Corycus ( el, Κώρυκος; also transliterated Corycos or Korykos; hy, Կոռիկոս, translit=Koṙikos; tr, Kız Kalesi, lit. "maiden castle") was an ancient city in Cilicia Trachaea, Anatolia, located at the mouth of the valley called Şeytan deresi; the site is now occupied by the town of Kızkalesi (formerly Ghorgos), Mersin Province, Turkey.

The city

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

does not mention a town of Corycus, but reports a promontory so called at the location, but a town Corycus is mentioned by Livy (xxxiii. 20), and by Pliny (v. 27), and Pomponius Mela (i. 13), and

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

(s. v. Κώρυκος). In antiquity, Corycus was an important harbor and commercial town. It was the port of

Seleucia Seleucia (; grc-gre, Σελεύκεια), also known as or , was a major Mesopotamian city of the Seleucid empire. It stood on the west bank of the Tigris River, within the present-day Baghdad Governorate in Iraq. Name Seleucia ( grc-gre, Σ ...

, where, in 191 BCE, the fleet of Antiochus the Great was defeated by the Romans. In the Roman times it preserved its ancient laws; the emperors usually kept a fleet there to watch over the pirates. Corycus was also a mint in antiquity and some of its coins survive. Corycus was controlled by the Byzantine Empire. Justinian I restored the public baths and a hospital. The admiral Eustathios Kymineianos re-fortified the island on the orders of Alexios I Komnenos at the beginning of the 12th century, adding a supplementary castle on a small island. This castle was later called "maidens castle", because it was told that a king held his daughter here in captivity until she was killed by a venomous snake. It was prophesied she would die by a snake bite. So she was taken to the sea castle to protect her, but a serpent was taken by basket to the castle, she was bitten and died. Corycus was conquered by the Armenians soon after it was rebuilt by the Byzantines. Until the mid-14th century the Armenians held both the mainland and island castles, which guarded this strategic port for the

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Middle Armenian: , '), also known as Cilician Armenia ( hy, Կիլիկեան Հայաստան, '), Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia ( hy, ...

. Simon, the Baron of Koŕikos, attended the coronation of King

Levon I The LEO I (Lyons Electronic Office I) was the first computer used for commercial business applications. The prototype LEO I was modelled closely on the Cambridge EDSAC. Its construction was overseen by Oliver Standingford, Raymond Thompson and D ...

in 1198/99. Subsequent Armenian nobles maintained authority in the area (with a few brief interruptions) until 1360, when Peter I, the King of Cyprus, removed the

Mamelukes Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') i ...

and assumed suzerainty. In the late 14th century it fell again to the Turks. From 1448 or 1454 it belonged alternately to the

Karamanids The Karamanids ( tr, Karamanoğulları or ), also known as the Emirate of Karaman and Beylik of Karaman ( tr, Karamanoğulları Beyliği), was one of the Anatolian beyliks, centered in South-Central Anatolia around the present-day Karaman Pro ...

, the Egyptians, the Karamanids a second time, and finally to the Ottoman Empire. Archaeological surveys published in 1982 and 1987 found that the Armenians maintained (with occasional repairs) the mainland castle’s simple Byzantine plan with its rectangular double walls, square towers, and two chapels, all of which were built with masonry taken from the nearby late antique city. The only original Armenian construction is one small chapel. Kizkalesi on the island has the extensive remains of Armenian rebuilding. The island was once connected to the mainland fort by a breakwater. LANGLOIS(1861) p243 - CHATEAU ARMENIEN DE GORGHIOS

LANGLOIS(1861) p243 - CHATEAU ARMENIEN DE GORGHIOS

The ruins of the city are extensive. Among them are a triumphal arch, a

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

with a beautiful

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

tomb, sarcophagi, etc. The two medieval castles, one on the shore, the other in an islet, connected by a ruined pier, are partially preserved; the former was reputed impregnable. The walls of the castle on the mainland contain many pieces of columns; and a mole of great unhewn rocks projects from one angle of the fortress about a hundred yards across the bay. Three churches are also found, one decorated with frescoes. The walls of the ancient city may still be traced, and there appear to be sufficient remains to invite a careful examination of the spot.

Bishopric

The city figures in the ''

Synecdemus The ''Synecdemus'' or ''Synekdemos'' ( el, Συνέκδημος) is a geographic text, attributed to Hierocles, which contains a table of administrative divisions of the Byzantine Empire and lists of their cities. The work is dated to the reign o ...

'' of Hierocles, and in a '' Notitia Episcopatuum'' of about 840.Siméon Vailhé, "Corycus"
in '' Catholic Encyclopedia'' (New York 1908) The bishopric of Corycus was a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of Tarsus, the capital of the Roman province of

Cilicia Prima Cilicia () was an early Roman province, located on what is today the southern (Mediterranean) coast of Turkey. Cilicia was annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of its military presence in the east, after pursuing vi ...

