Amphipolis was an ancient city built in Eastern Macedonia, on the banks of the river Strymon, in place of the city formerly called “Nine Roads” or very close to it.
Philip in Kasta Tomb
Amphipolis was founded by Athenians the 437 e.g.. in order to control the rich raw materials area and finally abandoned in the 8th century AD.
Today the area is built the namesake modern settlement, located approximately 60 km. Southeast of Serres.
Archaeological research has uncovered remains of human settlement dating back around 3.000 e.g.. Due to its strategic position the area was fortified very early.
The Iion was an ancient Greek city founded by the colonists from Eretria on the left bank of the Struma, at a distance 25 stages (4.628 m. i.e.. 25×185,15) from Amphipolis, but it is far from Amphipolis or Chrysoupoli Kavalas.
The Iiona the historian Thucydides in The History of the Peloponnesian War as a place of particular strategic importance for the Athenians during the Peloponnesian War.
The Iion or Iiona or Ion, in antiquity, He was captured by the Persians in 476 e.g.. during the Persian Wars. Xerxes built near the bridge to pass the Persian army in Macedonia. Later, the Persian general Vogis defended against the Athenians, who were led by Kimon, the son of Miltiades.
Then the 475 e.g.. besieged, to join the "League of Delos", led Athens, and chief of the allied troops was General Cimon.
In the Peloponnesian War, historian Thucydides, which was saved from the general Vrasidas , not yet managed to recover Amphipolis, so sentenced to death, which has avoided staying exile twenty years.
The 480 e.g.. Xerxes passing the area buried alive nine young men and nine maidens as a sacrifice to river god. Studying sources, the history of Amphipolis can only stop one to information that gives us Herodotus, that Xerxes during its passage from the region 480 BC made the burial nine teenagers and nine girls, the local population!
Specifically Herodotus in the Seventh book says: “And this site, located around ap᾽ pangeo, Fyllis said, and extends westward to the river Aggitis which pours its waters into the Struma, While southwards extends to the Strymon, in which the Magi, to get aisioys omens, butchered white horses.
Since they made those magical ceremonies of the river and, near these s᾽, and many in the city Nine roads hedoni, coloured by the bridge over the Strymon, as they found the banks of zemenes with bridge. And when I learned that this place was called Nine routes, katachwsan living on Earth there nine brave men and nine women of local population.
” Below tries not to give his own interpretation of this strange act of Xerxes: What is the Persian custom of living on earth katachonoun· so, I have information that the Amistris, the wife of Xerxes, in her old age she did gift to God, katapws believe that reign in the underworld, two eptades boys, sons official Persians, katachonontas of the earth - was thanks to the god give her life. About one hundred and fifty years later from the same point would begin, the fleet of Alexander the Great in Asia. Only Alexander had no need either to "burial" new, nor to sacrifice another "Iphigenia".
A year later at Amphipolis King of Macedonia Alexander defeated the remnants of the army of Xerxes.
In the 5th century BC. Athenians attempted to colonize the region had direct access to important raw materials, such as gold and silver Paggeo and dense forests of the region of interest -the last of the Athenians for their timber.
The first attempt in Athens, the 465 e.g., to colonize the area failed. Thracians peltasts crashed in Draviskos the hoplite phalanx 2.500-3.000 Athenian colonists in the Nine Streets city, who went to the Thracian hinterland in order to capture the lucrative gold mines.
A little to the west of the current homonymous village, at "Fragkala", identified remains (architectural members and inscriptions) ancient city, which coincides with the ancient Thracian city of Idonidas Draviskos, the name of the rescued, with only minimal alteration, the old name of the village "Sdraviki".
The mention of the city by Strabo and Appian testifies to the existence of the Roman era, It probably downgraded to mere hamlet dependent administratively from the nearby Amphipolis. The 465 BC Thracians peltasts crashed there hoplite phalanx 2.500-3.000 Athenian colonists in the Nine Streets city, who went to the Thracian hinterland in order to capture the lucrative gold mines.
The name of the Nine Streets, the city took it literally nine roads leading there or started from there. They were the backbone of the political map of the entire Pangaiou. Depending on the destination of every street, given to him by me, proper name.
The Nine Streets was the Hedoni city on the banks of the Struma River in Macedonia which was destroyed by the Athenians , who raided sudden, without any prior cause.
Specifically, after the Persian Wars, the 430 e.g., Athenian Republic decided to capture the gold-bearing region and the expulsion of its inhabitants to create there own colony, sending the Athenian general who is pure and eventually he occupied, sacked and destroyed evicting residents, those who survived the annihilation, It is then built in the same place Amfipolis.
Thucydides says : "This position, where the city is now, previously tried to colonize and Aristagoras of Miletus, since the persecuted King Darius, but was expelled from Hedoni· then, after thirty-two years the Athenians sent ten thousand settlers and their own and other cities volunteers, who were exterminated in Draviskos by the Thracians.
Athens returned the time of Pericles, the 437 e.g., founding Amphipolis. According to Thucydides, the city was so named because the Strymon River flows around the city surrounding the, but the etymology there are other theories. In Amphipolis subsequently became the main base of the Athenians in Thrace and goal Spartans. And after twenty-nine years, the (430 e.g.. ), Athenians came again led to the establishment of the colony pure Nicky, They expelled the Hedoni and built the city in the position formerly called Nine Streets.
Basis for the company were Iiona, their commercial port at the river mouth, within twenty-five stages of the current city the pure named Amphipolis, For as the Strymon the washes from both sides forming elbow, long wall built from a point of the river to another and founded the city, excellent from the sea and from the land ". During the Peloponnesian War the Spartans conquered the city. For the city's salvation was sent by the Athenians an expedition led by Thucydides (the subsequent history).
mission failed, which led Thucydides in exile. Then he sent Cleon who was killed during the battle of Amphipolis, a severe crash where they found death and the Spartan general Brasidas. With the Peace of Nicias Nicias or peace, Sparta was bound to pay the Amphipolis to Athens, something that was not done and marked a new frictions and one of the issues that stood cause breaching the peace and resume the Peloponnesian War.
http://greekhistoryandprehistory.blogspot.com/
