Английская Википедия:Anthedon (Palestine)

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Anthedon (Шаблон:Lang-grc) was a Hellenistic city near Gaza.

Site and archeology

Ancient Anthedon is located in the Gaza Strip, at Tell Iblakhiye (or Blakhiyah), Шаблон:Convert north of the port of Gaza. It has been identified with Tida or Theda, a site near Beit Lahiya known from medieval Arab sources. Immediately to the north of it there is a hill still called Teda; the name seems to be a corruption of "Anthedon". Some parts of the city wall are still standing, and port structures are visible: they were explored by a Franco-Palestinian archaeological expedition between 1995 and 2005, under the direction of Father Jean-Baptiste Humbert. Potsherds have also been found in the dunes. Archaeologists have discovered a Roman-era cemetery dubbed Ard al-Moharbeen Necropolis, with over 100 graves including ornate tombs in which coins for passage to the underworld were placed inside the mouths of the deceased.

History

Located between Gaza and Ascalon, the city served as one of the two ports of Gaza, along with Maiuma. As the Persian empire replaced its Assyrian predecessor in 539 BCE and substantially expanded its realm, Greek immigrants, probably coming from Anthedon in Boeotia, took advantage of the new commercial opportunities and founded the new Anthedon of Palestine around the year 520 BCE. This was documented by archaeological excavations jointly executed from 1996 onwards by the Palestinian Authority and the French École Biblique of Jerusalem. As a Hellenistic Greek city, it had an agora and temples. The citizens' life was chiefly dedicated to fishing and shipbuilding. The city was governed by a boule (council) of 500 members and had its own army commanded by a strategos.

Anthedon is first mentioned by Flavius Josephus in Jewish Antiquities, dealing with the period when it was captured by the Hasmonean ruler of Judea, Alexander Jannaeus, and destroyed. In 64 BCE, it was captured by Roman general Pompey and subsequently rebuilt by his successor Gabinius. Later, Anthedon along with coastal sections of Judaea, passed into the hands of Cleopatra and then to Augustus (Octavian), who assigned it to Herod. Herod renamed the city Agrippias in honor of Agrippa, a Roman general and son-in-law of Octavian Augustus. During the First Jewish-Roman War (AD 66–70), the religious faction of the Zealots attacked Anthedon, but the attack was successfully repelled and the city remained Hellenistic.Шаблон:Cn

On April 2, 2012, the ancient city was listed as a tentative World Heritage Site by Palestine.

In 2013, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, bulldozed part of the harbour to expand its military training zone. The Deputy Minister of Tourism in Gaza, Muhammad Khela, said the site would not be damaged by the expansion, despite criticism from local activists and the UNESCO office in Gaza.

During the 2023 Israel-Hamas War, the Balakhiyah (Anthedon) site was listed by a cultural heritage preservation report as completely destroyed by direct shelling.

Ecclesiastical history

Anthedon was important enough in the Byzantine province of Palestina Prima (395–636) to become a suffragan bishopric of its capital's Metropolitan Archbishop of Caesarea in Palestina, but later faded.Шаблон:Cn

In the 4th century AD, the city became an episcopal seat, though traditional multitheism, particularly the worship of Venus and Astarte, survived there until the 5th century according to Sozomenus. The latter informs us about one Zenon, brother of Nestabus and Eusebius (both martyred in AD 362 as a result of prosecution by Julian the Apostate) who fled to Anthedon. The pagan townsfolk, upon learning that he was a Christian, beat him and drove him out of town. Later on, this Zenon went on to become bishop of Maiuma, the other port of Gaza.Шаблон:Cn

A celebrated Christian figure was Aurelius the Anthedonian who was known to be pious and helped spread Christianity in the area.

The first known bishop of Anthedon was Paul, who took part in the Councils of Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451). Bishop Eustathius took part in the Council of Jerusalem (518), and Bishop Dorotheus in the Council of Jerusalem (536).

Titular see

Anthedon is no longer a residential bishopric and is listed by the Catholic Church as a titular bishopric.

It has been vacant for decades. A notable holder of the title of the lowest (episcopal) rank was Marcel-François Lefebvre of the Holy Ghost Fathers (C.S.Sp.), appointed in 1947Шаблон:Dubious.

See also

• Syro-Palestinian archaeology

Sources and external links

• GigaCatolic, with titular incumbent biography links

Шаблон:Coord