Listed 57 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "PREVEZA Prefecture EPIRUS" .
ACHERON (River) EPIRUS
Acheron (Acheron), the name of several rivers, all of which were,
at least at one time, believed to be connected with the lower world. The Acheron
as a river of the lower world, is described in the Diet. of Biogr. and Myth.
A river of Epeirus in Thesprotia, which passed through the lake Acherusia
(Acherousia limne), and after receiving the river Cocytus (Kokutos), flowed into
the Ionian sea, S. of the promontory Cheimerium. Pliny (iv. 1) erroneously states
that the river flowed into the Ambraciot gulf. The bay of the sea into which it
flowed was usually called Glycys Limen (Glukus limen) or Sweet-Harbour, because
the water was fresh on account of the quantity poured into it from the lake and
river. Scylax and Ptolemy call the harbour Elaea (Elaia), and the surrounding
district bore according to Thucydides the name of Elaeatis (Elaiatis). The Acheron
is the modern Gurla or river of Suli, the Cocytus is the Vuvo, and the great marsh
or lake below Kastri the Acherusia. The water of the Vuvo is reported to be bad,
which agrees with the account of Pausanias (i. 17. § 5) in relation to the water
of the Cocytus (ndor aterpestaton). The Glycys Limen is called Port Fanari, and
its water is still fresh; and in the lower part of the plain the river is commonly
called the river of Fandri. The upper part of the plain is called Glyky; and thus
the ancient name of the harbour has been transferred from the coast into the interior.
On the Acheron Aidoneus, the king of the lower world, is said to have reigned,
and to have detained here Theseus as a prisoner; and on its banks was an oracle
called nekuomanteion (Herod. v. 92. § 7), which was consulted by evoking the spirits
of the dead. (Thuc. i. 46; Liv. viii. 24; Strab. p. 324; Steph. B. s. v.; Paus.
i. 17.> § 5; Dion Cass. l. 12; Scylax, p. 11; Ptolem. iii. 14. § 5; Leake, Northern
Greece, vol. i. p. 232, seq. iv. p. 53.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ACHERUSIA (Lake) EPIRUS
Acherusia Palus (Acherousia limne), the name of several lakes, which, like the various rivers of the name of Acheron, were at some time believed to be connected with the lower world, until at last the Acherusia came to be considered in the lower world itself. The most important of these was the lake in Thesprotia, through which the Acheron flowed. There was a small lake of this name near Hermione in Argolis. (Paus. ii. 35. § 10.)
KASSOPI (Archaeological site) EPIRUS
Kassope, Kassopia polis, Kassiope. The chief town of the Cassopaei
(Kassopaioi), a people of Epirus, occupying the coast between Thesprotia and the
Ambracian gulf, and bordering upon Nicopolis. (Scylax, p. 12; Strab. vii. p. 324,
seq.) Scylax describes the Cassopaei as living in villages; but they afterwards
rose to such power as to obtain possession of Pandosia, Buchaetium, and Elateia.
(Dem. de Halon. 33.) We learn from another authority that Batiae was also in their
territory. (Theopomp. ap. Harpocr. s. v. Elateia.) Their own city Cassope or Cassopia
is mentioned in the war carried on by Cassander against Alcetas, king of Epirus,
in B.C. 312. (Diod. xix. 88.)
Cassope stood at a short distance from the sea, on the road from Pandosia
to Nicopolis upon the portion of the mountain of Zalongo, near the village of
Kamarina. Its ruins, which are very extensive, are minutely described by Leake.
The ruined walls of the Acropolis, which occupied a level about 1000 yards long,
may be traced in their entire circuit; and those of the city may also be followed
in the greater part of their course. The city was not less than three miles in
circumference. At the foot of the cliffs of the Acropolis, towards the western
end, there is a theatre in good preservation, of which the interior diameter is
50 feet. Near the theatre is a subterraneous building, called by the peasants
Vasilospito, or King's House. A passage, 19 feet in length, and 5 feet in breadth,
with a curved roof one foot and a half high, leads to a chamber 9 feet 9 inches
square, and having a similar roof 5 feet 7 inches in height. The arches are not
constructed on the principles of the Roman arch; but are hollowed out of horizontal
courses of stone. Leake found several tombs between the principal gate of the
city and the village of Kamarina. The ruins of this city are some of the most
extensive in the whole of Greece.
