Shorapani ( ka, შორაპანი) is a small

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

n town, situated in the Zestafoni District, part of the region of

Imereti Imereti ( Georgian: იმერეთი) is a region of Georgia situated in the central-western part of the republic along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni River. Imereti is the most populous region in Georgia. It consists of 11 mun ...

. Founded in the 3rd century BC, it served as a residence of the ''eristavi'' (dukes) of Argveti (also known as the Duchy of Shorapani) in the

Antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

and the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. Near the town are the ruins of a fortress, mentioned as ''Sarapana'' by Strabo and ''Sarapanis'' by

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman ge ...

as a strong position on the road that led from

Colchis In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia. Its population, the Colchians are generally though ...

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a la ...

Legends

Shorapani (Sarapanis) is the toponymy, that is mentioned in old Greek mythology. That was Sarapanis that

Jason Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek mythology, mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was marri ...

and his Argonaut friends approached during their travel in old Colchis (Kolkhida).

External links

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD)
Cities and towns in Imereti Populated places in Zestafoni Municipality {{Georgia-geo-stub

Legends

See also

External links