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Potidaea (; , ''Potidaia'', also Ποτείδαια, ''Poteidaia'') was a

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

founded by the

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

ians around 600 BC in the narrowest point of the peninsula of Pallene, the westernmost of three peninsulas at the southern end of

Chalcidice Chalkidiki (; , alternatively Halkidiki), also known as Chalcidice, is a peninsula and regional units of Greece, regional unit of Greece, part of the region of Central Macedonia, in the Geographic regions of Greece, geographic region of Macedon ...

in northern Greece.POTEIDAIA (Nea Poteidaia) Chalkidike, Greece
entry in The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites.

History

While besieged by the

Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...

in 479 BC, the town may have been saved by a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

rather than a particularly high tide.

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

reports how the Persian attackers who tried to exploit an unusual retreat of the water were suddenly surprised by "a great flood-tide, higher, as the people of the place say, than any one of the many that had been before". Several tsunamigenic layers have been identified along the Thracian Coast, indicating that the region is prone to tsunamis. While tsunami are generally associated with earthquakes, Herodotus, the source of this story, makes no mention of an earthquake at the time. This makes it more likely that the event was a meteotsunami. Not only are such events relatively common in the Mediterranean, but their effect is amplified in a long, narrow body of water, which is a good description for the situation of Potidaea, which lies at the head of Toroneos gulf. During the time of the

Delian League The Delian League was a confederacy of Polis, Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, founded in 478 BC under the leadership (hegemony) of Classical Athens, Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Achaemenid Empire, Persian ...

, conflicts occurred between

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

and

. However, the Corinthians still sent a supreme magistrate each year. Potidaea was inevitably involved in all of the conflicts between Athens and Corinth. The people revolted against the Athenians in 432 BC, and it was besieged at the beginning of the

Peloponnesian War The Second Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), often called simply the Peloponnesian War (), was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek war fought between Classical Athens, Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Ancien ...

and taken in the

Battle of Potidaea The Battle of Potidaea was fought in 432 BC between Athens and a combined army from Corinth and Potidaea, along with their various allies. Along with the Battle of Sybota, it was one of the catalysts for the Peloponnesian War. Background Po ...

in 430 BC. The Athenians retook the city in 363 BC, but in 356 BC Potidaea fell into the hands of

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

. Potidaea was destroyed and its territory handed to the Olynthians.

Cassander Cassander (; ; 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 305 BC until 297 BC, and '' de facto'' ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death. A son of Antipater and a contemporary of Alexander the ...

built a city on the same site which was named

Cassandreia Cassandreia or Cassandrea (, ''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 Ancient Greek city of Potidaea, at the isth ...

. It was probably at this time that the canal, which still exists today, was dug through the sandy soil at the narrowest part of the isthmus, perhaps with the aim of making the city a naval base. In 43 BC a Roman colony was settled by the proconsul of Macedonia, which in 30 BC was resettled by Octavian (the future

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

) and took the official name Colonia Iulia Augusta Cassandrensis.

Modern legacy

The modern settlement of

Nea Poteidaia Nea Poteidaia (, also Νέα Ποτίδαια) is a town in the Moudania municipal unit, in Chalkidiki, Greece. The location is the only land access to the Kassandra Peninsula. Built on the site of the ancient city of Potidaea, 33 kilometers sou ...

, built for refugees from Asia Minor after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, is situated near this ancient site. In popular culture, the fictional character Gabrielle from the TV series Xena: Warrior Princess was described as being from Potidaea.

References

External links

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. 2012, Columbia University Press
{{coord, 40.1937, N, 23.3278, E, display=title, format=dms, source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/22703 Populated places established in the 6th century BC Populated places disestablished in the 4th century BC Corinthian colonies Greek colonies in Chalcidice Former populated places in Greece Members of the Delian League Populated places in ancient Macedonia

History

Modern legacy

See also

References

External links