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
KICHYROS (Ancient city) EPIRUS
Ephyra, Ephyre (Ephure) Cichyrus. A town of Thesprotia
in Epeirus, afterwards called
Cichyrus according to Strabo. Thucydides describes it as situated in the district
Elaeatis in Thesprotia, away
from the sea; and it further appears from his account, compared with that of Strabo,
that it stood not far from the discharge of the Acheron
and the Acherusian lake into
the port called Glycys Limen
(Thuc. i. 46; Strab. vii. p. 324). It is placed by Leake and other modern travellers
at a church, formerly a monastery of St. John, distant 3 or 4 miles direct from
Porto Fanari: the church stands on remains of Hellenic walls of polygonal masonry.
The Thesprotian Ephyra appears to be the town mentioned in two passages
of the Odyssey (i. 259, ii. 328). The Ephyri, mentioned in a passage of the Iliad
(xiii. 301), were supposed by Pausanias to be the inhabitants of the Thesprotian
town (Paus. ix. 36.3); but Strabo maintained that the poet referred to the Thessalian
Ephyra (Strab. ix. p. 442). Some commentators even supposed the Ephyra on
the Selleeis (Hom. Il. ii. 659, xv. 531) to be the Thesprotian town, but Strabo
expressly maintains that Homer alludes in these passages to the Eleian
town (Strab. vii. p. 328,; comp. viii. p. 338). Pausanias represents Cichyrus
as the capital of the ancient kings of Thesprotia,
where Theseus and Peirithous were thrown into chains by Aidoneus; and its celebrity
in the most ancient times may also be inferred from a passage of Pindar. (Paus.
i. 17. 4; Pind. Nem. vii. 55.) (Leake, Northern Greece. vol. iii. p. 7, vol. iv.
pp. 53, 175.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited April 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
NIKOPOLIS (Archaeological site) EPIRUS
A city of Epeirus, erected by Augustus, in commemoration of the victory
of Actium, B.C. 31. It was situated near the entrance of the Ambraciot gulf, on
the promontory of Epeirus, which is immediately opposite that of Actium in Acarnania.
The extremity of the Epeirot promontory is now occupied by the town of Prevesa;
and Nicopolis lay 3 miles to the N. of this town, on a low isthmus separating
the Ionian sea from the Ambraciot gulf. It was upon this isthmus that Augustus
was encamped before the battle of Actium. His own tent was pitched upon a height
immediately above the isthmus, from whence he could see both the outer sea towards
Paxi, and the Ambraciot gulf, as well as the parts towards Nicopolis. He fortified
the camp, and connected it by walls with the outer port, called Comarus. (Dion
Cass. 1. 12.) After the battle he surrounded with stones the place where his own
tent had been pitched, adorned it with naval trophies, and built within the enclosure
a sanctuary of Neptune open to the sky. (Dion Cass. li. 12.) But, according to
Suetonius (Aug. 18), he dedicated this place to Neptune and Mars. The city was
peopled by inhabitants taken from Ambracia, Anactorium, Thyrium, Argos Amphilochicum,
and Calydon. (Dion Cass. li. 1; Suet. Aug. 12; Strab. vii. pp. 324, 325; Paus.
v. 23. § 3, vii. 18. § 8, x. 38. § 4.) Augustus instituted at Nicopolis a quinquennial
festival, called Actia, in commemoration of his victory. This festival was sacred
to Apollo, and was celebrated with music and gymnastic games, horse-racing and
sea-fights. It was probably the revival of an old festival, since there was an
ancient temple of Apollo on the promontory of Actium, which is mentioned by Thucydides
(i. 29), and was enlarged by Augustus. The festival was declared by Augustus to
be a sacred contest, by which it was made equal to the four great Grecian games;
it was placed under the superintendence of the Lacedaemonians. (Dion Cass., Suet.,
Strab., II. cc.) Augustus caused Nicopolis to be admitted into the Amphictyonic
council (Paus. x. 38. § 3), and made it a Roman colony. (Plin. iv. 1. s. 2; Tac.
Ann. v. 10.) A Christian church appears to have been founded at Nicopolis by the
Apostle Paul, since he dates his letter to Titus from Nicopolis of Macedonia,
which was most probably the colony of Augustus, and not the town in Thrace, as
some have supposed. Nicopolis continued to be the chief city in Western Greece
for a long time, but it had already fallen into decay in the reign of Julian,
since we find that this emperor restored both the city and the games. (Mamertin.
Julian. 9.) At the beginning of the fifth century it was plundered by the Goths.
(Procop. B. Goth. iv. 22.) It was again restored by Justinian (de Aedif. iv. 2),
and was still in the sixth century the capital of Epeirus. (Hierocl. p. 651, ed.
