Elina (Epirus)

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Epirus in antiquity Map of ancient Epirus and environs (English).svg
Epirus in antiquity

Elina (Greek : Ελίνα) was an ancient Greek, Hellenistic fortified town in the region of Epirus. [1]

Greek language language spoken in Greece, Cyprus and Southern Albania

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It has the longest documented history of any living Indo-European language, spanning more than 3000 years of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history; other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic, and many other writing systems.

Ancient Greek Version of the Greek language used from roughly the 9th century BCE to the 6th century CE

The Ancient Greek language includes the forms of Greek used in Ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century BCE to the 6th century CE. It is often roughly divided into the Archaic period, Classical period, and Hellenistic period. It is antedated in the second millennium BCE by Mycenaean Greek and succeeded by medieval Greek.

Epirus Historical region in Divided between Greece and Albania

Epirus is a geographical and historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay of Vlorë and the Acroceraunian mountains in the north to the Ambracian Gulf and the ruined Roman city of Nicopolis in the south. It is currently divided between the region of Epirus in northwestern Greece and the counties of Gjirokastër, Vlorë, and Berat in southern Albania. The largest city in Epirus is Ioannina, seat of the region of Epirus, with Gjirokastër the largest city in the Albanian part of Epirus.

The site is known locally as Dymokastro, west of the village of Perdika. Hammond discussed the site and identified it with ancient Elina. [2] It overlooked the site of the Battle of Syvota between Corcyra (modern Corfu) and Corinth at the start of the Peloponnesian War [3] and was the largest naval battle between Greek city states until that time and was one of the immediate catalysts for the war.

Perdika Place in Greece

Perdika is a village and a former community in Thesprotia, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Igoumenitsa, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 34.605 km2.

The Battle of Sybota took place in 433 BC between Corcyra and Corinth, and was, according to Thucydides, the largest naval battle between Greek city states until that time. It was one of the immediate catalysts for the Peloponnesian War.

Corfu Place in Greece

Corfu or Kerkyra is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the northwesternmost part of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality, which also includes the smaller islands of Ereikoussa, Mathraki and Othonoi. The municipality has an area of 610,9 km2, the island proper 592,8 km2. The principal city of the island and seat of the municipality is also named Corfu. Corfu is home to the Ionian University.

The city flourished from the Late Classical to the Roman times and was named after the Thesprotean tribe of Elinoi that lived in the region. It is estimated that, during the period of its peak, the population of the city reached 6000. The walls are reinforced by rectangular towers and date to the 4th century BC. The west wall was added in the Hellenistic period in order to incorporate the little port into the fortified area. Throughout the settlement are visible foundations of buildings, some of which are hewn from the rock, as well as cisterns, while at the centre of the hilltop is an open space ("Acropolis A") around which were probably clustered the public buildings of the city.

Pausanias may have mentioned the sweet water of this site. [4]

The visible fortifications on Dymokastro date to the Hellenistic period and was excavated over a series of campaigns at the end of the 20th century.

Finds are exhibited at the Archaeological Museum of Igoumenitsa.

Igoumenitsa Place in Greece

Igoumenitsa, is a coastal city in northwestern Greece. It is the capital of the regional unit of Thesprotia.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis: An Investigation Conducted by The Copenhagen Polis Centre for the Danish National Research Foundation by Mogens Herman Hansen,2005,page 340
  2. ↑ N. G. L. Hammond The Journal of Hellenic Studies Vol. 65 (1945), pp. 26-37
  3. ↑ Thucydides: Peloponnesian Wars, book 1
  4. ↑ Pausanias 7.2

Coordinates: 39°19′48″N20°17′38″E / 39.3300°N 20.2940°E / 39.3300; 20.2940

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

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