Mallos
- a city in Cilicia, Mel. 1, 13, 1; Luc. 3, 227.— Hence,
- II Mallōtes and Mālōtes, ae, m., = Μαλλώτης and Μαλώτης, an inhabitant of Mallus, Varr. R. R. 1, 1, 8; Suet. Gram. 2.
The probable site, discovered in 1950 at the junction of the old and new beds of the river Ceyhan (Pyramos), is 29 km SW of Mopsuestia near modern Kiziltahta. A city coin type of two river gods swimming in opposite directions was a useful clue to identification; for while the Ceyhan now flows E into the Gulf of Issos, the city's port of Magarsos is almost certainly the walled settlement near Karataş, at the mouth of the river's original (though now dry) W course. Near Kiziltahta were found a Roman bridge, an inscription referring to the city of Mallos, and very numerous carved blocks in secondary use.
Mallos' claim to Amphilochos, son of Amphiaraos, as founder was partly substantiated by long and vigorous tradition and partly by Alexander's remission of tribute after his conquest of Cilicia in recognition of the city's Argive origin. For its fidelity to the Seleucid cause, Mallos became Antioch on the Pyramos under Antiochos IV, but dropped the title in the 2d c. B.C. to enjoy a limited autonomy. In 67 B.C. it was among the cities settled by Pompey with ex-pirates, and under the empire piled up honorific titles to keep up with its rivals. It even engaged in a ridiculous boundary dispute with Tarsus, metropolis of Cilicia Prima. It duly became a bishopric, but disappeared from history after the Arab conquest.
BIBLIOGRAPHYHdt. 3.91; Skylax 102; Arr. Anab. 2.5; Strab. 14.676; App. Mith. 96; Dio Chrys. Or. 34.44-45.
H. T. Bossert, Belleten 14, 664ff; A.H.M. Jones, Cities of Eastern Roman Provinces (2d ed. 1971) 192, 196-97, 199-200, 202, 206-7.
M. GOUGH