Neapolis ( grc, Νεάπολις) was an

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

city, located in Edonis, a region of

ancient Thrace The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. ...

and later 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 ...

. The site is located near modern

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the Egnat ...

. Neapolis was founded by colonists from

Thasos 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 ...

, perhaps around the middle of the 7th century BC.Lazarides, D. (1976)
NEAPOLIS or NEA POLlS (Kavala) Thrace, Greece
''The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites'', accessed 7 June 2020 Neapolis was a member of the

Delian League The Delian League, founded in 478 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Pl ...

and entered the Athenian tribute list at 454 BC first by toponym and by 443 BC by city-ethnic name. Recorded a total of fourteen times form 454 to 429 BC, it paid a tribute of 1,000 drachmas a year. It had independence from

as dues of its customs were collected in its own harbour. At one point, property of Neapolitans in Thasos was confiscated by the oligarchs related to a situation from before 463 BC when the Thasian ''peraia'' was detached from Thasos. Despite the defection of Thasos from the Delian league in 411 BC, Neapolis remained loyal, causing the Neapolitan oligarchs to flee to Thasos and the confiscation of their property. Neapolis was besieged by the Thasians unsuccessfully, causing the Athenians to praise them for their loyalty and for participating in the siege of Thasos itself in 410 or 409 BC. Around 350 BC,

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king ('' basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

took Neapolis and used it as

Philippi Philippi (; grc-gre, Φίλιπποι, ''Philippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides ( grc-gre, Κρηνῖδες, ''Krenides'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colon ...

's harbor. At the

Battle of Philippi The Battle of Philippi was the final battle in the Wars of the Second Triumvirate between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian (of the Second Triumvirate) and the leaders of Julius Caesar's assassination, Brutus and Cassius in 42 BC, at P ...

in 42 BC, the harbor was used as a base by the Republican leaders

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

and Cassius. It kept its importance as a station on the

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 Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . of ...

through the Imperial and early Christian periods. notes that

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

landed here when he sailed from

Troas Troas may refer to: Places * The Troad, historical name for a region in the northwestern part of Anatolia * Alexandria Troas, a Hellenistic and Roman city in Anatolia * Troaș, a village in Săvârșin Commune, Arad County, Romania * Troaș, a r ...

to begin his missionary labors in Europe. From here he went to nearby Philippi. This source in turn cites Acts xvi. 9-11.

References

Populated places in ancient Macedonia Populated places in ancient Thrace Greek colonies in Thrace Former populated places in Greece New Testament cities Roman sites in Greece Members of the Delian League Thasian colonies Greek colonies in East Macedonia History of Kavala {{AncientThrace-geo-stub

See also

References