Archaeological Park of Dion

About

The Archaeological Park of Dion is the most important archaeological site at Mount Olympus in Greece, located in Dion (Greek: Δίον). In the area comprised by the Archaeological Park of Dion, sanctuaries were found from the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The park displays the importance of ancient Dion in the history of Pieria.

Dion is located at the north-east foot of Mount Olympus. It is five kilometers from the sea, 15 kilometers from Katerini and 17 kilometers from the ancient Leivithra. In Hellenistic times the distance to the sea was only 1.5 kilometers. Dion is connected with the Thermaean Gulf by the once navigable river Baphyras.

The park has an area of 150 hectares, of which nearly 50 hectares belong to the urban area and 50 hectares to the sanctuaries. The other area has not yet been explored archaeologically. In the former urban area residential buildings, a market square, public buildings, churches, bathhouses, shops, workshops and toilets have been found. The sanctuaries, the theaters and the cemetery are located outside the city

Half a kilometer west of the archaeological park, in the modern village of Dion, is the archaeological museum, built in 1983. Here the finds of ancient Dion and other archaeological places are exhibited. On the first floor there are also exhibits from Pydna and other archaeological sites of Pieria. In a small cinema, visitors will be audiovisual informed about Dion.

The building was erected directly behind the museum on the western side, specifically for the exhibition of the Dionysos mosaic. On the upper floor, a gallery is arranged around the mosaic so that the visitor can view it from all perspectives. In showcases recently found exhibits are displayed.

The park has an area of 150 hectares, of which nearly 50 hectares belong to the urban area and 50 hectares to the sanctuaries. The other area has not yet been explored archaeologically. In the former urban area residential buildings, a market square, public buildings, churches, bathhouses, shops, workshops and toilets have been found. The sanctuaries, the theaters and the cemetery are located outside the city

Half a kilometer west of the archaeological park, in the modern village of Dion, is the archaeological museum, built in 1983. Here the finds of ancient Dion and other archaeological places are exhibited. On the first floor there are also exhibits from Pydna and other archaeological sites of Pieria. In a small cinema, visitors will be audiovisual informed about Dion.

The building was erected directly behind the museum on the western side, specifically for the exhibition of the Dionysos mosaic. On the upper floor, a gallery is arranged around the mosaic so that the visitor can view it from all perspectives. In showcases recently found exhibits are displayed.

424 v. Thucydides mentions Dion as the first city reached by the Spartan general Brasidas, coming from Thessaly (Tempi) in Macedonia. Pausanias mentioned Dion as one of the places where Orpheus had lived.

In the Hellenistic period, Dion became the religious center of Macedonia. Zeus was venerated here, and Olympic games were held in honor of Zeus and the Muses. The village of Dion gained a certain importance within Greece through the sanctuary and over time developed into a city. Alexander the Great sacrificed to Zeus in Dion before he began his campaign against the Persians. Later, he had 25 bronze statues of the cavaliers fallen in the Battle of the Cranicos, erected in the Zeus Olympios Shrine. In the year 219 BC, the city was destroyed by the Aitolians. Philipp V had the city rebuilt immediately. The Romans took the city 169 BC. Gradually, Roman settlers came to Dion and brought their officialdom, their units of measurement and weight units with them. In the course of the changing owners, more sanctuaries were built. After the middle of the 3rd century AD, the decline started by the raids of neighboring tribes, earthquakes and floods. In the fourth century AD, Dion (Dium) experienced a last flourishing when it became the official seat of a bishop. The place is last mentioned as an administrative district of the Byzantine emperor Constantinos Porphyrogennetos in the 10th century.

At the end of the 18th century, the French consul Felix de Beaujour visited ancient Dion without knowing the ancient site that was abandoned and covered with the remains of buildings and columns.

In December 1806 the ancient Dion was rediscovered by the English explorer William M. Leake. He identified the ruins of ancient Dion near the village of Melathria, a small village inhabited by farmers and cattle breeders (Melathria was later renamed Dion). He recognized under the vegetation the ancient Hellenistic theater, the stadium and parts of the city wall. The French archaeologist Léon Heuzey confirmed the discovery in 1855. He mapped parts of the city wall, found the foundations of some towers and noted the inscriptions of some tombstones.

From 1912, the year of the liberation of Macedonia by the Ottomans, the ancient Dion was given more attention. The archaeologist G. P. Oikonomos collected and published all the inscriptions he found in the vicinity of Dion.

The Rector of the University of Thessaloniki and Professor of Archeology, Georgios Sotiriadis, began with the first excavations. They began in June 1928 with the aim of finding the sanctuary of Zeus Olympios. He found and examined several of the tumuli within the city walls. Also, a basilica from early Christian times was discovered. The assumption that a temple was under the basilica proved to be deceptive after which one had dug five meters deep. The most important find of this first period of excavation was a Macedonian vault from the 4th century BC, Which had already been plundered by grave-robbers in ancient times. The excavations were discontinued in 1931.

Charalambos Makaronas found a second Macedonian grave in 1955. A third grave was discovered a year later.

From 1961 Georgios Bakalakis resumed the works. In 1962, a large part of the city walls and the defensive towers were discovered during the mapping of the previously known excavation site. During the excavation phase under G. Bakalakis, the Roman theater was located, which extends southeast of the Hellenistic theater. The excavations at the early Christian basilica were completed by Stylianos Pelekanidis.

From the summer of 1973, the work was continued under the direction of Professor Dimitrios Pandermalis ( University of Thessaloniki ). His first goal was to explore the remains of two buildings south of the city area. The excavations revealed the Demeter sanctuary. In the same year, finds of statues of Asklepios, Hygeia and Telesphoros showed that also the Asklepios cult was practiced in Dion. On the main street the armor and the shields were released. The orchestras of the Hellenistic theater were then freed from the overlying layer of the earth. The theater dates from the 5th century BC; the Bacchae of Euripides were premiered here.

In the summer of 1976 excavations were carried out in the southeastern sector within the city wall. One came upon the great thermae. These were obviously destroyed by an earthquake. The mosaic of a bull in the frigidarium was separated into two parts, the lower part of which is 50 cm lower than the upper one. On the northern side of the baths were statues of the children of Asklepios.

Under difficult conditions the excavation work on the Isis Shrine took place. Spring water and mud caused the trenches to collapse frequently. A dam was built to continue the work. Again, there were signs of destruction by an earthquake with subsequent flooding. The excavations were completed in 1984.

The stadium was excavated in 1995 under the leadership of Giorgos Karadedos. Beside the playing field, several rows of seats were found.