WesseL) In the middle ages Nicopolis sunk into insignificance, and the town of
Prevesa, built at the extremity of the promontory, at length absorbed all its
inhabitants, and was doubtless, as in similar cases, chiefly constructed out of
the ruins of the ancient city.
The ruins of Nicopolis are still very considerable. They stretch across
the narrowest part of the isthmus already described. Strabo (vii. p. 324) erroneously
describes the isthmus as 60 stadia in breadth; but the broadest part, from the
southeastern extremity of the lagoon called Mazoma to Mytika, is only three miles;
while the narrowest part is less than half that distance, since the eastern half
of the isthmus is occupied by the lagoon of Mazoma. This lagoon is separated from
the Ambraciot gulf only by a narrow thread of land, which is a mile long, and
has openings, where the fish are caught in great numbers, as they enter the lagoon
in the winter and quit it in the summer. This illustrates the statement of an
ancient geographer, that fish was so plentiful at Nicopolis as to be almost disgusting.
(Geogr. Graec. Min. vol. iii. p. 13, ed. Hudson.) Nicopolis had two harbours,
of which Strabo (vii. p. 324) says that the nearer and smaller was called Comarus
(Komaros), while the further, and larger, and better one, was near the mouth of
the gulf, distant about 12 stadia from Nicopolis. It would appear, that Strabo
conceived both the ports to have been on the western coast outside the gulf; but
it is evident from the nature of the western coast that this cannot have been
the case. Moreover, Dion Cassius (1. 12) calls Comarus the outer port; and there
can be little doubt that the second harbour, intended by Strabo, was the port
of Vaty within the gulf, the distance of which from Nicopolis corresponds to the
12 stadia of Strabo, and where there are some Roman ruins a little within and
on the eastern shore of the creek. The port of Comarus was doubtless at Mytika,
but the name of Gomaro is now given to the wide bay north of Mytika.
The ruins of Nicopolis are now called Paleoprevesa. On approaching
them from Prevesa, the traveller first comes to some small arched buildings of
brick, which were probably sepulchres, beyond which are the remains of a strong
wall, probably the southern enclosure of the city. Near the southwestern extremity
of the lagoon Mazoma, is the Paleokastron or castle. It is an irregular pentagonal
enclosure, surrounded with walls and with square towers at intervals, about 25
feet in height. On the western side, the walls are most perfect, and here too
is the principal gate. The extent of the enclosure is about a quarter of a mile.
The variety of marble fragments and even the remains of inscriptions of the time
of the Roman Empire, inserted in the masonry, prove the whole to have been a repair,
though perhaps upon the site of the original acropolis, and restored so as to
have been sufficiently large to receive the diminished population of the place.
It may have been, as Leake conjectures, the work of Justinian, who restored Nicopolis.
Three hundred yards westward of the Paleokastron are the remains of
a small theatre but little dilapidated. Col. Leake says that it appears to be
about 200 feet in diameter; but Lieut, Wolfe describes it as only 60 feet in diameter.
Being built upon level ground, the back or highest part is entirely supported
upon an arched corridor. Between this theatre and the shore, are the ruins of
a quadrangular building of brick, which was perhaps a palace, as it has numerous
apartments, with many niches in the walls for statues, and some remains of a stone
pavement. It stands just within an aqueduct, supported upon arches, which entered
Nicopolis on the north, and was 30 miles in length. Considerable remains of it
are met with in different parts of Epeirus.
Farther north, at the foot of a range of hills, are the remains of
the great theatre, which is the most conspicuous object among the ruins. It is
one of the best preserved Roman theatres in existence. The total diameter is about
300 feet. The scene is 120 feet long, and 30 in depth. There are 27 rows of seats
in three divisions. From the back of the theatre rises the hill of Mikhalitzi,
which was undoubtedly the site of the tent of Augustus before the battle of Actium.
Close to the theatre are the ruins of the stadium, which was circular at both
ends, unlike all the other stadia of Greece, but similar to several in Asia Minor,
which have been constructed or repaired by the Romans. Below the stadium are some
ruins, which are perhaps those of the gymnasium, since we know from Strabo (vii.
p. 325) that the gymnasium was near the stadium.
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
PANDOSIA (Ancient city) THESPROTIA
Eth. Pandosieus. An ancient colony of Elis (Dem. Halonnes. p. 84, Reiske), and
a town of the Cassopaei in the district of Thesprotia in Epirus, situated upon
the river Acheron. It is probably represented by the rocky height of Kastri, on
the summit of which are the walls of an acropolis, while those of the city descend
the slopes on either side.
