Cassope (Greek: Κασσόπη transliterated Kassopi or Kassope) was an ancient Greek city in Epirus, today in Preveza Prefecture. It is considered one of the best examples of a city built along the lines of a Hippodamian plan in Greece.[1]
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Cassope is situated on the south-east slopes of the Zalongo mountain, near the village of Zalongo. It is built on the edge of a cliff, which dragged down a part of the site when it collapsed.[1] Its approximate location is 39.8.50N 20.40.31E.
First settlements on site are known from the Paleolithic, however the prominent city of Cassope was founded in the middle of the 4th century B.C.[1] and served as the capital of the Cassopaea. It belonged to the Aetolian League.[1] Cassope was destroyed by Roman forces in 177-176 B.C. and abandoned in 31 B.C. when the remaining inhabitants resettled to Nikopolis.[1]
Extensive excavations were performed by a Greek team under Sotiris Dakaris in 1952 and 1955, and in 1977-1983 by a team from the University of Ioannina together with the German Archaeological Institute, co-led by Dakaris, Wolfram Hoepfner, Konstantina Gravani, and Ernst-Ludwig Schwandner.