Neapolis () was an

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

city, located in Edonis, a region of

ancient Thrace The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared betwee ...

and later of

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

. The site is located near modern

Kavala Kavala (, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the A2 motorway, a one-and ...

. Neapolis was founded by colonists from

Thasos Thasos or Thassos (, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area. The island has an area of 380 km2 and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate regiona ...

, perhaps around the middle of the 7th century BC.Lazarides, D. (1976)
NEAPOLIS or NEA POLlS (Kavala) Thrace, Greece
''The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites'', accessed 7 June 2020 Neapolis was a member 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 ...

and entered the Athenian tribute list at 454 BC first by toponym and by 443 BC by city-ethnic name. Recorded a total of fourteen times form 454 to 429 BC, it paid a tribute of 1,000 drachmas a year. It had independence from

as dues of its customs were collected in its own harbour. At one point, property of Neapolitans in Thasos was confiscated by the oligarchs related to a situation from before 463 BC when the Thasian ''peraia'' was detached from Thasos. Despite the defection of Thasos from the Delian league in 411 BC, Neapolis remained loyal, causing the Neapolitan oligarchs to flee to Thasos and the confiscation of their property. Neapolis was besieged by the Thasians unsuccessfully, causing the Athenians to praise them for their loyalty and for participating in the siege of Thasos itself in 410 or 409 BC. Around 350 BC,

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 ...

took Neapolis and used it as

Philippi Philippi (; , ''Phílippoi'') was a major Greek city northwest of the nearby island, Thasos. Its original name was Crenides (, ''Krēnĩdes'' "Fountains") after its establishment by Thasian colonists in 360/359 BC. The city was renamed by Phili ...

's harbor. At the

Battle of Philippi The Battle of Philippi was the final battle in the Liberators' civil war between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian (of the Second Triumvirate) and the leaders of Julius Caesar's assassination, Brutus and Cassius, in 42 BC, at Philippi in ...

in 42 BC, the harbor was used as a base by the Republican leaders

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC) was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, which was reta ...

and Cassius. It kept its importance as a station on the

Via Egnatia The Via Egnatia was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It crossed Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thracia, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania, North Macedonia, Greece, and European Turkey as a contin ...

through the Imperial and early Christian periods. notes that

Paul Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo ...

landed here when he sailed from Troas to begin his missionary labors in Europe. From here he went to nearby Philippi. This source in turn cites Acts xvi. 9-11.

References

Populated places in ancient Macedonia Populated places in ancient Thrace Greek colonies in Thrace Former populated places in Greece New Testament cities Roman towns and cities in Greece Members of the Delian League Thasian colonies Greek colonies in East Macedonia History of Kavala {{AncientThrace-geo-stub

See also

References