Listed 14 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "DION Municipality PIERIA" .
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
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
KONTARIOTISSA (Small town) PIERIA
NEA EFESSOS (Small town) 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.
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