Edonis or Edonida ( grc, Ἠδωνίς, Ἠδωνίδα), also

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...

as Edonia, was an ancient region of

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

which later became a district of

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...

. Its name is derived from the ancient Thracian inhabitants of the region, the

Edonians The Edoni (also ''Edones'', ''Edonians'', ''Edonides'') ( el, Ἠδωνιοί) were a Thracians, Thracian people who dwelt mostly between the Nestus and the Struma (river), Strymon rivers in southern Thrace, but also once dwelt west of the Strymon ...

. Later, the Greeks settled in the region, drove out the Edonians and built several colonies, including

Amphipolis Amphipolis ( ell, Αμφίπολη, translit=Amfipoli; grc, Ἀμφίπολις, translit=Amphipolis) is a municipality in the Serres (regional unit), Serres regional unit, Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is ...

and

Eion Eion ( grc-gre, Ἠϊών, ''Ēiṓn''), ancient Chrysopolis, was an ancient Greek Eretrian colony in Thracian Macedonia specifically in the region of Edonis. It sat at the mouth of the Strymon River which flows into the Aegean from the interio ...

. It was bordered by Odomantice in the north, Bisaltia in the west, and the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

in the south, and was separated from Thrace proper by the river Nestos in the east.

Geography and history

Edonis stretched from the lake Cercinitis (today Achinos) and the mouth of the Strymon river in the west, to Nestos river in the east (natural border between the regions of Macedonia and

). The region was predominantly settled by the tribe of Edoni. Later, the Greeks settled in the region, drove out the Edonians and built several colonies, including

and

. Within its limits was Pangaion, whose mines were being exploited by

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

after his conquest and the annexation of the region to the

kingdom of Macedon Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

. After the Roman conquest,

Via Egnatia The Via Egnatia was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It crossed Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thracia, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, and European Turkey as a continu ...

was passing through Edonis and with the establishment of Philippi as a Roman colony (42 BC) most of Edonis became part of its territory (territorium).

Pieris

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...

testified that at the foot of Pangaion settled Pierians, who had been expelled from their homeland, Pieria, when the Macedonians conquered it. There they built the namesake town Edonian Methoni in contrast to Pierian Methoni and they named the nearby land "Pieris".

Towns

Edonis and especially mount Pangaio was one of the oldest worship places of the gods

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

and

Orpheus Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...

. The most important towns of Edonis, apart from Methoni, were also:
D. C. Samsaris, Historical Geography of Eastern Macedonia during the Antiquity (in Greek), Thessaloniki 1976 (Society for Macedonian Studies), p. 135-170 .Benjamin H. Isaac, ''The Greek Settlements in Thrace Until the Macedonian Conquest'', p. 4-69 *

* Philippi * Apollonia (Kavala), Apollonia * Neapoli *

Pistyros Pistyrus or Pistyros ( grc, Πίστυρος), or Pistirus or Pistiros (Πίστιρος), or Bistirus or Bistiros (Βίστιρος), also known as Pisteira (Πίστειρα),Harpocration, p. 124. 11; Schol. ad Aesch. Pers. 2. was an ancient Gre ...

Myrkinos Myrcinus or Myrkinos ( grc, Μύρκινος or Μύρκιννος) was an ancient Greek city located in Macedonian Thrace, in the region of Edonis between the Strymon and the Nestos Rivers, on the left bank of the Strymon. It was within the territ ...

Oisyme Oesyme or Oisyme ( grc-x-attic, Οἰσύμη, grc-x-doric, Οἰσύμα) and Aisyme or Aesyme ( grc, Αἰσύμη) was an ancient Greek ''polis'' (city-state) located in ancient Thrace and later in Macedonia. It was within the region of Pier ...

Phagres Phagres ( grc, Φάγρης) was a ancient Greek, Greek city located in ancient Thrace and later in kingdom of Macedon, Macedon, in the region between the river Strymon (river), Strymon and the river Nestos (river), Nestos called Edonis (region), E ...

* Galepsus *

Gazoros Gazoros or Gazorus (Greek: ) was a town mentioned by Ptolemy to be in the region of Edonis or Odomantike and also by inscriptions of Hellenistic and Roman times. Later in the 4th century BC, it was annexed to the Macedonian kingdom and made a pol ...

Drabeskos Draviskos ( el, Δραβήσκος) is a village in Serres regional unit, located 45 km southeast of the city of Serres. Since 2011 it is a municipal unit of the Municipality of Nea Zichni. Until 1926 it was named "Zdravik". History Antiquity ...

*Pergamos *Domeros *Antisara *Perne *Topeiros

References

{{reflist Historical regions in Greece Geography of ancient Thrace Geography of ancient Macedonia

Geography and history

Pieris

Towns

See also

References