Myrina ( grc, Μυρίνα) was one of the Aeolian cities on the western coast of

Mysia Mysia (UK , US or ; el, Μυσία; lat, Mysia; tr, Misya) was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor (Anatolia, Asian part of modern Turkey). It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on th ...

, about 40 stadia to the southwest of

Gryneion Gryneium or Gryneion ( grc, Γρύνειον), also Grynium or Grynion (Γρύνιον), Grynia or Gryneia (Γρύνεια) and Grynoi (Γρῦνοι), was a city of ancient Aeolis. It was located 40 stadia from Myrina and 70 from Elaea. In ea ...

. The former bishopric is now a Latin Catholic

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 ...

. Its site is believed to be occupied by the modern Sandarlik at the mouth of the Koca Çay, near the town of

Aliağa Aliağa is a town and a district of Izmir Province in the Aegean Region of Turkey. The town is situated at about north of Izmir. Aliağa has a large port, mainly for oil and bulk cargo. Its economic activity is based on tourism, shipbreaking ...

in Izmir Province, in the Aegean Region of

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 ...

, near Kalavas(ar)i.

History

Mirina Eólida (RPS 04-04-2015) enano de terracota

It is said to have been founded by one Myrinus before the other Aeolian cities, or by the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

Myrina. Artaxerxes gave Gryneium and Myrina to

Gongylus ''Gongylus'' is a genus of praying mantises in the family Empusidae. Characterized by extremely slender limbs with large appendages, at least one species ('' Gongylus gongylodes'') is kept as a pet by hobbyists. Males of the species are capable ...

, an

Eretria Eretria (; el, Ερέτρια, , grc, Ἐρέτρια, , literally 'city of the rowers') is a town in Euboea, Greece, facing the coast of Attica across the narrow South Euboean Gulf. It was an important Greek polis in the 6th and 5th centur ...

n, who had been banished from his native city for favoring the interests of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. Myrina was a very strong place, though not very large, and had a good harbor.

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

mentions the fame of its oysters and that it bore the surname of Sebastopolis; while, according to

Syncellus ''Synkellos'' ( el, σύγκελλος), latinized as ''syncellus'', is an ecclesiastical office in the Eastern Rite churches. In the Byzantine Empire, the ''synkellos'' of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople was a position of major import ...

, it was also called Smyrna. An inscription (''Bulletin de correspondance hellenique'', V, 283) tells us that Myrina formed part of the

Kingdom of Pergamon The Kingdom of Pergamon or Attalid kingdom was a Greek state during the Hellenistic period that ruled much of the Western part of Asia Minor from its capital city of Pergamon. It was ruled by the Attalid dynasty (; grc-x-koine, Δυναστ ...

in the 3rd century BC. For some time Myrina was occupied by

Philip V of Macedon Philip V ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 238–179 BC) was king ( Basileus) of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. He would lead Macedon ag ...

; but the

Romans 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 ...

compelled him to evacuate it, and declared the place free. Under Roman rule, Myrina was part of the

Roman province The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...

of Asia Prima. It twice suffered severe earthquakes; first in the reign of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

, on which occasion it received a remission of duties on account of the loss it had sustained; and a second time in the reign of

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

. The town was restored each time, and continued to exist until a late period. It was the birthplace of

Agathias Agathias or Agathias Scholasticus ( grc-gre, Ἀγαθίας σχολαστικός; Martindale, Jones & Morris (1992), pp. 23–25582/594), of Myrina (Mysia), an Aeolian city in western Asia Minor (Turkey), was a Greek poet and the principal histo ...

, a Byzantine poet and historian of the 6th century. Myrina minted coins in Antiquity, some of which survive. Around 20 AD, Myrina minted a coin celebrating the betrothal of

Claudius Drusus Tiberius Claudius Drusus (c. AD 9/1220/27) was the eldest son of the Roman Emperor Claudius with his first wife Plautia Urgulanilla. He had one younger sister, Claudia, who was repudiated by Claudius along with Plautia. Background Tiberius C ...

