Greek legend credited the establishment of Mallus to two
Argive brothers named Amphilochus and
Mopsus. Amphilochus is variously described as the king and seer who was
the son of Amphiaraus and the brother of
Alcmaeon;
Alcmaeon's son; or, in
Strabo, either of these figures understood as a
demigod son of
Apollo. Both Amphiaraus's son and Alcmaeon's son were in the generations said to have witnessed the
Trojan War. Amphilochus and Mopsus were said to have left that conflict and founded Mallus and some other
oracles and towns before either returning to
Argos or killing one another. Visitors to the oracle, which continued as late as
Plutarch, slept overnight in the temple and their
dreams were considered to be the gods' answer to their questions. coin minted in Mallus, dated under
Commodus, (dated ) showing city founder
Amphilochus I of Argos on the reverse.
Alexander the Great erected a bridge over the Pyramus and visited Mallus during his conquest of the region, and at Mallus he performed sacrifices to Amphilochus. Alexander also exempted the town from paying taxes, because it was a colony of the Argives, and he himself claimed to have sprung from Argos, being one of the descendants of
Heracles.
Triremes from Mallus joined Alexander's navy and participated at the
Siege of Tyre. It allied itself with
Tarsus against
Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who according to the
Apocrypha, had presented both cities to his concubine
Antiochis. Mallus was a town of considerable importance, though it does not appear to have possessed any particular attractions. In the second century B.C., it was the hometown of the notable philosopher and grammarian
Crates of Mallus, credited with having built the first known
globe; however, he left the city at a young age and his scholarly career mainly took place elsewhere. Its port-town was
Magarsa, though in later times it seems to have had a port of its own, called
Portus Palorum. Numerous coins from Mallus have been preserved, and those of the third century bear the inscription
Mallus Colonia or
Colonia Metropolis Mallus. The city is mentioned by numerous ancient authors, and in the Middle Ages by
Arabian,
Armenian, and
Italian writers. The city declined in importance and disappeared with the Armenian
Kingdom of Cilicia. The ancient site of
Antiochia ad Pyramum lies a few km away on the coast. Mallus figures in the various revisions of the Antiochene
Notitiae Episcopatuum as suffragan of Tarsus. Six
bishops are recorded. Bematius, present at the
Council of Antioch (377); Valentine, present at the
First Council of Ephesus (431) and the
Council of Tarsus (434); Chrysippus at the
Council of Chalcedon (451). The see is included in the
Catholic Church's list of
titular sees. No
titular bishop of the see has been appointed since the death of its last bishop in 1990. == Notable persons ==