Aigosthena
Coordinates: 38 ° 8 ′ 50.6 ″ N , 23 ° 13 ′ 42.8 ″ E
Aigosthena ( ancient Greek Αἰγόστενα ( f. Pl. ), Modern Greek Αιγόσθενα ( f. Sg. )) Was an ancient Greek port city in Attica . It lay on the Alkionid Gulf, a bay in the northeast of the Gulf of Corinth . The ruins are located in Porto Germeno, 19 kilometers northwest of the city of Megara . The walls of the city are among the best preserved fortifications from the classical period .
history
According to Pausanias there was a temple here where the seer Melampus was venerated and a festival was celebrated in his honor every year. An inscription found here proves the existence of a Heracles sanctuary. In the 6th century BC, the first fortification was probably built on the acropolis of Aigosthena. In the period that followed, the fortress wall was renewed and enlarged, and walls were built from the upper town to the port. 379 BC After his first successful campaign against Thebes , Cleombrotus I of Kreusis retreated over the mountains to Aigosthena. Because of very strong winds, his soldiers had to leave their shields behind and some pack donkeys and their luggage were blown into the sea. 371 BC After the defeat in the Battle of Leuktra , Archidamos III fled . again via Kreusis to Aigosthena. The walls that are still visible today date mainly from the late 4th century BC. At that time, the city was under the control of Megara. 244 BC Aigosthena appears as an independent city alongside Megara as a member of the Achaean League . 234 BC In contrast to Megara, the city changed to the Boeotian League , but became in 192 BC. After the Second Macedonian-Roman War , member of the Achaean League again.
Athenaios reported in the 3rd century AD that Aigisthena produced a famous sweet wine. According to Hierocles , the city was still independent around 530 AD. At that time a five-aisled basilica was built. A short time later the city was conquered by Slavs . In the 12th century a monastery and several churches were built in Aigosthena. During the Ottoman period , the city was insignificant and only one lighthouse was rebuilt on the Acropolis.
description
The fortress on the Acropolis is about 190 by 85 meters and the entire city is 600 by 200 meters. At the highest point in the northeast of the Acropolis is the Byzantine monastery with cells and its two churches, a Panagia and a church dedicated to Agios Georgios . Here is also the best preserved tower with a height of around 15 meters. Many of the towers were built in such a way that wooden slingshot machines such as ballistae or oxybelai could be installed on them for defense .
The northern wall to the sea is also well preserved. About halfway from the sea to the upper town, south of this wall, are the foundations of the Christian basilica from the 6th century with a length of about 25 meters and a width of 20 meters. A cross-shaped Theotokos chapel was built over this in the 11th or 12th century .
literature
- Gustav Hirschfeld : Aigosthena . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume I, 1, Stuttgart 1893, Col. 977.
- Siegfried Lauffer (Ed.): Greece. Lexicon of Historic Places. CH Beck, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-406-33302-8 , pp. 87-88.
