Antiochia ad Cragum


Antiochia ad Cragum also known as Antiochetta or Latin: Antiochia Parva is an ancient Hellenistic city on Cragus (Cilicia)|Mount Cragus] overlooking the Mediterranean coast, in the region of Cilicia, in Anatolia. In modern-day Turkey the site is encompassed in the village of Güneyköy, District of Gazipaşa, Antalya Province.

History

The city was founded by Antiochus IV Epiphanes around 170 BC. It minted coins from the mid-first to the mid-third centuries, the last known of which were issued under Roman Emperor Valerian. The city became part of the kingdom of Lesser Armenia in the 12th century. In 1332, the Knights Hospitallers took the city, after which it was known variously as Antiochetta, Antiocheta, Antiocheta in Rufine, and Antiochia Parva.
Some scholars claim an identity of Antiochia ad Cragum with the city Cragus, or although it lies more than 100 km away, with Sidyma, which some scholars assert was the Lycian Cragus.

Archaeology

Ruins of the city remain, and include fortifications, baths, chapels, the Roman necropolis, a wine press, and some roman mosaics found.
In 2018, latrine mosaics with dirty jokes about Narcissus and Ganymede were discovered in Antiochia ad Cragum, and in 2019, a large pool mosaic was discovered near the city.

Bishopric

In Byzantine times, Antiochia Parva was the seat of an episcopal see of the Roman province of Isauria in the Diocese of the East. It was part of the Patriarchate of Antioch and was suffragan of the Archbishopric of Seleucia.
The five known ancient bishops of this diocese were:
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Antiochia Parva is no longer a residential bishopric. It is today listed as a suppressed and titular see of the Roman Catholic Church. The seat is vacant since April 11, 1964. It was held previously by:
  • Jacques-Eugène Louis Ménager
  • André-Jean-Marie Charles de la Brousse