Photice or Photike () was a city in

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

in the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

periods. In the

late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

it was known as Hagios Donatos (Ἅγιος Δονᾶτος).

History

The city was likely settled since

Classical Antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...

, but is only known in later times. It appears in the 6th-century ''

Synecdemus The ''Synecdemus'' or ''Synekdemos'' () is a geographic text, attributed to Hierocles, which contains a table of administrative divisions of the Byzantine Empire and lists of their cities. The work is dated to the reign of Justinian Justinia ...

'', and according to

Procopius of Caesarea Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Emperor Justinian's wars, Procopius became the pr ...

, it was restored by

Justinian I Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

().

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent Late antiquity, late antique Byzantine Greeks, Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Justinian I, Empe ...

says that it originally stood in a marshy situation, and that Justinian built a citadel upon a neighbouring height. That citadel was likely named after Saint Donatus; in the lists of Justinian's buildings provided by Procopius, there are two forts of that name in the province of Epirus Vetus. The city is attested as a

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

, a

suffragan see A suffragan diocese is one of the dioceses other than the metropolitan archdiocese that constitute an ecclesiastical province. It exists in some Christian denominations, in particular the Catholic Church, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, ...

of the Metropolis of Naupaktos, since the

Council of Chalcedon The Council of Chalcedon (; ) was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia (modern-day Kadıköy, Istanbul, Turkey) from 8 Oct ...

in 451. Only a few of its bishops are known: John (at the Council of Chalcedon), Diadochus (signatory of a letter on the murder of

Proterius of Alexandria Pope Proterius of Alexandria (died 457) was Patriarch of Alexandria from 451 to 457. He had been appointed by the Council of Chalcedon to replace the deposed Dioscorus. He regarded as hieromartyr by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic ...

to Emperor

Leo I the Thracian Leo I (; 401 – 18 January 474), also known as "the Thracian" (; ), was Eastern Roman emperor from 457 to 474. He was a native of Dacia Aureliana near historic Thrace. He is sometimes surnamed with the epithet "the Great" (; ), probably to ...

), Hilarius (signatory of a letter to

Pope Hormisdas Pope Hormisdas (;"Hormisdas, St." in William Darrach Halsey, ''Collier's Encyclopedia'' Volume 12, Macmillan Educational Company, 1984, p. 244. c. 450 – 6 August 523) was the bishop of Rome from 20 July 514 to his death on 6 August 523. His pa ...

), Manuel (at the time of

Germanus II of Constantinople Germanus II Nauplius (; died June 1240) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (in exile at Nicaea) from 4 January 1223 until his death in June 1240. He was born at Anaplous in the second half of the 12th century. At the time of the Fourth ...

), Antony (in 1564), and Nicholas (). From the 10th century, the see was moved to nearby Bela, probably for a short time at first; by the 13th century, the bishopric resided permanently at Bela. By that time, Photice itself was known as Hagios Donatos; the ''chastel de Saint Donnat'' was promised as his wife's dowry to Philip of Taranto by

Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Nicephorus I Comnenus Ducas (; – ) was ruler of Epirus from 1267/8 to his death in 1296/98. Life Born around 1240, Nikephoros was the eldest son of the Despot of Epirus, Michael II Komnenos Doukas ...

Despot of Epirus The Despot of Epirus was the ruler of the Despotate of Epirus, one of the rump states of the Byzantine Empire in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. The name "Despotate of Epirus" and the title "despot of Epirus" are modern historiographical name ...

. In the revolt of Epirus in 1338/39 against the

Byzantine emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Andronikos III Palaiologos Andronikos III Palaiologos (; 25 March 1297 – 15 June 1341), commonly Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus, was the Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341. He was the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia. He was proclaimed c ...

(), Hagios Donatos remained loyal to the emperor. In 1367 or 1368 the town, under its ruler Bardas, abandoned the allegiance to the Serbian ruler of Epirus,

Thomas Preljubović Thomas Preljubović (; ) was Despot of Epirus, ruler of the Despotate of Epirus in Ioannina from 1367 to his death in 1384. Thomas was an unpopular ruler and is appraised very negatively by his contemporaries. On December 23, 1384 he was stabbed to ...

, but in 1380 Thomas purchased its possession. In 1411 the town submitted to

Carlo I Tocco Carlo I Tocco was the hereditary Count Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos from 1376, and ruled as the Despot of Epirus from 1411 until his death on July 4, 1429. Life Carlo I was the son of Count Leonardo I Tocco of Cephalonia and Leukas by M ...

, who later appointed his second son, Torno, as its governor.

Paramythia Paramythia () is a town and a former municipality in Thesprotia, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Souli, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 342.197 ...

, which eventually succeeded the settlement, is attested at about the same time. The Ottomans knew the town as "Aidonat Kalesi".

Location and remains

Its site is located near the modern area of Limponi, some 2 km northwest of Paramythia. Remains of the fortifications on a rocky plateau, stretching in an east–west direction with sheer cliffs to the west, include walls up to 5 m high, remains of a gate with tower, and of a square

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

. The wider area features a number of Byzantine monuments: At the site of Balsamari, remains of a three-

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

d Byzantine

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

, probably dating to the 11th century, dedicated to Saint Photeine. Its dimensions are 13.7 m × 12.3 m, and its walls survived in places up to 2.5 m in height. West of Balsamari, at Palioklisi, remains of an early Christian basilica on a hilltop. Probably three-aisled, some 20 m × 14 m large, with walls up to 2 m high, in the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

up to 4.5 m. West of Plioklisi is the Panagia Lampobithra (or Lampovitsa), a ruined small, one-aisled church, some 7 m × 5 m large. In Paramythia itself lies the Church of the Dormition or Great Church (Μεγάλη Εκκλησία), a late Byzantine three-aisled basilica. Some 100 m to the north are remains of a Byzantine bath-house. Some 3 km south of Paramythia, near the village of Chrysavgi, remains of a three-aisled basilica (6th/7th century).

Catholic titular see

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

of Photice () was established by the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in 1933. It has had two incumbents, and has been vacant since 1978: * Joaquim de Lange, C.S.Sp. (1952.04.18 – 1978.05.26) * Joseph-Wilfrid Guy, O.M.I. (1929.12.19 – 1937.06.02, 1942.11.07 – 1951.12.08)

References

{{coord, 39, 28, 44, N, 20, 29, 56, E, format=dms, display=title, source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/31629 Populated places in ancient Epirus Former populated places in Greece Cities in ancient Epirus Defunct dioceses of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople Populated places of the Byzantine Empire Medieval Epirus Byzantine sites in Epirus (region) Catholic titular sees in Europe