Dion, Greece

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Coordinates: 40°10′N 22°29′E

Greece Dion (Δίο)
Coordinates 40°10′ N 22°29′ E
Country Greece
Periphery Central Macedonia
Prefecture Pieria
Population 11,252 source (2001)
Elevation 129 m
Postal code 601 00
Area code 23510
Licence plate code KN

Dion (Greek, Modern: Δίο Dio, Ancient/Katharevousa -on) is a municipality and village in the Prefecture of Pieria, Northern Greece, best known for its museum and archaeological site. The Ancient city of Dion was a place of some importance, due to its location at the foot of Mount Olympus. Archaeological findings show that this was where Zeus was honored. It is located 15 km. SW of Katerini, 425 km to the North of Athens and 65 km to the North of Larissa.

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[edit] History

The village owes its name to the important sanctuary dedicated to Zeus (Greek "Dias"), leader of the Twelve Gods who dwelt on Mount Olympus, as recorded by Hesiod. The ruins of the ancient city lie within its boundaries. Thyia, daughter of Deucalion, bore Zeus two sons, Magnes and Makedon, who dwelt in Pieria at the foot of Mount Olympus.

The first mention of Dion in history comes from Thucydides, who reports that it was the first city reached by the Spartan general Brasidas after crossing from Thessaly into Macedon on his way through the realm of his ally Perdiccas II during his expedition against the Athenian colonies of Thrace in 424 BC. According to Diodorus Siculus, it was Archelaus I who, at the end of the 5th century BC, gave the city and its sanctuary their subsequent importance by instituting a nine-day festival that included athletic and dramatic competitions in honor of Zeus and the Muses.

Dion used to be a village called "Malathria". In 1992 a mass demonstration was staged in Dion at the Ancient Theatre in support of the argument that Macedonia is a part of Greece. This was at a time when the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was in dispute with Greece on this topic. In October 1992, it became a municipality for political reasons, and the municipality now encompasses several villages including Kondariotissa, Vrondou, Karitsa, and Dion. The municipality is called "Dimos Diou" or the "Municipality of Dion" and the administrative centre is in the village of Kondariotissa.

[edit] Archaeology

The site of ancient Dion was first identified by the famous English traveler William Martin Leake on December 21, 1806, in the ruins adjoining the village of Malathria. He published his discovery in the third volume of his Travels in Northern Greece in 1835. Léon Heuzey visited the site during his famous Macedonian archaeological mission of 1855 and again in 1861. Later, the epigraphist G. Oikonomos published the first series of inscriptions. Nevertheless, systematic archaeological exploration did not begin until 1928. From then until 1931, G. Sotiriadis carried out a series of surveys, uncovering a 4th-century BC Macedonian tomb and an early Christian basilica. Excavations were not resumed until 1960 under the direction of G. Bakalakis in the area of the theatre and the wall. Since 1973, Professor D. Pandermalis of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki has conducted archaeological research in the city.

[edit] Other

Dion has a school, lyceum, gymnasia, banks, a post office, and squares (plateies).

[edit] Historical population

Year Population Change Municipal population Change
1981 1,236 - - -
1991 1,149 -87/-7.04% 9,876 -
2001 1,310 161/14.01%/ - -

[edit] References

  • F. Papazoglou, Les villes de Macédoine romaine, Supplément 18 du BCH, Paris, 1988.
  • D. Pandermalis, Dion, the archaeological site and the museum, Athens, 1997.

[edit] External links

[edit] See also


Municipalities of the Pieria Prefecture
Aiginio • Dio • East Olympos • Elafina • Katerini • Kolindros • Korinos • Litochoro • Methoni • Paralia • Petra • Pierion • Pydna
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