoloji ve Etnografya Dergisi, 1, 2000, 9-16.
* Musa Kadıoğlu – ''Philip von Rummel, Frühbyzantinische Funde aus dem Theater von Nysa am Maeander'', in: ''Anadolu/Anatolia'' 24, 2003, 103-119
* Musa Kadıoğlu, ''Zwei korinthische Kapitelle aus Nysa am Mäander'', in: C. Özgünel – O. Bingöl – V. İdil – K. Görkay – M. Kadıoğlu (Hrsg.), ''Cevdet Bayburtluoğlu için yazılar / Essays in Honour of C. Bayburtluoğlu. Günışığında Anadolu / Anatolia in Daylight'' (2001) 156-161.
* Vedat İdil – Musa Kadıoğlu, ''2003 Yılı Nysa Kazı ve Restorasyon Çalışmaları'', in: KST 26.1, 2004 (2005) 387-400.
* Vedat İdil – Musa Kadıoğlu, ''2004 Yılı Nysa Kazı ve Restorasyon Çalışmaları'', in: KST 27.2, 2005 (2006) 131-146.
* Musa Kadıoğlu, ''Menderes Nysası’ndan Bir Kantar / Eine Schnellwaage aus Nysa am Mäander'', in: E. Öztepe – Musa Kadıoğlu (Hrsg.), ''Patronvs. Coşkun Özgünel’e 65. Yaş Armağanı / Festschrift für Coşkun Özgünel zum 65. Geburtstag'' (2007) 229-235
* Vedat İdil – Musa Kadıoğlu, “2005 Yılı Nysa Kazı ve Restorasyon Çalışmaları“, in: KST 28.1, 2006 (2007) 647-670
{{Former settlements in Turkey}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Seleucid colonies in Anatolia]]
[[Category:Hellenistic Caria]]
[[Category:Former populated places in Turkey]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Aydın Province]]
[[Category:History of Aydın Province]]
[[Category:Catholic titular sees in Asia|Nysa in Asia]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in the Aegean Region]]
[[Category:Greek colonies in Anatolia]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Aydın Province]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey]]
[[Category:Populated places in ancient Caria]]
[[Category:Populated places in ancient Lydia]]
[[Category:Sultanhisar District]]
[[Category:Ancient libraries]]