Scione or Skione ( grc, Σκιώνη) was an ancient Greek city in Pallene, the westernmost headland of

Chalcidice Chalkidiki (; el, Χαλκιδική , also spelled Halkidiki, is a peninsula and regional unit of Greece, part of the region of Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia in Northern Greece. The autonomous Mount Athos region c ...

, on the southern coast east of the modern town of

Nea Skioni Nea Skioni ( el, Νέα Σκιώνη, ) is a village and a community in the peninsula of Kassandra, Chalkidiki, Macedonia, Greece. The population in 2011 was 728 for the village. Nea Skioni is located 7 km southwest of Chaniotis, 7 k ...

. Scione was founded by settlers from

Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The ...

; the Scionaeans claimed their ancestors settled the place when their ships were blown there by the storm that caught the Achaeans on their way back from

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

. It "was situated on one summit of a two-crested hill and on the slopes toward the sea... The hill with the fortifications and the pottery fragments constituted the acropolis of ancient Scione and the hill beyond was that on which the defenders encamped 'before the city.'" It 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 ...

. Its moment of historical importance came during the

Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...

, when just after the truce between

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

and

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

in early 423 BCE, Scione revolted against Athens and was encouraged by the Spartan general

Brasidas Brasidas ( el, Βρασίδας, died 422 BC) was the most distinguished Spartan officer during the first decade of the Peloponnesian War who fought in battle of Amphipolis and Pylos. He died during the Second Battle of Amphipolis while winning o ...

with promises of support. The Athenians sent a fleet to retake Mende and Scione; after securing the former, they besieged Scione. In the summer of 421 they finally succeeding in reducing it; they put the adult males to death, enslaved the women and children, and gave the land to

Plataea Plataea or Plataia (; grc, Πλάταια), also Plataeae or Plataiai (; grc, Πλαταιαί), was an ancient city, located in Greece in southeastern Boeotia, south of Thebes.Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. “Plataea.” '' Webst ...

, an ally of Athens.

Tim Rood Tim Rood is a British classical scholar, specialising in Greek historiography and reception studies. He is Professor of Greek Literature at the University of Oxford and a fellow and tutor at St Hugh's College, Oxford. His research is principa ...

writes that "Thucydides lets us feel Skione's thirst for freedom," and says the result of his account "is not criticism of Skione's folly, but pathos." W. Robert Connor says that "the ultimate destruction of Scione was one of the most notorious events in the war, and almost any Greek reader would know of its fate." By the time of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

, Scione had "almost vanished out of existence.". However, according to recent surveys, Scione survived in the Roman (imperial) period as a vicus of the Roman colony of

Cassandreia Cassandreia, Cassandrea, or Kassandreia ( grc, Κασσάνδρεια, ''Kassándreia'') was once one of the most important cities in Ancient Macedonia, founded by and named after Cassander in 316 BC. It was located on the site of the earlier Anc ...

. Scione is mentioned by Roman-era geographers

Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nearly to the year 1500. It occupies less ...

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

, and

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...

. The site of Scione is southeast of the modern

Nea Skione Nea Skioni ( el, Νέα Σκιώνη, ) is a village and a community in the peninsula of Kassandra, Chalkidiki, Kassandra, Chalkidiki, Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, Greece. The population in 2011 was 728 for the village. Nea Skioni is located 7 ...

References

External links

The Ancient Coinage of Scione
{{coord, 39.939063, N, 23.574785, E, display=title, format=dms, source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/32403 Violence against men in Europe Populated places in ancient Macedonia Cities in ancient Macedonia Geography of ancient Chalcidice Greek colonies in Chalcidice Achaean colonies Members of the Delian League Former populated places in Greece Massacres of men

See also

References

External links