Anthedon (Palestine)

Ancient Anthedon is located in the Gaza Strip, at Tell Iblakhiye or Balakhiyyah, north of the port of Gaza. It has been identified with Tida or Theda, a site near Beit Lahiya known from medieval Arab sources. Potsherds have also been found in the dunes. In 2023, archaeologists announced the discovery of a Roman-era cemetery, dubbed Ard al-Moharbeen Necropolis, with over 100 graves including ornate tombs in which coins for passage to the underworld were placed inside the mouths of the deceased. File:Tession attique à figure rouge - Trésors sauvés de Gaza.jpg|5th-century BCE pottery sherd File:Souris - Trésors sauvés de Gaza.jpg|Bronze mouse dated between 64BCE and 313 CE File:Flacon anthropomorphe - Trésors sauvés de Gaza.jpg|Glass vessel with a face, dated to the 1st or 2nd century CE File:Flacon ; dromadaire accroupi, chargé de quatre amphores - Trésors sauvés de Gaza.jpg|6th-century camel flagon ==History==

Located between Gaza and Ascalon, the city served as one of the two ports of Gaza, along with Maiuma. As the Persian empire replaced its Assyrian predecessor in 539 BCE and substantially expanded its realm, Greek immigrants, probably coming from Anthedon in Boeotia, took advantage of the new commercial opportunities and founded the new Anthedon of Palestine around the year 520 BCE. This was documented by archaeological excavations jointly executed from 1996 onwards by the Palestinian Authority and the French École Biblique of Jerusalem. Anthedon is first mentioned by Flavius Josephus in Jewish Antiquities, dealing with the period when it was captured by the Hasmonean ruler of Judea, Alexander Jannaeus, and destroyed. In 64 BCE, it was captured by Roman general Pompey and subsequently rebuilt by his successor Gabinius. Later, Anthedon along with coastal sections of Judaea, passed into the hands of Cleopatra and then to Augustus (Octavian), who assigned it to Herod. Herod renamed the city Agrippias in honor of Agrippa, a Roman general and son-in-law of Octavian Augustus. On April 2, 2012, the ancient city was listed as a tentative World Heritage Site by Palestine. In 2013, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, bulldozed part of the harbour to expand its military training zone. The Deputy Minister of Tourism in Gaza, Muhammad Khela, said the site would not be damaged by the expansion, despite criticism from local activists and the UNESCO office in Gaza. In 2023 during the Gaza war, the Balakhiyah (Anthedon) site was listed by a cultural heritage preservation report as completely destroyed by direct shelling. As well as airstrikes, the site was further damaged by demolition activities, the movements of military vehicles, and the installation of pumps. ==Ecclesiastical history==

Anthedon was important enough in the Byzantine province of Palestina Prima (395–636) to become a suffragan bishopric of its capital's Metropolitan Archbishop of Caesarea in Palestina, but later faded. In the 4th century AD, the city became an episcopal seat, though traditional multitheism, particularly the worship of Venus and Astarte, survived there until the 5th century according to Sozomenus. The latter informs us about one Zenon, brother of Nestabus and Eusebius (both martyred in AD 362 as a result of prosecution by Julian the Apostate) who fled to Anthedon. The pagan townsfolk, upon learning that he was a Christian, beat him and drove him out of town. Later on, this Zenon went on to become bishop of Maiuma, the other port of Gaza. A celebrated Christian figure was Aurelius the Anthedonian who was known to be pious and helped spread Christianity in the area. The first known bishop of Anthedon was Paul, who took part in the Councils of Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451). Bishop Eustathius took part in the Council of Jerusalem (518), and Bishop Dorotheus in the Council of Jerusalem (536). It has been vacant for decades. A notable holder of the title of the lowest (episcopal) rank was Marcel-François Lefebvre of the Holy Ghost Fathers (C.S.Sp.), appointed in 1947. == See also ==