View of Paleopolis area, Andros (Greece)

Palaiopoli (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

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

Andros Andros ( el, Άνδρος, ) is the northernmost island of the 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 ...

in the Cyclades Islands,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, and was the capital of Andros, called

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

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

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, . Its center was in Athens, and from there the style spread among the trading cities of th ...

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

kouros kouros ( grc, κοῦρος, , plural kouroi) is the modern term given to free-standing 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 a less ...

, and a statue group of

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

and

Bellerophon Bellerophon (; Ancient Greek: Βελλεροφῶν) or Bellerophontes (), born as Hipponous, was a hero of Greek mythology. He was "the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, alongside Cadmus and Perseus, before the days of Heracles", and his ...

, 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 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 is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name t ...

churches found in the area.

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 (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...

References

External links

Ministry of Culture on Archaeological Museum of Palaiopolis
{{Coord, 37, 49, 10, N, 24, 49, 55, E, type:city_region:GR, display=title Ancient Andros Populated places in Andros