Antigonia (Chaonia)
Antigonea (Greek: Αντιγόνεια), also transliterated as Antigonia and Antigoneia, was an ancient Greek[1] city in Chaonia, Epirus, and the chief inland city of the ancient Chaonians. It was founded in the 3rd century BC by Pyrrhus of Epirus, who named it after one of his wives, Antigone, daughter of Berenice I and step-daughter of Ptolemy I of Egypt. In 198 BC the Romans defeated the Macedonian armies of Philip V. The inhabitants of Antigoneia had sided with the Macedonians and so when the Romans were victorious over the Macedonians in 167BC they decided to punish those who had fought against them. The Romans set fire to 70 towns in Epirus including Antigoneia and the town was not rebuilt.[2] A newly discovered church, on the floor of which there is a mosaic of Saint Christopher and a Greek emblem, testifying to the city’s existence in the palaeo-Christian period, was the last building constructed in ancient Antigonea. It was destroyed during Slav assaults in the 6th century AD.[3]
Its ruins are located just south of the village of Saraqinisht in the Antigonë municipal unit, Gjirokastër County, Albania. Now that area has been declared a National Archaeological Park by the Albanian Government. The ruins are accessible from Gjirokastër by car or by nature trail.[4]
The Archaeological Park is known for having organized since 2007 a yearly Festival of the Pagan Rites and the Popular Games (Albanian: Festivali i Riteve Pagane dhe Lojrave Popullore).[5] Recently, the village has hosted an annual culinary exhibition showcasing the best of local organic production and traditional specialties.[6]
The ancient town was identified and excavated by the Albanian archaeologist Dhimosten Budina. More recently an Albanian-Greek team of archaeologists has been working on the site.[7]
See also
References
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- ↑ Antigonea Archaeological Park website
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- ↑ Zacho, K.L, 'The Antigonea Project: Preliminary report on the first season' in Bejko and Hodges, 'New Directions in Albanian Archaeology' ICAA 2006
External links
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- Articles containing Greek-language text
- Articles containing Albanian-language text
- Pages with broken file links
- Archaeological sites in Albania
- Chaonia
- Epirote colonies
- Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Albania
- Hellenistic Albania
- Ruins in Albania
- Former populated places in the Balkans
- Pyrrhus of Epirus
- Parks in Albania
- Archaeological parks
