Most Recent Visit: May 2021. Situated just to the north of the Sinus Ambracius (the modern Ambracian Gulf), the body of water that bears the name of this city, is the Greek settlement of Ambracia. Mythologically, the city was founded by Ambrax, son of Thesprotus, who was the eponymous founder of the Thesprotians and himself…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2021 Located on a hill to the east of the modern western Greek city of Ioannina, in the region of Epirus, near the town of Kastritsa, are the remains of an ancient settlement. The ancient town has not been conclusively identified, though there are two Molossian settlements that seem to get…
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Continued From Dodona Part I Immediately to the east of the theater are the barely discernible remains of the priest’s house abutting the eastern retaining wall of the theater. The house predates the theater, being built sometime in the latter half of the 4th century BCE. The southeastern corner of the theater actually overlays the…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2021 At the northeastern foot of the Mons Tomaros (the modern Ptomaros or Olytsikas Mountain) is the oracular sanctuary site of Dodona. Traditionally, Dodona was considered one of the oldest oracles in Greece. Archaeological evidence suggests the establishment of a sanctuary at this site perhaps as early as the 3rd millennium…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2021 It’s not often that I’ll feature a site that has, essentially, almost no period of Roman occupation. This is, after all, what the blog is primarily focused on. But, I certainly don’t limit my visitations to solely Roman sites. Occasionally I’ll visit a site that isn’t Roman, but is still…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2021 There are a couple interesting sites worth seeing in the hinterland areas around Nicopolis and Ambracia. Since the Nicopolis aqueduct only takes up a few hours, these are also good options to see in conjunction with that. The first of these is the so-called Necromanteion of Acheron, the famed oracle…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2021 In the first years of its founding, the water needs of Nicopolis were largely met by the construction of wells and the harnessing of local springs, one near the northern necropolis of the city that no longer runs, and one in the area of the nymphaeum of the Domus of…
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Continued From Nicopolis, Epirus Part II Just across the dirt path (where the cardo maximus would have run) to the west of the odeon are the remains of a temple. Like the bathing complex adjacent to the odeon, these remains too are heavily overgrown and difficult to view from the ground, but perhaps a slightly…
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Continued From Nicopolis, Epirus Part I Roughly 250 meters inside the Araporta, meeting back up with the National Road Preveza-Ioannina, is the entrance to the Archaeological Site of Nikopolis. During the summer it is open Wednesday through Monday from 8:00 to 20:00 and is closed on Tuesday. Through September and October, the closing time gradually…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2021 In the lead up to the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, after wintering at Patrae and unsuccessfully attempting a move to Italy, Marcus Antonius moved his forces to the southern promontory at the mouth of the Ambracius Sinus (the modern Gulf of Ambracia), south of the town of Actium…
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