Listed 46 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "PIERIA Prefecture GREECE" .
MONI AGIOU DIONYSSIOU (Monastery) PIERIA
(Following URL information in Greek only)
KARITSA (Village) PIERIA
The history of Karitsa began almost 250 years ago. According to the resident’s testimonies and the existing official records (agreements with the Turks, lease contracts), we know that at that time some families, few at the beginning, settled permanently in this village, coming from Fteri. These first families were Gina' s, Kyrtego' s and Evangelou' s. In summer these same families used to return to Fteri with their flocks. These people urged the rest of the residents of Fteri to go down and to settle in the fertile land of Karitsa, at the foot of Olympus, next to the ancient Dion. Again according to resident' s testimonies, some families settled in other areas.
The village of was a Turkish ciflik at that time. The Turkish commander' s house was situated in the place where now D. Goulanta' s house is situated. The commander permitted them to cultivate some pieces of land and of course they were paying a large and unbearable levy (almost the 2/3 of the whole products). The "Koutsekia" (warehouses where there the taxes were gathered) were in the place where there is a square today. This taxation though brought about indignation to the residents who started thinking of ways to protest. Thus a team of 5 - 6 men who weir dressed in women' s clothes visited the commander whom they beat and terrified. At the same time the women and children of the village were stoning the house of the Turkish Aga. This was a clearly revolutionary act and its result was the Turks from the village of Karitsa. So, the place was left to the villagers. In 1918 with the royal decree 152/1918 the commune of Dion was recognized and it was consisted of the communes of Karitsa (780 residents), Malathria and Kalivia of Malathria. Karitsa became a separate commune in 1961 r.d. 35/30-12-61 (1598 residents)
Nowadays, Karitsa along with Dion, Vrontou, Saint Spiridonas, Kontariotisa and New Efesos compose the unified municipality of Dion which has Kontariotisa as its seat. 2400 residents live permanently in Karitsa and it' s one of the most developed villages of the prefecture. The residents are wanly engaged in agriculture and less in stockbreeding, commerce and other occupations. In the fields of Karitsa first quality tobacco is produced and it is its main cultivation. There are also produced corn, beetroot, wheat and kiwi fruits. At the same time the residents of Karitsa are active in other fields too (culture, athletics, etc).
-The traditions and the Vlahs customs exist ever these days despite the difficulties of our age.
-Today in Karitsa there is a community office (Tel 53345) and agrarian medical center.
-There is an agrarian association, which numbers almost 400 members.
-There is a two-post Kindergarten with 50 infants and an eight-post Primary school with 150 pupils.
-The patron saint of the village is Saint Dimitrios to whom the central church is dedicated. Every summer, on the 7th of July, there is a big fair in the honor of Saint Kiriaki.
-The sport association has developed many activities too. The football team, AE KARITSA, was the champion in the last year' s championship and this year it takes part in the D-class of the national teams.
Someone can get to Karitsa through the provincial road Katerini - Dion (12 Km) and through the highway from the crossing of Gritsa (7 Km).
WHAT CAN SOMEONE SEE IN KARITSA
- A beautiful site which every can visit is the area of Saint Vasilios, at the foot of Mt Olympus. The view of the god' s mountain from this site is magnificent. The site is suitable for relaxation, recreation and plays.
- Someone can also visit the archeological site of the ancient Dion, even on foot (its only 1 Km away).
- Agia Kori is also worth visiting. The pilgrimage and the site are in the nearby village of Vrontou. The beauty of the place is unique. The Holy water of Agia Kori is situated in the depths of a ravine.
- Lastly one can organize very nice excursions on Olympus. There are hotels in the neighboring village of Dion.
This text is cited Aug 2002 from the URL bellow, of the Elementary School of Karitsa at Pieria.