, son of the future emperor Claudius, to a daughter of Sejanus, commander of the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort fo ...

under

Remains

The site of Myrina was discovered at the mouth of the river that was the ancient Pythicos, whose alluvia have covered what was the city's harbour. Excavations (1880-1882) brought to light about four thousand tombs, dating from the last two centuries BC, in which were found numerous objects representing the divinities of the Greek pantheon; children's toys, reproductions of famous works, etc.: most of these may be seen today in the Museum of the Louvre. Archaeologist

Dorothy Burr Thompson Dorothy Burr Thompson (August 19, 1900 – May 10, 2001) was an American classical archaeologist and art historian at Bryn Mawr College and a leading authority on Hellenistic terracotta figurines. Biography Thompson was the elder of two dau ...

carried out a study of the 117 Hellenistic terracotta figures from Myrina in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Ecclesiastical history

Under Roman rule, Myrina was part of the

of Asia Prima and its bishopric was a suffragan of the capital's

Metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a ...

of Ephesus. The names of some of its bishops are known: Dorotheus, 431 AD; Proterius, 451; John, 553; Cosmas, 787. It still existed as a residential see in the 14th century, but was suppressed.

Titular see

It is now 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 bishopric 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 archbish ...

s, .''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, ), p. 931 nominally restored in the 18th century. It is vacant, having had the following incumbents, of the lowest (episcopal) rank : * Matthaeus Prichard,

Recollect Fathers The Recollects (french: Récollets) were a French reform branch of the Order of Friars Minor, Friars Minor, a Franciscan order. Denoted by their gray habits and pointed hoods, the Recollects took vows of poverty and devoted their lives to pray ...

(

O.F.M. Rec. The Recollects (french: Récollets) were a French reform branch of the Friars Minor, a Franciscan order. Denoted by their gray habits and pointed hoods, the Recollects took vows of poverty and devoted their lives to prayer, penance, and spiri ...

) (1713.09.20 – 1750.05.22) * Karl Aloys von Königsegg und Rothenfels (1770.03.12 – 1796.02.24) * John Ryan (1825.09.31 – 1828.03.17) * Pietro India (1836.02.01 – 1837?) * François-Alexis Rameaux (穆導沅), Vincentians (C.M.) (1838.12.11 – 1845.07.14) * Pierre Lavaissière (石伯鐸), C.M. (1846.03.27 – 1849.12.19) * Raffaele Bacchettoni (1880.12.13 – 1881) * Giovanni Rosati (1882.03.30 – 1884.03.14) * Joseph-André Boyer (包),

Paris Foreign Missions Society The Society of Foreign Missions of Paris (french: Société des Missions Etrangères de Paris, short M.E.P.) is a Roman Catholic missionary organization. It is not a religious institute, but an organization of secular priests and lay persons de ...

(M.E.P.) (1886.04.13 – 1887.03.08) * Isidorus Barriga (1890.06.26 – 1894?) * Maximilian Gereon Graf von Galen (1895.07.16 – 1908.11.05) * Joseph Gaudentius Anderson (1909.04.29 – 1927.07.02) * Edward John Galvin (高爾文), Missionary Society of St. Columban (S.S.C.M.E., founder) (1927.07.14 – 1946.04.11), as first Apostolic Vicar of

Hanyang Hanyang may refer to: China *Hanyang District (漢陽區, 汉阳区, ''Hànyáng Qū''), Wuhan, Hubei :*Hanyang Arsenal (漢陽兵工廠), founded in 1891 as one of the oldest modern arsenals in Chinese history :*Hanyang 88 (漢陽八八式步槍), ...

(China); previously first Apostolic Prefect of Hanyang (November 1, 1924 – July 14, 1927), later first bishop of Hanyang (April 11, 1946 – February 23, 1956) * Alfred-Jean-Félix Ancel, Prado (1947.02.17 – 1984.09.11)

Notable residents

, Byzantine historian and poet

References

* *

Sources and external links

asiaminorcoins.com
Ancient coins of Myrina

{{Authority control Aeolian dodecapolis Greek colonies in Mysia Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Roman towns and cities in Turkey Catholic titular sees in Asia Former populated places in Turkey Members of the Delian League Populated places in ancient Aeolis Greek city-states Aliağa District History of İzmir Province