VATIES (Ancient city) PREVEZA
Batiai. A town of Thesprotia in Epeirus, mentioned along with Elateia, and situated
in the interior in the neighbourhood of Pandosia.
VOUCHETION (Ancient city) PREVEZA
Bouchaition, Boucheton, Boucheta. A city of the Cassopaei in Thesprotia, a little
above the sea. It is placed by Leake at the harbour of St. John, a few miles E.
of Parga.
ACHERON (River) EPIRUS
A river in Thesprotia, in Epirus, which flows through the lake Acherusia into the Ionian Sea.
NIKOPOLIS (Archaeological site) EPIRUS
(Nikopolis). A city at the southwestern extremity of Epirus,
on the point of land which forms the north entrance to the Gulf of Ambracia, opposite
to Actium. It was built by Augustus in memory of the victory (nike) of Actium,
and was peopled from Ambracia, Anactorium, and other neighbouring cities, and
also with settlers from Aetolia. There were cities of the same name in Moesia
Inferior, Armenia Minor, Cilicia, Lower Egypt (now Kars), and Thrace.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PANDOSIA (Ancient city) THESPROTIA
A town of Epirus, in the district Thesprotia, on the river Acheron.
In South-Eastern Thesprotia, below the mountains of Souli, flows the river Acheron,
the river of the dead and the wailing. Thesprotia, land of Aidoneos-Hades, with
the famous necromance at the river-banks, is filled with myths and legends through
the centuries.
Starting off at Glyki, we can walk in the river of the legends, in the gorge and
the springs of Acheron. The motorway which begins inside Glyki, on the left of
the Igoumenitsa-Paramythia-Preveza road, leads alongside the river, into a forest
of plane-trees. We leave the car and we proceed on foot, along the path up to
the sources of the river. We continue through the cool river, entering the main
part of the gorge, walking against the stream. At the junction of the Acheron
river with the "Dala" stream, which comes down from Souli, there is
a stone bridge and on our right there is the famous "Skala tis Tzavelenas"
(stairway of Tzavelena), the old path of the Souliotes. Most people stop at the
bridge, others continue to the sources of the Dala stream at the old water-mill,
but the few daring ones, take the road which leads to Hades’ gates towards Sertziana
of Ioannina.
The vertical rocks join together, leaving just enough space for the river to go
through. In the past they used to join at the top, giving the impression of a
giant gate, but the top collapsed. Those who come this far, will have fully tasted
the quintessence of the legends!
This text is cited June 2003 from the Thesprotia Prefecture Tourism Promotional Committee URL below, which contains images.
ACHERUSIA (Lake) EPIRUS
In the ancient years the river Acheron formed (at the lowest point of the
plain located among Kanalaki, Kastri and the Nekromanteio) a lake called Acherousia.
The run-over water of the lake formed once again the river Acheron (at the western
shores of it). The rivers Kokytos and Vouvos (in the ancient years called Pyripfleghethon)
emptied into Acheron, and then all together emptied into the bay of Ammoudia,
as they do today. Draining works were performed in the lake Acherousia, of which
the largest part is today the fertile plain of the area.
The lake Acherousia is mentioned by Thucydides during the stop of
the fleet of the Corinthians and their allies, the day before the naval battle
of Syvota (433 BC). Age-old popular beliefs, of which the origins are lost far
in prehistory, were related with the opinion that lakes and rivers, which often
disappear in the ground and then appear again in a mysterious way, were the road
leading to the Netherworlds; this was the road followed by the souls of the dead.
The correlation of Acheron and Acherousia with the dead, as well as the establishment
of the Nekromanteio (Oracle of the Dead) on a cave of a hill near the junction
of the two rivers (Kokytos and Acheron), are all due to these beliefs.
This text is cited March 2004 from the Municipality of Fanari URL below
KASSOPI (Archaeological site) EPIRUS
Elatria, Vatia, Vouchetion, Pandosia: These are names of ancient cities,
which were at the peach in the area of prefecture of Preveza, whose traces were
lost at time went by. Kassopi the capital of Kassopean was built before middle
of 4th century B.C. on a hill in the southern side of Zalogo.
Kassopi, the capital of Kassopean land, was built before middle of
century B.C., and it was situated in 550-650 m. attitude, on a hill in the southern
side of Zalogo as to be protected from Ilian colonists the valley on the south
of the city. The greatest period of the city was on the 3o century B.C. when a
lot of public buildings and houses are constructed.