DION (Ancient city) PIERIA
Dion: Eth. Dieus (Steph. B.; Scyl. p. 26; Strab. vii.). A city which,
though not large (polisma, Thuc. iv. 78), was considered as one of the leading
towns of Macedonia, and the great bulwark of its maritime frontier to the S. Brasidas
was conducted to this place, which is described as being in the territories of
Perdiccas, by his Perrhaebian guides, over the pass of Mt. Olympus. It suffered
considerably during the Social War from an incursion of the Aetolians, under their
strategus Scopas, who razed the walls, and almost demolished the city itself (Polyb.
iv. 28); an outrage which Philip and the Macedonians afterwards amply avenged
by their attack on the Aetolian capital (Polyb. v. 9). In the war against Perseus
Dium had, it appears, completely recovered from that disaster; for in B.C. 169
it was occupied by Perseus, who unaccountably abandoned his strong position on
the approach of the consul. Q. Marcius Philippus, however, remained there only
a short time; and Perseus returned to Dium, after having repaired the damage which
the walls of the city had received from the Romans. (Liv. xliv. 7.) At a later
period it became a Roman colony. (Plin. iv. 10; Ptol. iii. 13. § 15.) Leake has
discovered the site near Malathria, in a position which agrees with the statements
of the Itineraries (Itin. Anton.; Peut. Tab.), and Pausanias (ix. 30. § 8). In
the space between the village and the sources of the Baphyrus he found some remains
of a stadium and theatre; the stone-work which formed the seats and superstructure
of these monuments no longer exists, except two or three squared masses outside
the theatre. The original form and dimensions are sufficiently preserved to show
that the stadium was equal in length to the other buildings of that kind in Greece,
and that the theatre was about 250 feet in diameter. Below the theatre, on the
edge of the water, are the foundations of a large building, and a detached stone
which seems to have belonged to a flight of steps. Some foundations of the walls
of the city can be just seen, and one sepulchral stele was found. Dium, though
situated in a most unhealthy spot, was noted for its splendid buildings and the
multitude of its statues. (Liv. l. c.) Without the town was the temple of Zeus
Olympius from which Dium received its name, and here were celebrated the public
games called Olympia instituted by Archelaus. (Diod. xvii. 16; Steph. B. s. v.
Dion.) The theatre and stadium served doubtlessly for that celebration. Alexander
placed here the group of 25 chieftains who fell at the battle of Granicus,--the
work of Lysippus. (Arrian, Anab. i. 16.) Q. Metellus, after his victory over the
Pseudo-Philip, transferred this chef d'oeuvre (turma statuarum equestrium, Vell.
i. 11) to Rome. Coins of the Colonial of Dium are extant, usually with the type
of a standing Pallas.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited May 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
LIVITHRES (Ancient city) PIERIA
Libethrum, Eth. Libethrios. A town of Macedonia in the neighbourhood
of Dium. It is mentioned by Livy (xliv. 5), who, after describing the perilous
march of the Roman army under Q. Marcius through a pass in the chain of Olympus,
- Callipeuce (the lower part of the ravine of Platamona), - says, that after four
days of extreme labour, they reached the plain between Libethrum and Heracleia.
Pausanias (ix. 30. § 9) reports a tradition that the town was once destroyed.
Libethra, he says, was situated on Mount Olympus, on the side of Macedonia. At
no great distance from it stood the tomb of Orpheus, respecting which an oracle
had declared that when the sun beheld the bones of the poet the city should be
destroyed by a boar (hupo suos). The inhabitants of Libethra ridiculed the thing
as impossible; but the column of Orpheus's monument having been accidentally broken,
a gap was made by which light broke in upon the tomb, when the same night the
torrentnamed Sus, being prodigiously swollen, rushed down with violence from Mt.
Olympus upon Libethra, overthrowing the walls and all the public and private buildings,
and destroying every living creature in its furious course. After this calamity
the remains of Orpheus were removed to Dium, 20 stadia distant from their city
towards Olympus, where they erected a monument to him, consisting of an urn of
stone upon a column. In the time of Alexander the Great there was a statue of
Orpheus made of cypress, at Libethra. (Plut. Alex. 14.)
