Abonutichus (port)
Abonutichus, also known as Inebolu in modern Turkey, was a small port located on the Black Sea coast of Paphlagonia, northern Asia Minor. Positioned at the mouth of the river Ikiçay, it was established as a significant trade location and began minting its own coins in the first century BC. Abonutichus achieved city status during the Roman Principate, initially retaining its original name before being referred to as Ionopolis during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. The town is notable for being the birthplace of Alexander of Abonutichus, a controversial figure in the second century AD who is famously critiqued in Lucian's work, "Alexander, or the False Prophet." Alexander was known for his dubious claims of divine powers, specifically asserting that he could channel the god Asclepius through a snake named Glycon. His exploits and the associated circular shrine are significant aspects of the historical narrative surrounding Abonutichus, reflecting both the cultural and religious dynamics of the time.
Subject Terms
Abonutichus (port)
Abonou Teichos (Wall of Abonos), later Ionopolis (Inebolu)
A small port on the Euxine (Black) Sea coast of Paphlagonia (northern Asia Minor), at the mouth of the river Ikiçay. Abonutichus started to issue coinage in the first century BC and achieved city status in the time of the Roman Principate (30 BC; or later?), first under that name and then (from Marcus Aurelius onward, for a time) as Ionopolis. It was the birthplace of one of the most outrageous charlatans of the ancient world, Alexander of Abonutichus, whose career in the second century AD is ruthlessly displayed in Lucian's Alexander, or the False Prophet. A successful exploiter of women, Alexander claimed to control a new manifestation of the god Asclepius, in the form of a snake called Glycon (depicted on the city's coinage), with whose assistance he uttered oracles and staged mysteries. His circular shrine has been identified.