On the inside of its polygonal walls 3,20 - 3,50 m. thick - there
were two - storey houses, in building -blocks of 230 m2, all facing the south.
They were all very well built, bearing functional architecture facing a street
and linked with a common sewage system having a special covered gutter. The city
was built according to the Ippodamian system with 20 parallel streets 4,20 m.
wide - the so-called "stenopi" streets- having a distance of 30 m. between
them and crossing other wider roads - the so-called "platies", of a
6m. width that formed about 60 blocks of flats. In fact it was a very impressive
city. Among the ruins a building called Prytanio or Katagogio stands out (something
like a hotel of those times), a building 30x30 m. of two floors on three sides,
but of one floor on the fourth side so as to let the sunlight come into the house.
There are also ruins of the Odeon (of 2000 seats) and the Theatre (of 6000 seats).
The city had 10.000 inhabitants. The city was destroyed by Romans
(Aimilius Paulo's) in 167 B.C. and was finally deserted by its inhabitants when
they forced to settle in Nikopoli
at the end of 1st century B.C.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from the Municipality of Zalogo URL below, which contains images.
PANDOSIA (Ancient city) THESPROTIA
Pandosia was the most important colony of the Heleioi in Cassopaea
(region bordered by the Amvrakikos
bay, the Ionian Sea and the rivers Acheron
and Louros) and was
established in the 7th century BC. The ancient settlement is located on the hill
Kastri, which dominates the plain of Acheron, at the site where today is the homonymous
village, between Kanalaki and the Nekromanteio.
Pandosia was built on a naturally fortified position, protected by
the river Acheron (northern side) and the
lake Acherousia (southern side). The city was fortified by walls dating back
to the first half of the 4th century BC. The perimeter of the walls of the classic
period is 1,460 m and encloses an area of 130,000 m2. It was strengthened by 22
rectangular towers. Two gates are preserved on the eastern side, and a probable
third one to the northwest.
Philippos II, king of Macedonia, seized Pandosia and offered it (along
with the other Heleian colonies of Epirus) to the Epirotes, in 343/2 BC. With
the settlement of the nearby Thesprotoi, the town was expanded to the eastern
slopes and was enclosed by a new polygonal wall, of which parts are today preserved
on the northern and northeastern side.
The town was destroyed by the Romans in 167 BC; the latter allowed
later the reconstruction of a part of the walls on the top of the hill (167 -
148 BC). The decline of the settlement was probably due to the establishment of
Nikopolis and the settlement of the nearby habitants in it.
This text is cited March 2004 from the Municipality of Fanari URL below
PREVEZA (Prefecture) EPIRUS
In the following WebPages you can find an interactive map with all the monuments and museums of the Prefecture, with relevant information and photos.
KICHYROS (Ancient city) EPIRUS
NIKOPOLIS (Archaeological site) EPIRUS
A titular see and metropolis in ancient Epirus.
Augustus founded the city (B. C. 31) on a promontory in the Gulf of Ambracia,
in commemoration of his victory over Anthony and Cleopatra at Actium.
At Nicopolis the emperor instituted the famous quinquennial Actian games in honor
of Apollo.
The city was peopled chiefly by settlers from the neighboring municipia,
of which it was the head. St. Paul intended going there and it is possible that
even then it numbered some Christians among its population. Laid waste by the
Goths at the beginning of the fifth century, restored by Justinian, in the sixth
century it was still the capital of Epirus.
The province of ancient Epirus,
of which Nicopolis was the metropolis, constituted a portion of the western patriarchate,
directly subject to the jurisdiction of the pope; but, about 732, Leo the Isaurian
incorporated it into the Patriarcate of Constantinople.
The last known bishop was Anastasius, who attended the Ecumenical Council in 787,
and soon afterwards, owing to the decadence into which Nicopolis fell, the metropolitan
see was transferred to Naupactus.
Quite extensive ruins of Nicopolis are found three miles to the north
of Prevesa and are called
Palaio-Prevesa.
S. Vailhe, ed.
Transcribed by: Joseph E. O'Connor
This extract is cited June 2003 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
ELATRIA (Ancient city) EPIRUS
A colony of Elis (D.7.32). Late 6th c. pottery has been found. The
hill is fortified with a circuit wall ca. 1800 m long; tombs have yielded bronze
mirror-disks.
N.G.L. Hammond, 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.