The only two torrents which could have effected such havoc as that
described by Pausanias are the rivers of Platamona and Litokhoro. As the former
was near Heracleia, it may be concluded that the Sus, was the same river as the
Enipeus, and that Libethra was situated not far from its junction with the sea,
as the upper parts of the slope towards Litokhoro, are secured from the ravages
of the torrent by their elevation above its bank.
It might be supposed, from the resemblance, that the modern Malathria
is a corruption of the ancient Libethra: the similarity is to be attributed, perhaps,
to the two names having a common origin in some word of the ancient language of
Macedonia.
Strabo (ix., x.) alludes to this place when speaking of Helicon, and
remarks that several places around that mountain, attested the former existence
of the Pierian Thracians in the Boeotian districts. Along with the worship of
the Muses the names of mountains, caves, and springs, Were transferred from Mt.
Olympus to Helicon; hence they were surnamed Libethrides as well as Pierides (
Nymphae, noster amor, Libethrides, Virg. Eel. vii. 21).
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
OLYMPOS (Mountain) GREECE
Olympus (Olumpos). One of the loftiest mountains in Greece, of which the southern
side forms the boundary of Thessaly, while its northern base encloses the plains
of Macedonia. Hence it is sometimes called a mountain of Macedonia (Strab. vii.
p. 329; Ptol. iii. 13. § 19), and sometimes a mountain of Thessaly. (Herod. vii.
128; Plin. iv. 8. s. 15.) It forms the eastern extremity of the Cambunian range,
and extends to the sea as far as the mouth of the Peneius, being separated by
the vale of Tempe from the heights of Ossa. Xenagoras, who measured the perpendicular
height of Olympus from the town of Pythium, ascertained its elevation to be ten
stadia and nearly one plethrum (Plut. Aemil. 15); which Holland, Dodwell, Leake,
and others regard as not far from the truth, since they estimate its height to
be between six and seven thousand feet. But these writers have considerably undercalculated
its elevation, which is now ascertained to be 9754 feet. Herodotus relates that
Mt. Olympus was seen by Xerxes from Therma (vii. 128); and we know from modern
travellers that in clear weather it is visible from Mt. Athos, which is 90 miles
distant. (Journ. Geogr. Soc. vol. vii. p. 69.) All travellers, who have visited
Mt. Olympus, dwell with admiration upon its imposing grandeur. One of the most
striking descriptions of its appearance is given by Dr. Holland, who beheld it
from Litokhoro at its base:--We had not before been aware of the extreme vicinity
of the town to the base of Olympus; but when leaving it, and accidentally looking
back, we saw through an opening in the fog, a faint outline of vast precipices,
seeming almost to overhang the place; and so aerial in their aspect, that for
a few minutes we doubted whether it might not be a delusion to the eye. The fog,
however, dispersed yet more on this side, and partial openings were made, through
which, as through arches, we saw the sunbeams resting on the snowy summits of
Olympus, which rose into a dark blue sky far above the belt of clouds and mist
that hung upon the sides of the mountain. The transient view we had of the mountain
from this point showed us a line of precipices of vast height, forming its eastern
front toward the sea; and broken at intervals by deep hollows or ravines, which
were richly clothed with forest trees. The oak, chestnut, beech, planetree, &c.,
are seen in great abundance along the base and skirts of the mountain; and towards
the summit of the first ridge, large forests of pine spread themselves along the
acclivities. Behind this first ridge, others rise up and recede towards the loftier
central heights of Olympus. Almost opposite the town of Litokhoro, a vast ravine
penetrates into the interior of the mountain, through the opening of which we
saw, though only for a few minutes, what I conceive to be the summit,--from this
point of view, with a somewhat concave ascending line on each side. (Holland,
