HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Midea ( grc, Μιδέα) or Mideia (Μίδεια) was a city of ancient Argolis.


Mythology and proto-history

Midea was originally called Perseuspolis (Περσέως πόλις), and is mentioned by Pseudo-Apollodorus in connection with this hero. It was said to have derived its name from the wife of Electryon, and was celebrated as the residence of Electryon and the birthplace of his daughter Alcmena, best known as the mother of
Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...
. But it is mentioned in the earliest division of the country, along with the Heraeum and Tiryns, as belonging to Proetus. It was the residence of Hippodameia in her banishment.


History

It was destroyed by Argos, probably at the same time as Tiryns, soon after the
Greco-Persian Wars The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of th ...
. Strabo describes Midea as near Tiryns; and from its mention by Pausanias, in connection with the Heraeum and Tiryns, it must be placed on the eastern edge of the Argeian plain; but the only clue in the ancient authors to its exact position is the statement of Pausanias, who says that, returning from Tiryns into the road leading from Argos to
Epidaurus Epidaurus ( gr, Ἐπίδαυρος) was a small city ('' polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: '' Palaia Epidavros'' and '' Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong t ...
, "you will reach Mideia on the left."


Site and remains

The remains of Midea, that of a
Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...
, stand above the
village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
of the same name in the Argolid. The citadel is one of the largest and best preserved Mycenaean citadels. A tholos tomb and
cemetery A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a bu ...
of chamber tombs at nearby
Dendra Dendra ( el, Δενδρά) is a prehistoric archaeological site situated outside the village with the same name belonging to the municipality of Midea in the Argolid, Greece. The site has a history stretching back at least to the early Bronze Ag ...
is associated with the site. Excavations were started by the Swedish
archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...
Axel W. Persson Axel Waldemar Persson (1 June 1888 – 7 May 1951) was a Sweden, Swedish archaeologist. He was professor of classical archaeology and ancient history at Uppsala University and conducted excavations of sites in Greece and in Asia Minor. ...
and have been continued regularly by the Swedish Institute at Athens and published in the journal Opuscula.


See also

* Swedish Institute at Athens


Sources

* Swedish Institute at Athens - Midea, Argolid: https://www.sia.gr/en/articles.php?tid=339&page=1


References


External links

Populated places in ancient Argolis Former populated places in Greece Mycenaean sites in Argolis Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece Locations in Greek mythology Citadels in Greece {{AncientArgolis-geo-stub