KASSOPI (Archaeological site) EPIRUS
Located in SW Epeiros, above the modern village of Kamarina. The city
was apparently the result of a Sunoikismos of the Kassopaians in the 3d c. B.C.
although some earlier remains, notably roof tiles, may indicate prior settlement
on the site. Kassope may not have been severely damaged in the destructions attendant
on the Roman conquest. In any event, there is evidence that it flourished at least
up to the founding of Nikopolis. The site of the ancient city is extensive: its
circuit wall has been calculated to be 2800 m long. A large theater, a smaller
theater in the agora, the foundations of a temple, and the remains of a grid plan
agora have been recorded.
A portion of the city has been excavated. Most interesting is a large
building (33 x 30.3 m) constructed of ashlar and polygonal masonry, with upper
courses built of baked brick set into a wooden superstructure. The building contains
17 rooms grouped around an interior courtyard, with an entrance through an 18th
room which served as a doorway for the building on the S. The courtyard was surrounded
by a colonnade of 26 octagonal Doric columns. There was also an upper story in
the building on three of its four sides, perhaps allowing enough space for a total
of 30 rooms. The rooms in the upper story must have been accessible by wooden
ladders, while those on the lower one show some evidence for hearths and foundations
for tables. The building has been identified as a katagogeion or guest house,
and apparently some destruction in the 1st c. B.C. was followed by repairs.
A street 4 m wide runs to the S parallel to the katagogeion; to the
SE lies the small theater, and to the SW a rectangular building so far unexplored.
On the other side of the street is a long Doric stoa (63.1 x 11.3 m) which faces
N; its construction is similar to that of the katagogeion. Opinions differ as
to dates: 1) the katagogeion is placed in the first half of the 4th c., primarily
on the basis of early roof tiles, and the katagogeion in the 3d c.; 2) the stoa
and the katagogeion are more or less contemporary, constructed in the second half
of the 3d c. when the agora itself was laid out.
W. R. Biers, 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 68 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
KICHYROS (Ancient city) EPIRUS
Ephyra. In Elis of Thesprotia, 800m N of the junction of the Kok(k)ytos river
with the Acheron, 4.5 km E of the bay of Ammoudia where ancient Glykys Limen (Strabo
7.7.5) or Eleas Limen (Ps. Skylax 30; Ptol. 3.14.5) were located, and into which
the Acheron flows. Thucydides (1.46.4) says that near the Cheimerion promontory
(modern Glossa) which shelters the bay on the N there is a harbor, and above it
lies a city away from the sea in the Eleatic district of Thesprotia, Ephyra by
name. Near it is the outlet into the sea of the Acherusian Lake. Strabo (7.7.5)
gives the same information and adds that in his time Ephyra was called Kichyros.
Neoptolemos landed at Ephyra on his return from Troy (Pind. Nem. 7.37-39)
and Odysseus came there later to get poison for his arrows (Od. 1 .259f). Theseus
and Perithoos came to snatch away Persephone, the wife of Aidoneus the king of
Ephyra. These were none other than Persephone and Hades, the gods of the underworld,
who had a shrine and an oracle at Ephyra (Paus. 1.17.4-5, 9.36.3; Plut. Theseus
31.35).
The site of Ephyra is confirmed by the excavation of the ancient oracle
of the dead on the hill of Agios Ioannis near the village of Mesopotamos, 150
m N of the junction of the Kok(k)ytos with the Acheron. The remains of three ancient
wall circuits are preserved, 600 m farther N, on the limestone hill of Xylokastro
(elev. 83 m). The outer one, surrounding an area of 4.2 ha, is cyclopean; its
circumference is 1120 m and one gate in the S side is 2.3 m wide.
The central sanctuary building of the oracle of the dead is surrounded
by a very thick (3.3 m) polygonal wall. The building is divided into three sections,
a central aisle without divisions (beneath which is a great vaulted crypt), and
two side sections each divided into three rooms. The walls stand to a height of
3.5 m; they show damage from a fire that destroyed the sanctuary and buried the
offerings. In the side rooms were great piles of wheat and barley, pithoi which
had contained cereals and liquid, perhaps honey. Various iron implements such
as plows, shovels, and sickles were also found. In the first room on the left
were two busts of Persephone in terracotta (ht. 0.2 m). The first room to the
right contained eight pithoi around the walls, many vases, and much carbonized
grain. The second room contained piles of bowls, overturned amphorae, a marble
basin, and again much carbonized grain. In one of the corridors outside were traces
of pyres and of pits with the bones of sacrificed animals--sheep and goats, bulls,
and a few pigs.