Travels, vol. ii. p. 27.) Though the lower sides of Olympus are well wooded, the
summit presents a wide extent of a bare light-coloured rock. (Leake, Northern
Greece, vol. i. p. 434.) The broad summit of Olympus is alluded to by Homer, who
gives to it the epithet of makros more frequently than any other. Next to that,
is aganniphos (Il. i. 420), from its being covered with snow during the greater
part of the year. Hesiod (Theog. 118) also gives it the epithet of Wiphoeis. Below
the summit its rugged outline is broken into many ridges and precipices, whence
Homer describes it as poludeiras. (Il. i. 499, v. 754.) The forests, which covered
the lower sides of Olympus, are frequently alluded to by the ancient poets. (poludendros,
Eurip. Bacch. 560; Ossae frondosums involvere Olympum, Virg. Georg. 281; opacus
Olympus, Hor. Carm. iii. 4. 52.) The mountain is now called Elymbo, i. e. Elumpos,
by the surrounding inhabitants, which name Leake observes is probably not a modern
corruption, but the ancient dialectic form, for the Aeolic tribes of Greece often
substituted the epsilon for the omicron, as in the instance of Orchomenos which
the Boeotians called Erchomenos. (Dodwell, Tour through Greece, vol. ii. p. 105;.
Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iii. pp. 341, 407.) Olympus was believed to be the
residence of Zeus and the other gods; and as its summit rose above the clouds
into the calm ether, it was believed that here was an opening into the vault of
heaven, closed by a thick cloud, as a door. (Il. v. 751.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PETRA (Ancient city) PIERIA
A fortress of Macedonia, among the mountains beyond Libethra, the
possession of which was disputed by the Thessalian Perrhaebi and the Macedonian
kings. (Liv. xxxix. 26, xliv. 32.) It commanded a pass which led to Pythium in
Thessaly, by the back of Olympus. By this road L. Aemilius Paullus was enabled
to throw a detachment on the rear of the Macedonian army which was encamped on
the Enipeus, after the forces of Perseus had been overthrown at the pass of Petra
by P. Scipio Nasica, who had been sent against it with the consul's eldest son
Q. Fabius Maximus. (Liv. xlv. 41.) Petra was situated on a great insulated rock
naturally separated from the adjoining mountain at the pass which leads from Elasona
or Servia into the maritime plains of Macedonia. Here, which is at once the least
difficult and most direct of the routes across the Olympene barrier, or the frontier
between Macedonia and Thessaly, exactly on the Zygos, are the ruins of Petra.
(Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iii )
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PIMBLIA (Ancient city) PIERIA
A place in Pieria, where Orpheus was said to have been born, and from which the
Muses obtained their epithet of Pimpleides and Pimpleiades among the Alexandrian
poets. (Orph. Fragm. 46; Pimplea dulcis, Horat. Carm. i. 26. 9; Stat. Silv. i.
4. 26.) Leake (Northern Greece, vol. iii. p. 422) identified it with the elevated
situation of Litokhoro and its commanding prospect.
PYDNA (Ancient city) PIERIA
Pudna. A town which originally stood on the coast of Pieria, in the
Thermaic gulf. Themistocles was conducted by two Macedonian guides across the
mountains, and found a merchant ship about to sail for Asia. (Thuc. ii. 137.)
Pydna was blockaded by the Athenians, who, after prosecuting the siege in vain,
concluded a convention with Perdiccas. (Thuc. i. 61.) It was taken B.C. 411 by
Archelaus, who removed its site 20 stadia from the sea. (Diodor. xiii. 49.) Afterwards
it was gained for Athens by Timotheus; but in the two first years of the disastrous
Social War (358--356), Pydna, about the exchange of which for Amphipolis there
had been a secret negotiation, was betrayed to Philip by a party of traitors in
the town. (Demosth. adv. Leptinem, p. 476. § 71. Olynth. i. p. 10. § 5, Olynth.
ii. p. 19. § 6; Ulpian, ad loc.; Theopompus, Fr. 189, ed Didot.) Several Athenian
citizens were taken in Pydna, and sold into slavery, whom Demosthenes ransomed
from his own funds. (Plut. Vit. X. Orator. p. 851, vol. ix. p. 381, ed. Reiske.)
