Ceramus or Keramos ( grc, Κέραμος) is a city on the north coast of the

Ceramic Gulf A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, ...

—named after this city—in

ancient Caria Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid- Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined t ...

, in southwest

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

; its ruins can be found outside the modern village of Ören,

Muğla Province Muğla Province ( tr, , ) 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, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

History

Ceramus, initially subjected to Stratonicea, afterwards autonomous, was a member of the

Athenian League The Athenian League was an English amateur football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football Museum, Preston). but this nam ...

and was one of the chief cities of the Chrysaorian League (Bulletin de corresp. hellén., IX, 468). It probably had a temple of Zeus Chrysaoreus. In

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

times, it coined its own money. Polites ( grc, Πολίτης) of Ceramus was a famous runner who won three different races in the same day at the Olympia.

Ecclesiastical history

Ceramus is mentioned in the ''

Notitiae Episcopatuum The ''Notitiae Episcopatuum'' (singular: ''Notitia Episcopatuum'') are official documents that furnish Eastern countries the list and hierarchical rank of the metropolitan and suffragan bishoprics of a church. In the Roman Church (the -mostly Lat ...

'' until the 12th or 13th century as a

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

suffragan to

Aphrodisias Aphrodisias (; grc, Ἀφροδισιάς, Aphrodisiás) was a small ancient Greek Hellenistic city in the historic Caria cultural region of western Anatolia, Turkey. It is located near the modern village of Geyre, about east/inland from the ...

, or Stauropolis. Three bishops are known: Spudasius (Σπουδάσιος), who attended the

First 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 Emperors, Roman Emperor Theodosius II. This third ecumenical council, an effort to attain consensus deci ...

in 431; Maurianus (Μαυριανός), who attended the Council of Nicaea in 787; and Symeon (Συμεών), who attended the council in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

that reinstated Photius in 879. Ceramus is included in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

's list of

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 metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...

s.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, ), p. 866

Ancient Coins

Obol, Keramos, Caria, 2nd century BC.jpg, Obol from Ceramus. It has the head of the god

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

and a

Bucranium Bucranium (plural ''bucrania''; Latin, from Greek ''βουκράνιον'', referring to the skull of an ox) was a form of carved decoration commonly used in Classical architecture. The name is generally considered to originate with the practic ...

, 2 BC. Keramos coin depicting Zeus, Caria, 2nd-1st century BC.jpg, Coin depicting the god Zeus Chrysaoreus and an eagle, 1 AD - 2 AD.

Gallery

Keramos (Karia); römische Ruinen, circa 1. bis 2. Jahrhundert nach Christus.jpg, Roman ruins, approx. 1st to 2nd century AD. Keramos (Karia); römische Brücke östlich von Keramos; ca. 1. bis 2. Jahrhundert nach Christus.jpg, Roman bridge east of Keramos; approx. 1st to 2nd century AD. Keramos (Karia); griechische Befestigungsanlagen aus vorchristlicher Zeit.jpg, Greek fortifications from pre-Christian times in the village of Ören, Keramos (Karia); römisches Viadukt; ca. 1. bis 2. Jahrhundert nach Christus.jpg, Roman viaduct; approx. 1st to 2nd century AD near Ören, Ören (Milas), röm. Ruinen von Keramos.JPG, Roman ruins in the north iof Keramos, approximative, 2nd century AD.

References

External links

Archaeological Atlas of the Aegean
Archaeological sites in the Aegean Region Populated places in ancient Caria Catholic titular sees in Asia Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Former populated places in Turkey Geography of Muğla Province History of Muğla Province Milas District Members of the Delian League {{Asia-RC-diocese-stub