The existing monumental remains date from Hellenistic times, but the
location of the sanctuary and the types of sacrifices attested by the remains
correspond closely with Homer's description (Od. 10.508ff; 11.24ff; cf. Paus.
1.17.5).
The finds within the acropolis, chiefly sherds of local pottery of
the Bronze Age and Mycenaean sherds of LH III A-B, together with the worship of
the pre-Hellenic chthonic goddess Persephone and the local name (Kichyros), indicate
that a native settlement of the Bronze Age was resettled in the 14th c. B.C. by
colonists most probably from the W Peloponnese.
After the surrender of the Elean colonies in Kassopaia to Philip II
of Macedon in 343-342 B.C. (Dem. 7.32) and their subjection to the Thesprotians,
Ephyra appears to have reverted to its pre-Hellenic name, Kichyros, which had
been kept alive in some neighboring Thesprotian settlement (Kichyros, the former
Ephyra: Strab. 7.7.5, 8.3.5). Some finds, chiefly pottery of the 1st c. B.C.,
confirm the statement of Pausanias (1.17.5) that Kichyros was in existence in
his time.
S. Dakaris, 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.
MESSOPOTAMO (Village) PREVEZA
A site in Thesprotia lying E of the promontory known as Cheimerion,
downstream from the confluence of the Acheron and Kokytos rivers and N of the
Acherusian marshes. The hill of Xylocastro with the Chapel of Haghios Joannis
Prodromos (18th c.) on top of it dominates the village to the N, which is also
called Ephura (Thuc. 1.46). In excavations carried out from 1958 to 1961, the
nekyomanteion or oracle of the dead, which was famous in antiquity, was uncovered.
Legend has it that Theseus and Herakles passed this way on their descent to Hades
and that here Odysseus also passed to consult the prophet Tiresias.
In the historic period, Periander, tyrant of Corinth (early 6th c.),
who had killed his wife Melissa (Hdt. 3.50), nevertheless wanted to find out from
her where she had placed a certain sum of money when she was alive. He twice sent
to consult Melissa's shade (Hdt. 5.92, end).
Strabo says that already in his day the appearance of the landscape
had changed owing to the alluvial deposits of the Acheron (7.7.7), but the hill
of Xylocastro had preserved the sanctuary almost intact. It consists of a rectangular
temenos with an entrance to the N, bounded by a polygonal wall (3.2 m high and
3.3 m thick) measuring 62.4 x 46.3 m. Inside the temenos is a central monument,
square in plan (21.8 x 21.3 m) which, in turn, encloses the nekyomanteion proper.
This is a central building (15.3 x 4.4 m) with walls 1 m thick standing more than
3 m above ground. The middle bay was erected over a crypt whose roof was supported
by arches on pillars; there was no entrance. This apparently was the House of
Hades, Aidos doma. The way into the rooms lay along a kind of corridor in the
form of a maze, no doubt illustrating the wanderings of the soul in Erebus. The
consultant, after first undergoing incubation and purification, reached the sanctuary
proper where he made his offerings; traces of these have been found (cereals,
carbonized chick peas, small bowls, etc.). Figurines of Persephone (3d c.) ca.
22 cm high can be taken to confirm the purpose of the sanctuary, which still confronts
the visitor with the sinister image of death. It is not known how the souls appeared
to the consultant and were able to converse with him.
The complex was probably destroyed in 168 in the Roman invasion; indeed,
the objects found on the site match this date (second half of the 2d c.). Pausanias
(1.17.5) says that Homer must have seen the place, and that the Kokytos was a
dismal stream.
Y. Bequignon, 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.
NIKOPOLIS (Archaeological site) EPIRUS
On the peninsula opposite Aktion and separating the Ionian Sea from
the Gulf of Arta. The city was founded by the emperor Augustus after 31 B.C. on
the site occupied by his army during the Battle of Aktion. In addition to serving
as a monument to this victory, Nikopolis was a synoecism of older cities (Strab.
10.2.2; Paus. 5.23.3) providing an administrative center to replace the Aitolian
and Akarnanian Leagues. It was, from the beginning, a free city, minted its own
coinage and was the site of games in honor of Apollo Aktios. In A.D. 94, the Stoic
philosopher Epiktetos established his philosophic school in the city after being
forced to leave Rome. In the Christian period, Nikopolis served as the metropolitan
seat of W Epeiros. The city was damaged by earthquake in A.D. 375 and probably
by the inroads of Goths, Huns, and Vandals in the century which followed. The
emperor Justinian had the fortifications of the city rebuilt in A.D. 550. The
10th century witnessed the gradual decline of the city with the influx of Bulgars
into the area. Eventually its inhabitants drifted away to nearby Prevesa.
