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Apamea, Syria

Apamea (Greek: Ἀπάμεια, Apameia; Arabic: آفاميا, Afamia), on the right bank of the Orontes River, was an ancient Greek and Roman city. It was the capital of Apamene under the Macedonians,[1] became the capital and Metropolitan Archbishopric of late Roman province Syria Secunda, again in the crusader period.

For the post-Roman/Byzantine history of Apamea and the modern town, see Qalaat al-Madiq.

Location

Hama Governorate, Syria

Ghab plain

35°25′05″N 36°23′53″E / 35.418°N 36.398°E / 35.418; 36.398

settlement

Seleucus I Nicator

ca. 300 BC

13th century

Hellenistic, Roman, Medieval Greek, Arab

ruins

Public

Yes

Amongst the impressive ancient remains, the site includes the Great Colonnade which ran for nearly 2 km (1.2 mi) making it among the longest in the Roman world and the Roman Theatre, one of the largest surviving theatres of the Roman Empire with an estimated seating capacity in excess of 20,000.


The site is about 55 km (34 mi) to the northwest of Hama, Syria, overlooking the Ghab valley.

(fl. 375)

Marcellus of Apamea

(fl. 431)

Alexander of Apamea

Asistente al consilio de Neocesarea

Alpheius of Apamea

saint and opponent of Montanism (S. III)

Julian of Apamea

Domnus (fl. )

451

Epiphanius (451/457–after 471)

[37]

Isaac (ordained bef. 512, died c. 513/514)

[38]

Stephen (in 512–516)

[38]

Cosmas (in 512–516)

[38]

monophysite[39] (515/516–518/519)

Peter of Apamea

Christianity came to the area within the first century. Bishops included:


Today a number of Christian denominations maintain titular sees for the town. These include

– (11th-century Ismāʿīlī Governor and a founder of the Druze Faith, the primary exponent of the Divine call and author of several of the Epistles of Wisdom) [40][41]

Al-Muqtana

– (praetorian prefect)

Marinus

– (physician)

Archigenes

– (official under King Alexander I Balas)

Diodotus Tryphon

– (bishop, one of the Seventy Apostles)

Aristarchus of Thessalonica

– (6th-century historian)

Evagrius Scholasticus

– (Neo-Platonist philosopher)

Iamblichus of Chalcis

– (sophist and Neoplatonist philosopher)

Sopater of Apamea

– 5th-century bishop

Alexander of Apamea

Alcibiades of Apamea

– (1st-century bishop)

Junias

– (2nd century philosopher)

Numenius of Apamea

– (bishop, and brother of Theodore of Mopsuestia)

Polychronius

– (Greek philosopher and author, 2nd–1st Century BCE)

Posidonius

poet

Pseudo-Oppian

– (3rd-century Roman Equestrian and later governor of Numidia. Husband of Julia Soaemias and father of Roman emperor Elagabalus)

Sextus Varius Marcellus

– (5th-century bishop)

Theodoret

(modern city)

Qalaat al-Madiq

Apamea (Babylonia)

List of ancient Greek cities

5th-century Syriac Christian writer

John of Apamea

GCatholic Latin titular see with incumbent biography links

GCatholic Melkite titular Metropolitan see with incumbent biography links

GCatholic Syrian Catholic titular Metropolitan see with incumbent biography links

GCatholic Maronite titular episcopal see with incumbent biography links

(in French)

Suggestion to have Apamea recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site

Images by Michał Jacykiewicz

at the American Center of Research

Photos of Apamea

Marek Titien Olszewski, Houmam Saad, "", in: M. P. Castiglioni, R. Carboni, M. Giuman, H. Bernier-Farella (eds.), Héros fondateurs et identités communautaires dans l’Antiquité, entre mythe, rite et politique, Morlacchi University Press, Padoue, pp. 365–416 (ISBN 978-88-9392-053-7)

Pella-Apamée sur l'Oronte et ses héros fondateurs à la lumière d’une source historique inconnue: une mosaïque d’Apamée

(editor); Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, "Apameia", London, (1854)

William Smith

and T. Drake, Unexplored Syria

R. F. Burton

Reise in Syrien, 1883.

E. Sachau