Antikes Theater von Aptera, Kreta, Griechenland

Aptera ( or ) or Apteron was an ancient city, now an archaeological site in western

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

, a kilometre inland from the southern shore of Souda Bay, about 13 km east of

Chania Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion. The muni ...

in the municipality of Akrotiri.

History

It is mentioned (A-pa-ta-wa) in Linear B tablets from the 14th-13th centuries BC. With its highly fortunate geographical situation, the city-state was powerful from Minoan through

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

times, when it gradually declined. However, the Minoan settlement of the Bronze Age was located about 1.5 km away from Aptera, at the place of the modern Stylos settlement. In

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, Aptera was the site of the legendary contest between the

Sirens Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology Places * Siren (town), Wisconsin * Siren, Wisco ...

and the Muses, when after the victory of the Muses, the Sirens lost the feathers of their wings from their shoulders, and having thus become white, cast themselves into the sea. The name of the city literally means "without wings", and the neighbouring islands Leucae means "white". Aptera - Akrotiri und Ruine

In the third century BC, Aptera was at war with

Kydonia Kydonia or Cydonia (; grc, Κυδωνία; lat, Cydonia) was an ancient city-state on the northwest coast of the island of Crete. It is at the site of the modern-day Greek city of Chania. In legend Cydonia was founded by King Cydon (), a son ...

,Hogan, 2008 a prominent ancient city on northwestern

. In much of the Greek Archaic Period, Aptera was under the control of

. During the Lyttian War in 220 BC, Aptera was at one time in alliance with Cnossus, but was afterwards compelled by the

Polyrrhenia Polyrrhenia or Polyrrenia ( grc, Πολυρρηνία; modern el, Πολυρρηνία, Polyrrinia), Polyrrhen or Polyrren (Πολύρρην) or Polyren (Πολύρην), or Pollyrrhenia or Pollyrrenia (Πολλύρρηνα),''Periplus of Pseudo- ...

ns to side with them against that city. The port of Aptera according to Strabo was Cisamus. It was destroyed by

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

during the 7th century. By the 12th century, a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

of St. John Theologos had been built on the site; it continued in operation until 1964. The site is now maintained by the Greek Ministry of Culture, Department of Antiquities. The hilltop, about 150 metres above the sea, commands views of Souda Bay and the Akrotiri Peninsula to the north, the Lefka Ori (White Mountains) to the south, and Kalives and the Turkish Izzedin Fortress to the east; the city of

is not quite visible to the west. There are several structures within the square monastery enclosure,Taylor, 1863 including a chapel and a two-story block of monks' cells. The surrounding site is notable for a two-part temple from the 5th century BC, a large three-vaulted Roman cistern, Roman baths, and parts of several Doric temples. An ancient theater and a Roman peristyle villa have also been discovered on the site.

History

See also

References

Further reading