Πληροφορίες τοπωνυμίου

Lefkadia

  Village about 18 km N of Verroia, near Naoussa. Between the town of Naoussa and the villages of Kopanos and Lefkadia stretch the ruins of a town previously thought to have been Citium, referred to once in Livy (42.51), but lately attributed with great probability to Mieza. This town, the cave with stalactites near it, and the nymphaion (in which was located Aristotle's school, where he taught Alexander and his fellow students from 343/342 B.C.) are referred to by Stephanos Byzantios (q.v. Mieza; see also Veres and Verroia), by Ptolemy (3.13.39), by Plutarch (Alex. 7), by Pliny (HN 31.30 & 4.34), and others. In a Delphic catalogue of city ambassadors, dated 190 to 180 B.C., Mieza is mentioned between Verroia and Edessa. From Arrian we learn about the Miezan trierarch Peukestas and his brother Amyntas, son of Alexander.
  The ancient remains of the region are mostly artificially constructed tombs of the Hellenistic period, the socalled Macedonian type, some carved out of the rock in the shape of a chamber, and others simpler. They have been known only partially for many years. Among the sculpture found in the area, a Roman marble bust of the mythical hero Olganos is most valuable. Of the inscriptions, the most important is one recording deeds of purchase and sale of property, dating from the second half of the 3d c. B.C. Ruins of buildings, houses and villas with mosaic floors, a Christian basilica, a bathhouse, workshops, etc. were found and partly excavated in the areas of Tsifliki and Baltaneno in the early 1960s. They belong to the Roman and Early Christian periods.
  Ruins of the Classical and Hellenistic periods, more or less contemporary with the above-mentioned Macedonian tombs, were uncovered from 1966 on in the area of Kefalobryso, where there are gushing springs, between Naoussa and Kopanos. But the most important of the known monuments of the region remain the Macedonian tombs, subterranean, vaulted, and tumulus-type monuments. One of these, long known and excavated during the Turkish occupation, is dated in the 3d c. B.C., and is best known for its fresco representing a Macedonian on horseback spearing a barbarian on foot.
  Another Macedonian tomb was excavated in 1942. Its importance is also based on the painted decoration of the interior and on the inscriptions, from which we learn the names of three dead brothers (Evippos, Lyson, Kallikles), sons of Aristophanes, of their wives, and even of the descendants of Lyson and Kallikles down to the third generation. This tomb is dated ca. 200 B.C.
  The third and most important of the great Macedonian tombs was discovered by chance ca. 1954. It is the largest and, as a monument of architecture, painting, and sculpture, the most important of all the Macedonian monuments in existence. The construction materials are poros stone and mortar. The tomb has a two-story facade with pediment which conceals a high, wide prothalamos and smaller death chamber, both arched. The height and width of the facade is ca. 8.65 m. It is about the same as the total length of the two chambers combined. The facade below has four engaged half-columns of Doric style between pilasters on either side and a simple wide entrance opening in the center. The Doric entablature ends in a cornice with a sima. The metopes have a painted representation of centaur battles. On the second level six engaged half-columns stand on a continuous base, also between pilasters. They support an Ionic entablature with cornice. Between the columns and the pilasters seven representations of windows are carved in relief. Only portions of the pediment have been preserved, but it is possible to restore it by reconstructlon. Additional importance is given to this architectural monument by the painted and written ornamentation of the architectural details (triglyphs, cornices, moldings, simas, etc.).
  The movable finds of the region are kept in the Museums of Thessalonika and Verroia.

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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