Palaiopoli (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Παλαιόπολη 'old city') is an ancient city on the west coast of

Andros Andros (, ) is the northernmost island of the Greece, Greek Cyclades archipelago, about southeast of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . It is for the most part mountainous, with many fruitful and ...

in the

Cyclades Islands The CYCLADES computer network () was a French research network created in the early 1970s. It was one of the pioneering networks experimenting with the concept of packet switching and, unlike the ARPANET, was explicitly designed to facilitate in ...

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, and was the capital of

, during the Classical period. From the archaic to the first

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

period, the center of the island's activities is traced to the area of Paleopolis, which is found on the west side of the island, at a distance of 5 kilometers from Ipsili and 10 kilometers from Zagora. The ceramic findings, which were gathered from the area, are dated back to the Mycenean period, though some areas show signs of inhabitation during the

Geometric period Geometric art is a phase of Greek art, characterized largely by geometric motifs in vase painting, that flourished towards the end of the Greek Dark Ages and a little later, . Its center was in Athens, and from there the style spread among the t ...

. Important findings of the area, the ''Kore of

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

'', a

kouros Kouros (, , plural kouroi) is the modern term given to free-standing Ancient Greek sculpture, Ancient Greek sculptures that depict nude male youths. They first appear in the Archaic period in Greece and are prominent in Attica and Boeotia, with ...

, and a statue group of

Pegasus Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...

and

Bellerophon Bellerophon or Bellerophontes (; ; lit. "slayer of Belleros") or Hipponous (; lit. "horse-knower"), was a divine Corinthian hero of Greek mythology, the son of Poseidon and Eurynome, and the foster son of Glaukos. He was "the greatest her ...

, which date back to the 6th century BC, show that the city was prosperous during the Archaic period. Construction in the area, according to the most recent findings, began during the beginning of the 5th century BC and continued through the old

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

times. The area of the city is evident from the fortifications that are still visible along its length. The center of Paleopolis (or Agora) was to the east, near the port whose remains are still evident today, submerged in the sea. Cemeteries are located on the outskirts of town, to the east and west. From the remains, the many sculptures and written sources, one can see that the city was well fortified and had a marketplace, theatre, altars and temples. The city continued throughout the 6th century AD, as it is evident from the remains of pre-Byzantine

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

churches found in the area. The site was surveyed briefly by the British antiquary

Theodore Bent James Theodore Bent (30 March 1852 – 5 May 1897) was an English explorer, archaeologist, and author. Biography James Theodore Bent was born in Liverpool on 30 March 1852, the son of James (1807-1876) and Eleanor (née Lambert, c.1811-1873) ...

in early 1884.

Archaeological Museum of Palaiopolis

In 2003, the Archaeological Museum of Palaiopolis opened in a building that was donated by the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation. The museum houses the archaeological finds from excavations in the area, and it is organized into three thematic units: sculpture, inscriptions, and miscellaneous finds. The most important objects in the museum include a sculpture of

from 6th–5th century BC, a funerary statue of a lion from the 4th century BC, and a portion of an inscribed marble slab containing a hymn to the goddess

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

References

External links

Ministry of Culture on Archaeological Museum of Palaiopolis
{{Authority control Ancient Andros Populated places in Andros