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Sozopol
KNOWLEDGE OF Sozopol
Sozopol (Bulgarian: Созопол, Greek: Σωζοπολης, Turkish: Sizeboli) is a small ancient town located 30 km south of Burgas on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Today the town is mostly a beach resort known for the Apollonia art and film festival named after one of Sozopol's ancient names.
Sozopol is one of the oldest towns on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. The first settlement on the site dates back to the Bronze Age. Undersea explorations in the region of the port reveal relics of dwellings, ceramic pottery, stone and bone tools from that era. Many anchors from the second and first millennium BC have been discovered in the town's bay, a proof of active shipping since ancient times.
The location was colonized by the Milesians, who founded a town originally named Antheia, but this was soon changed to Apollonia. Apollonia was famous for its colossal statue of Apollo by Calamis, which Lucullus moved to Rome. At various times, Apollonia was known as Apollonia Pontica (that is, Apollonia on the Black Sea, the ancient Pontus Euxinus) and Apollonia Magna (Great Apollonia).
The town established itself as a trade and naval centre in the following centuries. It kept strong political and trade relations with the cities of Ancient Greece – Miletus, Athens, Corinth, Heraclea Pontica and the islands Rhodes, Chios, Lesbos, etc. Its trade influence in the Thracian territories was based on a treaty with the rulers of the Odrysian kingdom dating from the fifth century BC.
The symbol of the town – the anchor, present on all coins minted by Apollonia since the sixth century BC, is proof of the importance of trade. The rich town soon became an important cultural centre. At these times it was called Apollonia Magna.
Sozopol was Christianized early. Bishops are recorded as resident there from at least 431. At least eight bishops are known: Athanasius (431), Peter (680), Euthymius (787) and Ignatius (869) (all of whom in the Roman Catholic Church); Theodosius (1357), Joannicius, who became Patriarch of Constantinople (1524), Philotheus (1564) and Joasaph (1721) (all of whom in the Eastern Orthodox Church).
The city remains a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church, that of Sozopolis in Haemimonto; the seat has stood vacant since the death of the last titular bishop in 2000.
Art flourished in the Christian era. The ancient icons and magnificent woodcarving in the iconostases are a remarkable accomplishment of the craftsmanship of these times. The architecture of the houses in the old town from the Renaissance period makes it a unique place to visit today.
Occupied in turn by Byzantines and Ottomans, Sozopol was assigned to the newly independent Bulgaria in the 19th century.
The original name of the city is attested as Antheia. Coins were minted in the town bearing the inscription Apollonia, which date from the sixth century BC to the first half of the third century AD. During this period, appellations such as Apollonia Pontica (Apollonia on the Black Sea) and Apollonia Magna (Great Apollonia) have been recorded. By the first century AD, the name Sozopolis began to appear in written records (e.g., in the Periplus Ponti Euxini). After the town became part of the Ottoman Empire, the name was Turkified to Sizeboli, Sizebolu or Sizebolou. After Bulgaria took possession of the town, it was Slavicized to Sozopol.
Sozopol is one of the oldest towns on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. The first settlement on the site dates back to the Bronze Age. Undersea explorations in the region of the port reveal relics of dwellings, ceramic pottery, stone and bone tools from that era. Many anchors from the second and first millennium BC have been discovered in the town's bay, a proof of active shipping since ancient times.
The location was colonized by the Milesians, who founded a town originally named Antheia, but this was soon changed to Apollonia. Apollonia was famous for its colossal statue of Apollo by Calamis, which Lucullus moved to Rome. At various times, Apollonia was known as Apollonia Pontica (that is, Apollonia on the Black Sea, the ancient Pontus Euxinus) and Apollonia Magna (Great Apollonia).
The town established itself as a trade and naval centre in the following centuries. It kept strong political and trade relations with the cities of Ancient Greece – Miletus, Athens, Corinth, Heraclea Pontica and the islands Rhodes, Chios, Lesbos, etc. Its trade influence in the Thracian territories was based on a treaty with the rulers of the Odrysian kingdom dating from the fifth century BC.
The symbol of the town – the anchor, present on all coins minted by Apollonia since the sixth century BC, is proof of the importance of trade. The rich town soon became an important cultural centre. At these times it was called Apollonia Magna.
Sozopol was Christianized early. Bishops are recorded as resident there from at least 431. At least eight bishops are known: Athanasius (431), Peter (680), Euthymius (787) and Ignatius (869) (all of whom in the Roman Catholic Church); Theodosius (1357), Joannicius, who became Patriarch of Constantinople (1524), Philotheus (1564) and Joasaph (1721) (all of whom in the Eastern Orthodox Church).
The city remains a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church, that of Sozopolis in Haemimonto; the seat has stood vacant since the death of the last titular bishop in 2000.
Art flourished in the Christian era. The ancient icons and magnificent woodcarving in the iconostases are a remarkable accomplishment of the craftsmanship of these times. The architecture of the houses in the old town from the Renaissance period makes it a unique place to visit today.
Occupied in turn by Byzantines and Ottomans, Sozopol was assigned to the newly independent Bulgaria in the 19th century.
The original name of the city is attested as Antheia. Coins were minted in the town bearing the inscription Apollonia, which date from the sixth century BC to the first half of the third century AD. During this period, appellations such as Apollonia Pontica (Apollonia on the Black Sea) and Apollonia Magna (Great Apollonia) have been recorded. By the first century AD, the name Sozopolis began to appear in written records (e.g., in the Periplus Ponti Euxini). After the town became part of the Ottoman Empire, the name was Turkified to Sizeboli, Sizebolu or Sizebolou. After Bulgaria took possession of the town, it was Slavicized to Sozopol.
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