Towards the close of the year B.C. 316, Olympias retired to Pydna, where she was
besieged by Cassander, and taken prisoner by him. (Diodor. xix. 49; Polyaen. iv.
11. § 3.) In the spring of B.C. 169, Perseus abandoning Dium, retreated before
the consul Q. Marcius Philippus to Pydna. (Liv. xliv. 6.) After again occupying
the strong line of the Enipeus, Perseus, in consequence of the dexterous flank
movement of P. Scipio Nasica, was compelled to fall back upon Pydna. On the 22nd
of June, B.C. 168 (an eclipse fixes the date, Clinton, F. H. vol. iii. p. 82),
the fate of the Macedonian monarchy was decided in a plain near the town, which
was traversed by a small river, and bordered by heights affording a convenient
retreat and shelter to the light infantry, while the plain alone contained the
level ground necessary for the phalanx. (Liv. xliv. 32 - 46; Plut. Aemil. 13 -
23.) The Epitomiser of Strabo and a Scholiast upon Demosthenes (Olynth. i. p.
10) assert that the Kitros of their time was the same place as Pydna; but their
authority is of no great weight, and Colonel Leake (Northern Greece, vol. iii.
pp. 429 - 435) has shown that the ancient, site is better represented by Ayan,
where there are Hellenic remains, and, on the slope towards the sea, two tumuli,
probably monuments of the battle. Kitro, it may be supposed, rose upon the decay
of Pydna and Methone, between which it lies. For autonomous coins of Pydna, see
Eckhel. vol. ii. p. 76.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
LIVITHRES (Ancient city) PIERIA
(ta Leibethra or Libethra). A city of Macedonia, situated, according
to Pausanias, on the declivity of Olympus, and not far from the tomb of Orpheus.
An oracle declared that when the sun beheld the bones of the poet the city should
be destroyed by a boar (hupo suos). The inhabitants of Libethra ridiculed the
prophecy as a thing impossible; but the column of Orpheus's monument having been
accidentally broken, a gap was made by which light broke in upon the tomb, when
the same night the torrent named Sus, being prodigiously swollen, rushed down
with violence from Mount Olympus upon Libethra, overthrowing the walls and all
the public and private edifices, and every living creature in its furious course.
Whether Libethra recovered from the devastation occasioned by this inundation
is not stated in any writer, but its name occurs in Livy as a town in the vicinity
of Dium before the battle of Pydna. It would seem that the name of Libethrius
was given to the summit of Olympus, which stood above the town, and probably transferred
thence to the Boeotian Mountains, afterwards styled Libethrius Mons. Hence the
muses were surnamed Libethrides as well as Pierides.
This extract is cited Sep 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
OLYMPOS (Mountain) GREECE
(Olumpos). A mountain situated in Thessaly, the summit of which
(nearly 10,000 feet above the sea) rises from the region of the earth's atmosphere
into the sky, and was, according to the earliest popular belief of the Greeks,
the abode of the higher (hence named Olympian) gods. Below the summit, which,
according to Homer's description, is never ruffled by winds or drenched with rain,
but is always radiant in cloudless splendour, comes the region of clouds, which
Zeus at one time gathers together and at another dispels; it forms the boundary
between the celestial region and that of the earth, and, accordingly, Homer elsewhere
implies that the clouds are the gates of heaven, which are guarded by the Horae.