According to Strabo (7.7.6), the city had two harbors and a temenos
sacred to Apollo in the suburbs. The temenos contained a sacred grove, a stadium,
and a gymnasium. The stadium is visible in the area N of the city, as are a large
theater and a bath structure. North of the sanctuary area is a hill (modern Michalitzi)
where Augustus is said to have established his field headquarters during the battle.
After his victory the site was consecrated, according to Strabo and Dio Cassius
(51.1.3), to Apollo, according to Suetonius (Aug. 18), to Neptune and Mars. Excavations
carried out by Greek archaeologists uncovered remains of a large structure of
uncertain form, and fragments of a Latin inscription referring to Neptune.
The city proper is enclosed by a polygonal circuit of walls, presumably
those of Justinian. Inside the walls are a large peristyle building identified
as some sort of public building or administrative palace, and three Early Christian
basilicas. Basilicas A (second quarter of the 6th c. A.D.) and B (5th c.) are
of the tripartite transept variety. To the W of Basilica A, especially noted for
its figural mosaic pavements, is another peristyle complex known as the episcopal
palace. Basilica C, located to the N near the circuit wall, is triple-apsed and
dated to the period after Justinian.
In the region W of the circuit walls are an odeion, a stretch of aqueduct
with associated reservoirs and bath, and many brick-vaulted tombs and single burials.
An apsidal building, also containing several graves, has been identified as a
church dedicated to the Holy Apostles. The area S of Nikopolis contains an amphitheater,
more tombs and graves, and a second, probably Augustan, stretch of wall. A third
transept basilica (D, dated late 5th-early 6th c. A.D.), similar to Basilica A,
has been excavated here as well as the mediaeval church of the Resurrection and
part of a 5th c. villa. A fourth transept basilica, similar to those in Nikopolis,
has been partially excavated 4 km SE of the city, outside modern Prevesa (mid-
to third quarter of the 6th c.). Museum on site.
A. Weis, 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 13 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
PANDOSIA (Ancient city) THESPROTIA
A colony of Elis (D.7.32) on a crag above the Acheron gorge in Epeiros.
The circuit wall, ca. 1050 m long, has strong towers, probably a later addition.
The site controls the entry from Cassopaea in the S to the upper valley of the
Acheron river. A famous oracular utterance of Dodona associated three-hilled Pandosia
with the Acheron (Strab. 6.1.5); it issued coinage for a short time.
N.G.L. Hammond, 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.
PARGA (Small town) EPIRUS
A ladle-shaped port in S Epeiros which Octavian occupied before the
battle of Actium (Plut. Ant. 62). The vicinity has yielded a Mycenaean tholos
tomb and later tombs, and there are remains of ancient walls in the foundations
of the Turkish fort.
N.G.L. Hammond, 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.
VATIES (Ancient city) PREVEZA
Probably a colony of Elis (Strab. 7.7.5 and FGrH 115 [Theopompos]
F 206). A limestone outcrop is ringed with a circuit wall ca. 2100 m long. Gateways
and towers are visible.
N.G.L. Hammond, 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.
VERENIKI (Ancient city) ZALONGO
On the seaward side of the Preveza peninsula. There are indications
of an acropolis, some tombs and architectural remains, and a sheltered anchorage.
The city was founded by Pyrrhos and named after his mother-in-law (Plut. Pyrrh.
6). It is possible that the city stood instead on the E side of the peninsula
at Mikhalitsi, where some rich burials from the 5th c. B.C. onwards have been
excavated.
N.G.L. Hammond, 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.
VOUCHETION (Ancient city) PREVEZA
On the Louros river. Founded by Bouchetos (FHG 3. 153, Mnaseas fr.
25), later a colony of Elis (D.7.32) near the coast (Strab. 7.7.5). The river
is navigable up to this point and curves round a steep limestone hill, fortified
by an inner circuit wall, ca. 800 m long and an outer circuit wall ca. 1300 m
long. Pottery from the mid 6th c. onwards has been found, and there are three
stages of fortification. This city controlled the main route from inland Epeiros
to the W part of the Gulf of Arta and enabled the Eleans to hold the peninsula
of Preveza, rich in pasture, fisheries, and olives.
N.G.L. Hammond, 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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