Cius

  1. Home
  2. Wiki
This article is about the ancient Greek city. For Roman fort in Moesia, see Cius (castrum). For tablet device from Cisco, see Cisco Cius.
Cius
Cius is located in Turkey
Cius
Cius
Shown within Turkey
LocationTurkey
RegionBursa Province
Coordinates40°25′57″N 29°09′23″E / 40.432468°N 29.156389°E / 40.432468; 29.156389

Cius (/ˈsaɪəs/; Ancient Greek: Kίος or Κῖος 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 restored the city after it was ceded to him by King Philip V of Macedon.[1]

History

[edit]
Test
Ancient Greek coin found in the site of what was once Cius.

Cius was captured by the Persians under General Hymaees on their counter-offensive against the Ionians that marched on Sardis during the Ionian Revolt.[2] Sometime during the Cretan War that lasted from 205 to 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.[3] Prusias later restored it under the name Prusias.[4] The city was also reverred as Prusias ad Olympum after its location at the foot of the Bithynian Olympus (currently called Mount Uludağ).[5] But it is remarked that Cius must either have still existed by the side of the restored city, or must have recovered its old name.[citation needed] It was a member of the Delian League.[6][verification needed]

It was an important chain in the ancient Silk Road and became known as a wealthy town.[citation needed]

Geography

[edit]

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,[2][7] from which it appears that Mysia, even in Xenophon's time, extended at least as far east as the head of the gulf of Cius. Naturalist Pliny the Elder reports that Cius was a Milesian colony.[8] It was at the foot of Mount Arganthonius, and there was a myth that Hylas, one of the companions of Heracles on the voyage to Colchis, was carried off by the Nymphs when he went to get water here; and also that Cius, another companion of Heracles, on his return from Colchis, stayed here and founded the city, to which he gave his name.[9] Pliny mentioned the rivers Hylas and Cius here, one of which reminds us of the name of the youth who was stolen by the nymphs, and the other of the mythical founder.[citation needed]

The Cius may be the channel by which the lake Ascania (currently known as Lake Iznik) discharges its waters into the gulf of Cius; though Pliny speaks of the Ascanium flumen as flowing into the gulf, and we must assume that he gives this name to the channel which connects the lake and the sea. If the river Cius is not identical with this channel, it must be a small stream near Cius. As Ptolemy speaks of the outlets of the Ascanius,[10] 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.[citation needed]

Coins

[edit]

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".

Bishopric

[edit]

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.[11][12][13] No longer a residential bishopric, Cius is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see.[14]

Modern history

[edit]

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

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Strabo. "Geography Book XII.4.3". LacusCurtius. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Herodotus' Histories. Vol. 5.122.1". Perseus Digital Library. Archived from the original on 15 September 2025. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  3. ^ Hammond, N. G. L.; Walbank, Frank W. (1988). A History of Macedonia, Vol. 3: 336-167 BC. Clarendon Press. p. 413. ISBN 9780198148159.
  4. ^ "Strabo's Geographica Book XII.4.3". LacusCurtius. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  5. ^ Anthon, Charles (1851). A Classical Dictionary. New York: Harper. p. 1135. ISBN 9781419173844. Retrieved 14 November 2025. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  6. ^ Athenian Tribute Lists
  7. ^ "Xenophon's Hellenica Vol. 1.4.7". Perseus Digital Library. Archived from the original on 3 July 2025. Retrieved 10 October 2025.
  8. ^ Pliny. Naturalis Historia. Vol. 5.32.
  9. ^ Strabo. Geographica. Vol. p. 564. Page numbers refer to those of Isaac Casaubon's edition.
  10. ^ Ptolemy. The Geography. Vol. 5.1.
  11. ^ Michel Lequien, Oriens christianus in quatuor Patriarchatus digestus, Paris 1740, Vol. I, coll. 631-636
  12. ^ Raymond Janin, v. Cius, in Dictionnaire d'Histoire et de Géographie ecclésiastiques, vol. XII, Paris 1953, coll. 1024-1026
  13. ^ Pius Bonifacius Gams, Series episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, Leipzig 1931, p. 443
  14. ^ Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1), p. 870

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Cius". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.

References

[edit]
[edit]