On the highest peak Zeus has his throne, and it is there that he summons the assemblies
of the gods. The abodes of the other gods were imagined to be placed on the precipices
and in the ravines of the mountain. When the height of the vault of heaven came
to be regarded as the abode of the gods, the name Olympus was transferred to the
sky.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PIERIA (Ancient area) MAKEDONIA CENTRAL
A narrow strip of country on the southeastern coast of Macedonia,
extending from the mouth of the Peneus in Thessaly to the Haliacmon, and bounded
on the west by Mount Olympus and its offshoots. A portion of these mountains was
called by the ancient writers Pierus, or the Pierian Mountain. The inhabitants
of this country, the Pieres, were a Thracian people, and are celebrated in the
early history of Greek poetry and music, since their country was one of the earliest
seats of the worship of the Muses, hence called Pierides, and Orpheus is said
to have been buried there. After the establishment of the Macedonian kingdom in
Emathia in the seventh century B.C. Pieria was conquered by the Macedonians, and
the inhabitants were driven out of the country.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PIMBLIA (Ancient city) PIERIA
(Pimpleia). A town in the Macedonian province of Pieria, sacred to the Muses, who were hence called Pimpleides. Horace uses the form Pimplea in the singular, and not Pimpleis.
PYDNA (Ancient city) PIERIA
(Pudna). Now Kitron. A town of Macedonia in the district Pieria,
was situated at a small distance west of the Thermaic Gulf, on which it had a
harbour. It was originally a Greek colony, but it was subdued by the Macedonian
kings, from whom, however, it frequently revolted. It was subdued by Philip, who
enlarged and fortified the place. It is especially memorable on account of the
victory gained under its walls by Aemilius Paulus over Perseus, the last king
of Macedonia, 168. Under the Romans it was also called Citrum or Citrus.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ANO SKOTINA (Settlement) PIERIA
Perseus Project index. Total results: 558 for Olympus & 94 for Olympos (more than one title).
PIERIA (Municipality) MAKEDONIA CENTRAL
KONTARIOTISSA (Small town) PIERIA
NEA EFESSOS (Small town) PIERIA
In the following WebPages you can find an interactive map with all the monuments and museums of the Prefecture, with relevant information and photos.
PIERIA (Ancient area) MAKEDONIA CENTRAL
Total results on 28/8/2001: 111
DION (Ancient city) PIERIA
A town of Pieria at the S entrance into Macedonia, named for its proximity
to a shrine of Olympian Zeus (Steph. Byz.); local tradition (Paus. 9.3) held that
Orpheus died and was buried there. Town and shrine were brought into prominence
by King Archelaos (Diod., 17.16.3; schol. Dem. 19.192), who instituted a dramatic
festival in honor of Zeus and the Muses. Philip celebrated the destruction of
Olynthos at Dion (Diod. 16.15). Alexander held a nine-day festival there (Diod.
17.16.3-4; Arr. Anab. 1.11.1) before the campaign into Persia, and later commissioned
Lysippos' statues of the Macedonian Companions who fell at the Graniko (ibid.
1.16.4). Dion was fostered by the Antigonids, and prospered until the Aitolians
sacked it in 219 B.C. (Polyb. 4.2). It had recovered by 169 B.C. (Livy 44.7),
and Metellus Macedonicus found Lysippos statues still there in 147 (Vell. Pat.
1.1 1.3; Plin., HN 34.64). In Imperial times it was resettled as Colonia Julia
Diensis, and flourished while its neighbor Pydna declined. It was sacked in the
late 4th c. A.D., recovered briefly in the next century, but was soon abandoned
altogether. The town lies on a gentle slope between the Aegean shore and the abrupt
slopes of Mount Olympos. Until recently a dense forest and unhealthful swamps
impeded serious investigation, but the site has now been cleared and drained.
The first excavations concentrated on two lines of paved roadway, on a basilical
church building NW of their intersection, and on several Macedonian chamber tombs
in the vicinity.
