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| Amphipolis | ||
| region | Macedonia | |
|---|---|---|
| Residents | 147 (2011,2011) | |
| height | 73 m | |
| Tourist info web | http://www.amfipolis.com | |
no tourist info on Wikidata:  | ||
| location | ||
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Amphipolis is a village and an ancient site in Macedonia in Greece.
background
Amphipolis was an ancient Greek polis that existed as an urban settlement until late antiquity. It extends within a radius of several kilometers around the acropolis of the ancient city and was an important station at the Via Egnatia in Roman times. Today only the foundation walls are preserved.
getting there
By plane
The closest airports are from Kavala and Thessaloniki.
By bus
In the street
The place is on the Thessaloniki-Kavala motorway and has an exit nearby.
By boat
The modern port of Amphipolis is silted up in the meantime, so that you cannot enter it with a sailboat. The closest anchorages are the port of Karyani or Stavros.
mobility
The excavation site is about 1 km from the museum in the village. A vehicle is required for the outlying attractions.
Tourist Attractions
Amphipolis site map
Map of Amphipolis
- 1 Archaeological Museum (Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Αμφίπολης).
The museum is well equipped, interestingly designed and well worth a visit. - Excavation site (acropolis). The remains of the building date from the early Christian and Byzantine periods. It has been proven that there are remains of buildings from the Roman period. It is likely that it was already built before the Roman era. As in many archaeological sites in this area, earlier temples were built over with churches to remove the relics of the ancient belief in many gods (12 gods). So today you can essentially only see the foundations of old churches. The excavation site is not very exciting and rather something for historians.
- 2 city wall - The wall surrounding the Acropolis at the time of the early Christian period is 1105 meters long and 1.65 to 2.75 meters wide; its height is between 0.50 and 1.15 meters.
- 3 Alfa basilica
- 4 Antique water reservoir
- 5 Basilica Gamma
- 6 Basilica Delta
- 7 Early Christian Church
- 8 Betta basilica
- 9 high school - The Amphipolis high school was built at the end of the 4th century BC. Built in BC. It consists of common rooms, classrooms and training facilities for the athletes both indoors and outdoors. It is the only ancient grammar school that has so far been found in northern Greece.
- 10 Roman house. It was built in the 3rd century, its construction and equipment suggest that it was a public building. The previously uncovered part of the villa was built around an atrium, which was covered with rectangular marble slabs. The walls of the rooms were plastered and painted with colored geometric patterns. The found mosaics (partly on display in the museum) are of particular interest.
- 11 Marmari Tower..The tower was built in 1367 based on an inscription that is now in the Amfipolis Museum. It was built by high officials in Constantinople who owned land in the area. Later, before 1384, the tower was donated to the Pantokrator Monastery (on Mount Athos).
- 12 Amphipolis bridge..The wooden bridge connected the city with its port. The river Strymon was probably navigable at this time. It was built outside the city walls and was flooded during floods.
- 13 Amphipolis Lion (Λέων Αμφιπόλεως).beautiful and photogenic grave monument from the 4th century BC In honor of the Admiral Laomedon from the island of Lesbos (Mytilene).
- 14 Kasta tomb Amphipolis (Τύμβος Καστά).
Kasta Hill is 2.5 kilometers northeast of the Acropolis. It is the largest tomb that has been found in Greece so far. The complex is surrounded by a 497 meter long and three meter high wall made of marble from the island of Thassos. The burial mound is about 30 meters high, 250,000 m³ of sand were needed to fill it up. The grave is said to have been in the late 4th century BC. BC (325-300). - 15 Chandakas Tower. There is no information about the construction of the tower, but most likely it was built around the same time as the tower of Marmari, i. H. In the 14th century.
- 16 Tower of Efkarpia (Koutzi tower). The tower is not mentioned in Byzantine or other historical sources. It is known that a Proastion (settlement) existed in this area, which was granted to the Chilandar Monastery on Mount Athos by Emperor Andronicos II Palaiologos in 1299. So this was most likely a monastery tower similar to the towers of Chlakidiki, the purpose of which was to protect and serve the various dependencies of the monasteries of Mount Athos. The type of construction and what little we know about the history of the area date the tower to around the mid-14th century.
- 17 Maro Tower. The ruins of a tower are in the village. The tower is known as the Tower of Maro or the Tower of Kyra-Maro. Maro was a princess of Greco-Serb origin who was born in 1418. At the age of 17 she married the Sultan of the Ottomans Murat II and became the foster mother of the next Sultan Muhamed II, the conqueror. She was very powerful and intervened in religious and political affairs many times. Towards the end of her life she withdrew here and lived in this tower. She had a large property (approved by the Sultan). When she died, her fortune was inherited by monasteries on Mount Athos.
- 18 Agia Marina Tower. The tower dates from the first half of the 14th century. On the same hill, below the tower, there is a chapel built into a rock in the immediate vicinity of the tower. The chapel is dedicated to Agia Marina.
- 19 Eion (Χρυσόπολη Θράκης, Chrysopolis).was an ancient port city on the left side of the mouth of the Strymon. Later it was a Byzantine port city that developed in the delta of the Strymonas River after the 10th century and became an important port. It is near Amfipolis on a lagoon that is full of flamingos in the fall. A true Byzantine city, Chrysopolis was protected by a fortress, some remains of which are still preserved today.
- 20 Orfanio castle ruins. In the Classical Period, as well as in the Roman and Byzantine periods, Amfipolis was the urban center of the region of the Strymon River Delta. During the Ottoman occupation, the city gradually lost its importance and business activity shifted to Marmario, while military control was concentrated in the modern village of Orfanio, where a small fortress was built. This small fortress to protect the delta was likely built in the 18th century or maybe earlier.
- 21 Kariani castle ruins. A few scattered remains of a Byzantine fortress on a low hill among vineyards. The castle is first mentioned by the sources in the 11th century. It seems that the castle never housed a settlement. It was probably just a haven for the population.
- 22 Asprovalta castle ruins. The fortress was most likely a station at the Via Egnatia called Pennana. The station must have been used long after the Romans, possibly long after the Ottoman conquest.
activities
- Swimming: On the beach of Orfrinio or Asprovalta
- hike: at the Pangeo
kitchen
There are restaurants in the village of Amphipolis and a large selection in the seaside resorts on the coast
accommodation
The best accommodations can be found on the coast of Orfrinio or Asprovalta.
