Cassope

View of the site of Cassope.

Cassope (Ancient Greek: Κασσώπη - Kassōpē, also Κασσωπία - Kassōpia and Κασσιόπη - Kassiopē[1]) was an ancient Greek city[2] in Epirus, today in the Preveza regional unit. Cassope is situated on the south-east slopes of the Zalongo mountain, near the village of Kamarina. It is built on the edge of a cliff, which dragged down a part of the site when it collapsed.[3] It is considered one of the best remaining examples of a city built along the lines of a Hippodamian plan in Greece.[3]

History

First settlements on site are known from the Paleolithic, however the prominent city of Cassope was founded in the middle of the 4th century BC[3] and served as the capital of the Cassopaeans, a sub-tribe of the Thesprotians. It belonged to the Aetolian League.[3] It flourished in the 3rd century BC, when large public buildings were built. Cassope also minted its own coins. It was destroyed by Roman forces in 168-167 BC[4] Cassope was abandoned in 31 B.C. when the remaining inhabitants resettled to Nikopolis.[3]

Archaeology

The ruins of Cassope were visited and described by William Martin Leake in the early 19th century.[5] 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,[4] co-led by Dakaris, Wolfram Hoepfner, Konstantina Gravani, and Ernst-Ludwig Schwandner.

References

  1. ↑  Smith, William, ed. (1854). "Cassope". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography 1. London: John Murray. pp. 560–561.
  2. ↑ 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 346
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Guide Bleu, Greece. Hachette Livre, 2000. p. 627.
  4. 1 2 Cassope page of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture
  5. ↑ Travels in Northern Greece: Volume 1 by William Martin Leake, 2001, page 252, "... marching from Acarnania into Epirus, pitched his camp near the city Cassopia 3. ..."

See also

External links

Coordinates: 39°08′43″N 20°40′32″E / 39.14528°N 20.67556°E / 39.14528; 20.67556

References


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