Most Recent Visit: July 2021 Though habitation in the immediate area of the Kouris River mouth dates back well into the neolithic period, settlement at the acropolis area of Curium (Kourion) seems to have begun around the 12th century BCE with the arrival of Mycenean settlers of an unspecified origin. Herodotus claims they are from…
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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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Continued From Lindus, Asiana – Part I The final, monumental staircase, originally constructed in the first half of the 3rd century BCE, led up through a monumental propylaia. Unfortunately, not much of the propylaia survives, really just markings on the pavement that show the original foundations of it. The staircase too is mostly reconstructed. The…
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Most Recent Visit: July 2022 Perched on a hill overlooking the plain of the Salo (the modern Jalón River) an important tributary of the Iber (the modern Ebro) near the junction with the Birbilis (Jiloca River), about 100 meters above the plain, sits the remains of Augusta Bilbilis. Prior to the arrival of the Romans,…
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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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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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Most Recent Visit: May 2021 The founding of the settlement of Sicyon is attributed to the mytho-historical figure Aegialeus, who gave the city its original name, Aigialeia. At other points during the early history of Sicyon, it was apparently also called Telchinia after the mythological Telchines and Mekone, a reference to the poppies that grow…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2021 The area of the present day and ancient city of Argos seems to have been one of the longest continually inhabited locations in Greece, frequently attributed as one of the most ancient cities and with archaeological evidence suggesting habitation dating back to the 8th millennium BCE. Argos was said to…
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Most Recent Visit: May 2021 Located about 8 kilometers away from the ancient city of Epidaurus, is the Sanctuary of Asclepius. Though administered by the Epidaurans, the sanctuary is a distinctly different entity than the city, but is often the sanctuary and not the city that is intended when many refer to ancient Epidaurus. A…
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