The city forms a rectangle, crossed by roads running roughly N-S
and E-W (actually E-NE--W-SW). The more important axis, paved with large slabs
and 5-5.6 m wide, runs straight from the N to the S wall, and may continue into
the sanctuary area. To the W of this road the circuit wall stands out over a large
moat, which may have protected the city from flooding more than from siege. The
wall is difficult to trace E of the road. The foundation courses of the S wall
date from the late 4th c. It is solidly built of large rectangular blocks with
numerous rectangular towers at regular intervals. In the center of the W wall,
a structure that may once have served for a gate was subsequently converted into
a sort of Nymphaion.
On the W side of the N-S road, towards the center of the city, there
is an ornamental facade with a relief depicting shields and body armor on alternate
panels. Farther S the W side is lined by shops and a bath, the latter near the
passage through the S wall. The sanctuary area extends S of the city wall, apparently
along the line of the N-S road. Well to the W, towards Mt. Olympos, is a theater
built on an artificial embankment, an odeion, and a stadium. Between the theater
and the line of the road, near a spring, inscriptional and other evidence suggests
the existence of cults of Dionysos, Athena, and Kybele. On the E side of the road
excavations have brought to light naiskoi of Demeter and Asklepios, along with
evidence of the cults of Baubo, Artemis, Hermes, and the Muses; farther out along
the line of the road inscriptions mentioning Olympian Zeus have been found.
Finds are in a small museum in the adjacent village of Malathria
(officially Dion): numerous funerary monuments, cult statues, and architectural
fragments. A piece of Ionic molding dated to the 5th c. B.C. gives evidence of
the embellishment of the city in the time of Archelaos.
The most impressive of the Macedonian chamber tombs in the vicinity
of the theater was dated to the 4th c. B.C. but is now thought to be later. Tombs
have also been found at Karitsa, N of Malathria.
P.A.Mackay, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Sep 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 8 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
PYDNA (Ancient city) PIERIA
A city in Pieria, the ethnic being Pydnaios. It issued coinage as
early as the late 6th c. B.C. Like Methone, Pydna was considered a Greek city,
as opposed to the Thracian and Macedonian cities along the coast of the Thracian
gulf and inland. It is mentioned first by Thucydides (1.137) in connection with
Themistocles' flight to Persia, as "Pydna of Alexander," the king of
Macedonia. It became important during the Peloponnesian War. In 432 B.C. it was
besieged by the Athenians (Thuc. 1.61). Archelaus made a brief siege of the fortified
seashore city of Pydna with the help of the Athenian navy (ca. 410 B.C.) and after
taking it moved the city 20 stades inland from the shore (Diod. Sic. 13.14). But
after Archelaus' death it appears that the citizens of Pydna moved their city
back to the shore. Pydna issued coins again from 389 to 379 B.C. In 364-363 B.C.
the Athenians took it, but in 357-356 B.C. it fell into Philip's hands. In 317-316
B.C. after a long siege of the city Kassander put Olympias, Alexander the Great's
mother, to death there (Diod. 19.36.1, 49.1). In the same place the last act of
the drama of Macedonian Hellenism took place: the battle of Pydna (22 June 168
B.C.) in which M. Aemilius Paulus defeated Perseus, last king of Macedonia, and
put an end to Macedonian power.
Although the site of Pydna is disputed, it is reasonably well established.
The city on the shore is on a hill S of the town of Makrygialos, called by the
natives "Old Pydna" or Paliokitros. The Pydna of Archelaus is at Kitros.
The port is by the promontory Atherida. The battle of Pydna, according to a recent
study, took place on the hills on either side of the river now called Mavroneri
(ancient Leukos), while its tributary, the Pelikas, is identified as the Aeson.
Another theory is that the battle took place nearer Pydna, by the modern town
of Ano and Kato Joannis, near Kourinos, where there are two grave tumuli.
There have never been excavations in the area of Pydna except for
the discovery of a "Macedonian" tomb by Heuzey. The information about
the topography of Pydna and the battle near it is based on continual surface observations
by many investigators, and on chance finds, which are in the Thessalonika Museum
and the Archaeological Collection of Katerini, the present capital of the Nome
of Pieria.
PH. M. Petsas, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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