Cius (; Kios) was an Ancient Greek city bordering the Propontis (now known as the Sea of Marmara), in Bithynia and in Mysia (in modern northwestern Turkey). The city was later renamed to Prusias after King Prusias I of Bithynia, who once restored the city.

History

thumb|Ancient Greek coin found in the site of what was once Cius.|alt=Test

During the Ionian Revolt (499–493 BC), Cius was captured by the Persians under their general Hymaees on their counter-offensive against the Ionians that had marched on the capital of the Persian Satrapy of Lydia, Sardis, during the Ionian rebellion. Sometime during the Cretan War (205–200 BC), King Philip V of Macedon put Cius, that was then a member of the Aetolian League, under siege. He then razed the city down and ceded it to King Prusias I of Bithynia, who assisted him in capturing Cius. Prusias later restored it under the name Prusias.

According to numismatist Katja I. L. Sommer, during the Roman rule, Cius issued a revert back from the name Prusias around the reign of Emperor Claudius () at the latest, possibly in order to gain autonomy, and was later renamed back to Prusias during the Flavian period. It was an important chain in the ancient Silk Road and became known as a wealthy town.

Geography

Cius was strategically placed at the head of a gulf in the Propontis, called the Gulf of Cius, or Cianus Sinus. Historians Herodotus and Xenophon both reverred to it as Cius in Mysia. Naturalist Pliny the Elder reports that Cius was a Milesian colony. It was at the foot of Mount Arganthonius, which Strabo claimed as the place where Hylas was kidnapped by the Nymphs in a myth. it has been conjectured that there may have been two, and that they may be the Hylas and Cius of Pliny; but the plural ἐκβολαί does not necessarily mean more than a single mouth; and Pliny certainly says that the Ascanius flows into the gulf. However, his geography is a constant cause of difficulty. The position of Cius made it the port for the inland parts, and it became a place of much commercial importance. Pomponius Mela calls it the most convenient emporium of Phrygia, which was at no great distance from it.

Coins

There are coins of Cius, with the legend Κιανων, belonging to the Roman imperial period; and there are coins of Prusias with the epigraph, "Προυσιεων των προς θαλασσαν".

Ecclesiastical History

Cius became an early Christian bishopric. Its bishop, Cyrillus, took part in the First Council of Nicaea in 325, and Theosebius attended the Council of Ephesus. The names of many of his successors in the first millennium are known from extant contemporary documents. At first a suffragan of Nicomedia, it soon became an autocephalous archdiocese, being listed as such in Notitiae Episcopatuum from the 7th century onward. No longer a residential bishopric, Cius is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.

Modern history

Following the population exchange in 1923, the Greek refugees from Cius established the town of Nea Kios, in Argolis, Greece and the village of Paralia, in Pieria, Greece. There are only few remnants of the ancient town and its harbour today. Somewhat more to the west, the town of Gemlik, Bursa Province is enstablished.

See also

  • List of ancient Greek cities

References

Books and Journals

Bibliography

  • Corsten, Thomas (1985). Die Inschriften von Kios. Inschriften griechischer Städte aus Kleinasien, vol. 29. Bonn: Habelt, , see esp. the introduction on pp. 1–72.
  • Richard Talbert, Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World (), p. 52.
  • Kios (Gemlik) - The Greek City in Asia Minor
  • Catholic Encuclopedia - Cius