Bronze Age höyüks, Iron Age hilltop forts, Roman poleis and Byzantine pilgrimage in Germia and its vicinity. ‘Connectivity’ and a lack of ‘definite places’ on the central Anatolian high plateau

Abstract

Germia was a well-connected Byzantine polis in western-central Anatolia, famous for its healing waters and a church of St Michael. After three years of survey the site can now be reconstructed: it included several other churches and monasteries, but little space for ordinary residential buildings. This comes as a surprise, but can be explained by the discovery of two older Roman cities within walking-distance of Germia, where the ordinary people seem to have lived. One of these cities, Mantalos, was home to a local cult of the pagan god Men. This may explain why the Christian healing centre was established at Germia. Later, Mantalos shed its pagan legacy and was apparently renamed Eudoxias after a homonymous member of the Theodosian dynasty. No Roman or Byzantine settlement of the region has a history extending back beyond the Iron Age, when the population retreated to fortified hilltop settlements and many sizable Bronze Age höyüks were deserted. Settlement locations changed often and grew little in central Anatolia, and this may be blamed on the uniform landscape of the high plateau; it lacks the Mediterranean's diverse geography of ‘definite places’ that would favour one site above others and ensure its continuity and growth.

The Martyrdom of Konon (BHG 2077): the construction of a realm of memory

“…In my opinion, it was Konon's home village of Bidana that was promoted. His rural shrine became the centre of a city, similar to what happened in other parts of Asia Minor, such as Germia, a place that was negligible in Imperial times, but which became a bishopric and later on an autocephalous archbishopric because of its shrine of St Michael (Belke, Restle 1984: 166-68;Niewöhner et al 2013); another parallel is Euchaita. Regardless of the identification, it is undeniable that a place in Konon's territory was promoted in his honour by the emperor.…”

Miraculous fish therapy for leprosy (‘elephant disease’) and other skin diseases in Byzantium

“…According to one interpretation, this structure could be the location of the healing fishpond, something which is substantiated by the existence of a nearby thermal spring. 19 Moreover, the chemical analysis of the thermal waters of the area has emphasized the extremely high concentration of hydrogen sulphide, which has traditionally been considered to have therapeutic value for skin diseases. 20 This case of Byzantine fish therapy assumes even greater importance in the light of recent discussions on the rapid expansion of fish spa resorts in various countries over the last decade, including Japan, China, Belgium, Spain, the U.K., Finland, and the U.S.A.…”