Cyrene, Libya
| Archaeological Site of Cyrene* | |
|---|---|
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| |
| State Party | 22px Libyan Arab Jamahiriya |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | ii, iii, vi |
| Reference | 190 |
| Region** | Arab States |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1982 (6th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO. | |
Cyrene, the ancient Greek city (in present-day Libya) was the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities in the region and gave eastern Libya the classical name 'Cyrenaica' that it has retained to modern times. It lies in a lush valley in the Jebel Akhdar uplands. It was named after a spring, Kyre, which the Greeks consecrated to Apollo.
Cyrene was founded as a colony of the Greeks of Thera (modern Santorini), traditionally led by Battus I from Thera, in 630 B.C.E. ten miles from its port, Apollonia (Marsa Sousa). Details concerning the founding of the city are contained in Book IV of the Histories of Herodotus. It promptly became the chief town of the ancient Libyan region between Egypt and Carthage (Cyrenaica), kept up commercial relations with all the Greek cities, and reached the height of its prosperity under its own kings in the 5th century B.C.E.. Soon after 460 B.C.E. it became a republic; after the death of Alexander the Great (323 B.C.E.) it passed to the Ptolemies and fell into decay.
SITES TO USE
http://www.globalheritagefund.org/where/cyrene.html
Cyrenaica became part of the empire controlled by the Ptolemaic dynasty from Alexandria in Egypt and later passed to the Roman empire. Cyrene was the birthplace of Eratosthenes and there are a number of philosophers associated with the city including Callimachus, Carneades, Aristippus and Arete, and Synesius, bishop of Ptolemais in the 4th century CE.
The inhabitants of Cyrene at the time of Sulla (c. 85 B.C.E.) were divided into four classes: citizens, farmers, resident aliens, and Jews, who formed a restless minority. The ruler of the town, Apion bequeathed it to the Romans, but it kept its self-government. In 74 B.C.E. Cyrene was created a Roman province; but, whereas under the Ptolemies the Jewish inhabitants had enjoyed equal rights, they now found themselves increasingly oppressed by the now autonomous and much larger Greek population. Tensions came to a head in the insurrection of the Jews of Cyrene under Vespasian (73) and especially Trajan (117). This revolt was quelled by Marcius Turbo, but not before huge numbers of people had been killed (Cassius Dio, lxviii. 32). According to Eusebius the outbreak of violence left Libya depopulated to such an extent that a few years later new colonies had to be established there just to maintain the viability of continued settlement.
Cyrene's chief local export through much of its early history—the medicinal herb silphium—was pictured on most Cyrenian coins, until it was harvested to extinction. Though commercial competition from Carthage and Alexandria reduced its trade, Cyrene, with its port of Apollonia (Marsa Susa), remained an important urban center until the earthquake of 365. Ammianus Marcellinus described it in the 4th century as a deserted city, and Synesius, a native of Cyrene, described it in the following century as a vast ruin at the mercy of the nomads.
The names of six Christian bishops are known: according to Byzantine legend the first was St. Lucius (Acts 13:1); St. Theodorus suffered martyrdom under Diocletian; about 370 Philo dared to consecrate by himself a bishop for Hydra, and was succeeded by his own nephew, Philo; Rufus sided with Dioscorus at the so-called Robber Synod (Latrocinium) of Ephesus in 449; Leontius lived about 600.
Cyrene is now an archeological site near the village of Shahat. One of its more significant features is the Temple of Apollo which was originally constructed as early as 7th century B.C.E.. Other ancient structures include a Temple to Demeter and a partially unexcavated Temple to Zeus (the latter was intentionally damaged under orders of Moammar Al Qadhafi in the summer of 1978). There is a large necropolis approximately 10 km between Cyrene and its ancient port of Apollonia.
Cyrene in the Bible
Cyrene is mentioned in 2 Maccabees: The book of 2 Maccabees is said by its author to be an abridgment of a five-volume work by a Hellenistic Jew by the name of Jason of Cyrene who lived around 100 B.C.E. (Both the Catholic and the Eastern churches consider 2 Maccabees to be canonical; Protestants do not.) Cyrene is also mentioned in the New Testament: One Simon of Cyrene carried the cross of Christ (Mark 15:21 and parallels). See also Acts 2:10, 6:9; 11:20; 13:1.
New discoveries
In 2005, Italian archaeologists from the University of Urbino discovered 76 intact Roman statues at Cyrene from the 2nd century AD. The statues remained undiscovered for so long because, according to archaeologist Mario Luni, “during the earthquake of 375 C.E., a supporting wall of the temple fell on its side, burying all the statues. They remained hidden under stone, rubble and earth for 1,600 years. The other walls sheltered the statues, so we were able to recover all the pieces, even works that had been broken." [1]
External links
- Livius, Cyrene and the Cyrenaica by Jona Lendering
See also
- Cyrenaica
- Cyrenaics
- List of Kings of Cyrene
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