Idomenae or Idomenai ( grc, Ἰδομεναί, possibly from Ἰδομενεύς - ''Idomeneues''), also known as Idomene (Ἰδομένη), or Eidomenae or Eidomenai, or Idomenia, was a town of ancient Macedonia. The ''

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-ce ...

'' places Idomenae between Stena and Tauriana, 12 m.p. from Stena which in modern units is about .

Sitalces Sitalces (Sitalkes) (; Ancient Greek: Σιτάλκης, reigned 431–424 BC) was one of the great kings of the Thracian Odrysian state. The Suda called him Sitalcus (Σίταλκος). He was the son of Teres I, and on the sudden death o ...

, king 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 ...

, on his route from Thrace to Macedonia, crossed Mount Cercine, leaving the

Paeones Paeonians were an ancient Indo-European people that dwelt in Paeonia (kingdom), Paeonia. Paeonia was an old country whose location was to the north of Ancient Macedonia, to the south of Dardania (Roman province), Dardania, to the west of Thrace a ...

on his right, and the

Sinti The Sinti (also ''Sinta'' or ''Sinte''; masc. sing. ''Sinto''; fem. sing. ''Sintesa'') are a subgroup of Romani people mostly found in Germany and Central Europe that number around 200,000 people. They were traditionally itinerant, but today o ...

and

Maedi The Maedi (also ''Maidans'', ''Maedans'', or ''Medi''; grc, Μαῖδοι or Μαιδοί) were a Thracian tribe in antiquity. In historic times, they occupied the area between Paionia and Thrace, on the southwestern fringes of Thrace, along t ...

on his left, and descended upon the long river Axius at Idomenae. Sitalces and his troops destroyed Idomenae in 429 B.C. It is described by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

as being within the province of

Emathia Emathia ( gr, Ἠμαθία) was the name of the plain opposite the Thermaic Gulf when the kingdom of Macedon was formed. The name was used to define the area between the rivers Aliakmon and Loudias, which, because it was the center of the kingd ...

, and was near Doberus, next to which it is named by Hierocles among the towns of Consular Macedonia under the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. Idomenae is documented from the 5th century BCE. It is now an

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...

located near the village of

Marvinci Marvinci (Macedonian and sr-cyr, Марвинци) is a village in the Valandovo municipality, in the southeastern part of North Macedonia. Geography Marvinci is located in the southeast of the country, some 8 km from the nearest town, also ...

, near

Valandovo Valandovo ( mk, Валандово ) is a small town in southeastern North Macedonia. The city is the seat of Valandovo Municipality. History Ancient Period Evidence of life can be found beginning in the 10th-7th centuries B.C. There is a settle ...

, modern-day

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

Archaeology

At its beginning, Idomenae was about 5,000 km² big. An

acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

with defensive walls was built, a pottery building was also built, and so were other buildings. The people in this town traded a lot with the

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

, which is evidenced by the facts that much of the material found on pottery here was used in graves in Asia Minor. There are also many

amphoras An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...

from the islands of

Thassos Thasos or Thassos ( el, Θάσος, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area. The island has an area of and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate re ...

and

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

References

Archaeological sites in North Macedonia Former populated places in the Balkans Populated places in ancient Macedonia Geography of ancient Paeonia Valandovo Municipality {{NorthMacedonia-archaeology-stub