Ambracus or Ambrakos ( grc, Ἄμβρακος) was a town in

ancient Epirus Epirus (; Epirote Greek: , ; Attic Greek: , ) was an ancient Greek kingdom, and later republic, located in the geographical region of Epirus, in north-western Greece and southern Albania. Home to the ancient Epirotes, the state was bordered by t ...

, and the port of Ambracia. It is described by

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

as a place well fortified by ramparts and outworks, and as surrounded by marshes, through which there was only one narrow causeway leading to the place. It was taken by

Philip V of Macedon Philip V ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 238–179 BC) was king ( Basileus) of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. He would lead Macedon ag ...

, in 219 BCE, as a preliminary to an attack upon Ambracia. The '' Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax'' probably alludes to this place, when it says that Ambracia had a fortress near its harbour; for near the western shore of the old mouth of the river Arachthus some ruins have been discovered, whose topographical situation accords with the description of Polybius. They are situated on a swampy island, in a marshy lake near the sea. They enclosed an area of about a quarter of a mile in extent, and appeared to be merely a military post, which was all that the swampy nature of the ground would admit of. This fortress commanded the harbour, which is described by the Periplus and by Dicaearchus as a κλειστὸς λιμήν, or a port with a narrow entrance, which might be shut with a chain. The harbour must have been an artificial one; possibly obstructed by swamps and shoals as scarcely to be accessible even to boats. In ancient times its navigation was esteemed dangerous, whence

Lucan Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...

speaks of "orae malignos Ambraciae portus." Its site is located near the modern Phidokastro,

Arta Arta, ARTA, or Artà may refer to: Places Djibouti * Arta, Djibouti, a regional capital city in southeastern Djibouti * Arta Mountains, a mountain range in Djibouti * Arta Region, Djibouti Greece * Arta, Greece, a regional capital city in northwes ...

References

Populated places in ancient Epirus Former populated places in Greece {{AncientEpirus-geo-stub