Dios Hieron (Lydia)
It is located 9 km. northeast of Ödemiş/İzmir.(ref: Tmolos’ta saklı kutsal bir kent Dioshieron, Hüseyin Üreten, Journal of International Social Research , Vol 9, Issue 44: 562-578) Dios Hieron (Ancient Greek: Διὸς Ἱερόν, meaning 'Sanctuary of Zeus') was a town of ancient Lydia, in the upper valley of the Cayster River.[1] The city became part of the Roman Republic and the Roman province of Asia with the annexation of the Attalid kingdom.[2] It also bore the name Diospolis (Διόσπολις),[3] and was cited by the sixth century Byzantine geographer Stephanus of Byzantium under that name.[4] It was renamed to Christopolis or Christoupolis (Χριστούπολις, meaning 'city of Christ') in the 7th century and was known as Pyrgium or Pyrgion (Πυργίον) from the 12th century on.[2] Pyrgion fell to the Turks in 1307, and became the capital of the beylik of Aydin.[2] The town minted coins in antiquity, often with the inscription "Διοσιερειτων".[5]
Its site is located near Birgi, Asiatic Turkey.[6][7]
Bishopric
The Roman Era city had an ancient Christian bishop and is attested as an episcopal see from at least 451. It was a suffragan of Ephesus, which it remained under until the late 12th century when it became a separate metropolis.[2]
There are four known bishops from antiquity.
- Stephen took part in the Council of Ephesus of 431
- Eustorgios was not present at the Council of Chalcedon (451) and his metropolitan, Stephen of Ephesus, signed on his behalf
- Zoetus was among the fathers of the Council of Constantinople of 680 and the Council in Trullo of 692
- Stephen of Pyrgion participated at the two Councils of Constantinople in 869–870 and 879–880 who dealt with the issue of Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople
Today Dioshieron survives as titular see in the Roman Catholic Church,[8] so far the see has never been assigned.[9][10]
References
- Ptolemy. The Geography. Vol. 5.2.
- Nesbitt, John; Oikonomides, Nicolas, eds. (1996). Catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 3: West, Northwest, and Central Asia Minor and the Orient. Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. p. 45. ISBN 0-88402-250-1.
- William Hazlitt (1851). The Classical Gazetteer. Vol. p. 137.
- Stephanus of Byzantium. Ethnica. Vol. s.v. Διόσπολις.
- "Lydia, Dioshieron - Ancient Greek Coins". WildWinds.com. Retrieved 2019-05-29.
- Richard Talbert, ed. (2000). Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World. Princeton University Press. p. 56, and directory notes accompanying.
- Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
- Pius Bonifacius Gams, Series Episcoporum Ecclesiae Catholicae, Leipzig 1931, p. 444.
- Dioshieron at Catholichierachy.org.
- Dioshieron at GCatholic.org.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Dios Hieron". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.