Argilos (Macedonia)

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Acropolis of Argilus

Argilos ( Greek Άργιλος = clay ) was an ancient port city in Macedonia in the Bisaltia district about 2.8 km west of the mouth of the Strymon . It was between Bromiskos and Amphipolis on the Strymonian Gulf . The modern town of Sykia is about 500 m to the east . The Aftokinitodromos 2 runs only about 100 m north of the Acropolis .

history

Middle of the 8th century BC The place was first settled by Thracians . In 655/654 the residents of Paros founded a colony here to ship wood and ore deposits in the area. It was the first colony in this area. No traces of a violent takeover were found. It is therefore assumed that this was peaceful and that Greeks lived next to Thracians in Argilos. Around the middle of the 6th century BC The Thracian pottery disappears completely. Presumably the Thracians had adopted the Greek way of life by this time. During this time, the city experienced its peak, had around 6,000 to 9,000 inhabitants and was fortified by a wall. She founded in the last quarter of the 6th century BC The cities of Kerdylion and Tragilos . Around 500 BC The city was probably destroyed by the Persians under Darius I , but was subsequently rebuilt. 480 BC Chr. Took Xerxes and his army to the city over. After the Persian Wars , the city became a member of the Attic League . It initially paid a tribute to 9,000 drachmas . Until 446/445 BC This contribution sank to 1,000 drachmas. The city remained independent, as an inscription in the Asklepion of Epidaurus attests. She also minted her own coins.

Thucydides reports that an Argilian was the lover of the Spartan general Pausanias , whom he met in 467 BC. Used as a messenger for secret negotiations with Xerxes I. It was a letter to Artabazus I. sent. The Argilian, however, was surprised that a messenger never returned, opened the letter and found an additional message that said that the bearer of the letter should be killed. Because of this, he lured Pausanias into a trap. After he had admitted his conspiracy against Sparta and witnesses secretly overheard, Pausanias fled to a sanctuary, where he was besieged and eventually starved to death.

After the founding of the nearby Amphipolis in 437 BC. BC Argilus lost its importance. Some residents therefore moved there. As of 424 BC When the Spartans moved Brasidas against Amphipolis, the Argilians joined him to weaken their rival. The Argilians, who now lived in Amphipolis, also advocated handing the city over to Brasidas so that Brasidas could take it without a fight. After the Peace of Nicias in the winter of 422/421 BC In BC Argilus continued to pay contributions to Athens , although it was independent and not allied with him. In the last quarter of the 5th century BC In BC Argilos was destroyed in turn, possibly by Amphipolis, which was now independent again and avenged itself for the capture. However, the settlement was rebuilt immediately. 357 BC The place was destroyed by Philip II and the territory passed into the possession of one of his Hetairoi . The city was never rebuilt. Only on the Acropolis did it exist from about 350 to 200 BC. Some buildings left. This was a manor house with an olive mill, a public and other smaller buildings.

exploration

Paul Perdrizet visited Macedonia in 1894 and was the first to identify the 80 m high Palaiokastro hill with the ancient Argilos. In 1930 Paul Collart and Pierre Devambez came to Argilos. In 1976 a cemetery was excavated east of Sykia. From 1992, systematic excavations were carried out on the Palaikastro hill by a Greek-Canadian team under the direction of Zizis Bonias and Jacques Perreault.

description

Archaic houses on the cobbled street

Remains from the 6th century BC were found on the Acropolis. From buildings that were destroyed at the end of the century. The most important find is a massive, bulwark-like building 14 m by 14 m from the Hellenistic period . It was very likely the house of the family of the Hetairos of Philip II, who had received Argilus. There were facilities for extracting olive oil on the ground floor of the building . The building was accessed from the south. In the anteroom there was a massive stone staircase on the right that led to the first floor, but nothing has survived. Behind the anteroom one reached the inner courtyard, which was surrounded by rooms on all sides. In the courtyard half were found Pithos to collect the oil and two millstones of Trapetum . The lower part of the grinder was found in the eastern room. Today the building is protected from the weather by a roof. A public building was found south of the manor house. It may be a sanctuary. In addition, small houses with inner courtyards from the same period have been identified.

At the southern foot of the Palaiokastro Hill, a 5 m wide paved road was found that led from the harbor to the Acropolis. Buildings from the 6th century were found on both sides. v. The outer walls of the houses were made of stone, while the inner walls had only a stone foundation and the upper part was made of adobe bricks. House A, which was discovered first, showed three construction phases. The house was first built after 550 BC. With a floor plan of 5 m by 5 m. After the destruction at the end of the 6th century BC It was rebuilt in its current size, whereby the area almost doubled.

Farther west was found house E with an area of ​​almost 100 m². It is a typical archaic house with a large room from which you can reach two smaller rooms behind. The main room had a fireplace for cooking and a bathtub. Six coins had been deposited in the foundation of the house. In front of the house there were two antefixes from the roof in the shape of a ram's head.

The archaeologists discovered a 50 m long stoa 70 m south of the wide road . About 75 m southwest, south of the modern street Ethniki Odos 2 , further building remains were found. You can also see ancient house walls north of the road in the hill that is cut by the modern road. Other remains of the building are located about 300 m east of the stoa below the street. The cemetery was found east of the city. Monolithic stone sarcophagi from the 5th century BC were found here. BC. Among the additions there were ceramics from large parts of Greece. However, the Attic ceramics predominate.

literature

Web links

Commons : Argilos  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Thucydides , History of the Peloponnesian War 4.104.
  2. ↑ Strabon , Geographica 7, fragment 33 (p. 331).
  3. ↑ Herodotus , Histories 7,115.
  4. ↑ Inscriptiones Graecae , Volume IV², Number 94, Line 17 ( online )
  5. ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 1, 132-134.
  6. ^ Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War 5:18.
  7. ^ Paul Perdrizet: Voyage dans la Macédoine première. In: Bulletin de correspondance hellénique . Year 1894, Volume 18, Number 1, pp. 416–445 ( online ).

Coordinates: 40 ° 47 '  N , 23 ° 49'  E