, to which Corycus belonged. Of the bishops of the see, Germanus was at the First Council of Constantinople in 381; Sallustius took part in the

Council of Ephesus The Council of Ephesus was a council of Christian bishops convened in Ephesus (near present-day Selçuk in Turkey) in AD 431 by the Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus in the church th ...

in 431 and a

synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

held in Tarsus in 434, and was represented at the Council of Chalcedon by his metropolitan bishop Theodorus, who signed the acts of the council on his behalf; Archelaus went to a synod called by

Patriarch Menas of Constantinople Menas (Minas) ( grc, Μηνάς) (died 25 August 552) considered a saint in the Calcedonian affirming church and by extension both the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church of our times, was born in Alexandria, and enters the record ...

in 536; Cyprianus was at the Second Council of Constantinople in 553; and Ioannes participated in the Third Council of Constantinople in 680 and the Trullan Council in 692. In the aftermath of the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

, Corycus became the seat of Latin Church bishops, one of whom, named Gerardus, took part in a council at Antioch in 1136. No longer a residential bishopric, Corycus is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see. Two Armenian inscriptions that were discovered at the castles of Korykos were credited to its construction to

and then to Hetum I.Langlois, op. cit (supra, note 21), 48.

Corycian Cave

In the Corycian Cave (now '' Cennet ve Cehennem''), 20 stadia inland, says Strabo, the best crocus ( saffron) grows. He describes this cave as a great hollow, of a circular form, surrounded by a margin of rock, on all sides of a considerable height; on descending into this cavity, the ground is found to be uneven and generally rocky, and it is filled with shrubs, both evergreen and cultivated; in some parts the saffron is cultivated: there is also a cave here which contains a large source, which pours forth a river of pure, pellucid water, but it immediately sinks into the earth, and flowing underground enters the sea: they call it the Bitter Water. Pomponius Mela (i.13) has a long description of the same place apparently from the same authority that Strabo followed, but more embellished. This place is probably on the top of the mountain above Corycus. This place is famed in Greek mythology. It is the

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coas ...

n cave of Pindar (''Pythian Ode'' i. 31), and of Aeschylus (''Prom. Vinct.'' 350), and it is the lair of Zeus' fiercest opponent, the monster Typhon or Typhoeus.

Gallery

File:Korykos Land Castle 1011.jpg, Land castle of Korykos Southwest front File:Korykos Land Castle 6959 panorama.jpg, Land castle of Korykos Southwest and southeast front File:Korykos Land Castle 6961.jpg, Land castle of Korykos Southwest and southeast front File:Korykos Land Castle 3255.jpg, Land castle of Korykos View from necropolis across the road File:Korykos land castle view from west 1119.jpg, Land castle of Korykos Northwest front File:Korykos land castle view northwest walls 1129.jpg, Land castle of Korykos Northeast side File:Korykos Land Castle 1144.jpg, Land castle of Korykos Channel along Northeast side File:Korykos Land Castle 1148.jpg, Land castle of Korykos Spolia File:Korykos Land Castle 3229.jpg, Land castle of Korykos View northeast with possible harbour entrance File:Korykos Land Castle 2184.jpg, Land castle of Korykos Channel along Northeast side File:Korykos Land Castle 1154.jpg, Land castle of Korykos Southeast side File:Korykos Land Castle 1112.jpg, Land castle of Korykos Southeast front File:Korykos Land Castle 1169.jpg, Land castle of Korykos Inside southeast walls File:Korykos Land Castle 1172.jpg, Land castle of Korykos Interior looking northeast File:Korykos Land Castle 3238.jpg, Land castle of Korykos Interior File:Korykon Necropoli and churches 6987.jpg, Korykon Soldier's grave File:Korykon Necropoli and churches 6997.jpg, Korykon Necropolis and castles File:Korykon Necropoli and churches 7001.jpg, Korykon Sarcophagus File:Korykon Necropoli and churches 3270.jpg, Korykon Sarcophagi and church File:Kızkalesi to Ayas inland walk - Monastery church 3870.jpg, Korykon Church File:Kızkalesi to Ayas inland walk - Monastery church 3872.jpg, Korykon Church File:Kızkalesi to Ayas inland walk - Church of the Holy Sepulchre a computer generated view of east part 3275.jpg, Korykon Church File:Korykon Necropoli and churches 1247.jpg, Korykon Church File:Korykon Necropoli and churches 1242.jpg, Korykon Church File:Kızkalesi to Ayas inland walk - Church of the Holy Sepulchre as seen from Holy Street 1219.jpg, Korykon Church File:Korykon Necropoli and churches 7036.jpg, Korykon Church

References

* Smith, William (editor); ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography'' is the last in a series of classical dictionaries edited by the English scholar William Smith (1813–1893), following ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' and the ''Dictionary of Gr ...

''
"Corycus"
London, (1854) * Blue Guide, Turkey, The Aegean and Mediterranean Coasts (), pp. 550–51.

External links