Dion Δίον | |
|---|---|
 Hypocaust of ancient public baths | |
 Location within the regional unit | |
  Dion | |
| Coordinates:40°10′N22°29′E / 40.167°N 22.483°E /40.167; 22.483 | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | Central Macedonia |
| Regional unit | Pieria |
| Municipality | Dio-Olympos |
| Area | |
| • Municipal unit | 172.743 km2 (66.696 sq mi) |
| • Community | 31.375 km2 (12.114 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 40 m (130 ft) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
| • Municipal unit | 9,067 |
| • Municipal unit density | 52.49/km2 (135.9/sq mi) |
| • Community | 1,268 |
| • Community density | 40.41/km2 (104.7/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 601 00 |
| Area code | 23510 |
| Vehicle registration | KN |
Dion (Greek:Δίον;[note 1]Ancient Greek:Δῖον;[note 2]Latin:Dium) is a village and municipal unit in the municipality ofDion-Olympos in thePieria regional unit,Greece.[note 3] It is located at the foot ofMount Olympus at a distance of 17 km from the capital city ofKaterini. The seat of the municipal unit was inKondariotissa.
It is best known for its great ancient Macedonian sanctuary ofZeus and the ancient city, much of which is visible in theArchaeological Park of Dion[2] and theArchaeological Museum of Dion.
The ancient city owes its name to the most important Macedonian sanctuary dedicated to Zeus (Dios, "of Zeus"), leader of thegods who dwelt on Mount Olympus; as recorded byHesiod'sCatalogue of Women,Thyia, daughter ofDeucalion, bore Zeus two sons,Magnes andMakedon,eponyms ofMagnetes andMakedones, who dwelt inPieria at the foot of Mount Olympus.[3] Hence from very ancient times, a large altar had been set up for the worship of Olympian Zeus and his daughters, the Muses, in a unique environment characterised by rich vegetation, towering trees, countless springs and a navigable river. For this reason Dion was the "sacred place" of theAncient Macedonians. It was the place where the kings made splendid sacrifices to celebrate the new year of the Macedonian calendar at the end of September. In the Spring, purification rites of the army and victory feasts were held.
The first mention of Dion in history comes fromThucydides, who reports that it was the first city reached by theSpartan generalBrasidas after crossing fromThessaly intoMacedon on his way through the realm of his allyPerdiccas II during his expedition against the Athenian colonies ofThrace in 424 BC.[4] According toDiodorus Siculus, it wasArchelaus I who, at the end of the 5th century BC when the Macedonian state acquired great power and emerged onto the stage of history, gave the city and its sanctuary their subsequent importance by instituting a nine-day festival of games that included athletic and dramatic competitions in honor of Zeus and theMuses, whose organisation was overseen by the Macedonian kings themselves.
Philip II andAlexander the Great celebrated victories here, and Alexander assembled his armies and performed magnificent sacrifices here on the eve of his campaign to Asia in 334 BC.[5]
Many ancient authors speak of the sculptural bronze masterpiece byLysippos made for Alexander depicting 25 mounted companions who fell at theBattle of the Granicus and later taken to Rome byMetellus.
A city was built adjacent to the sacred sites that acquired monumental form during the reigns of Alexander the Great's successors andCassander took a great interest in the city erecting strong walls and public buildings, so that in Hellenistic times Dion was renowned far and wide for its fortification and splendid monuments. Dion and its sanctuary was destroyed during theSocial War in 219 BC by Aetolian invaders but was immediately rebuilt byPhilip V. Many of the dedications from the sanctuary that had been destroyed were buried in pits, including royal inscriptions and treaties, and these have been discovered recently.
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It fell to the Romans in 169 BC[6] and the city was given a new lease of life in 32/31 BC whenOctavian founded the Colony ofCOLONIA JULIA AUGUSTA DIENSIS here.[7][8] Coins of colonial Dion survive.[9] It experienced its second heyday during the reigns of 2nd- and 3rd-century AD Roman emperors who were fond of Alexander the Great. Dion's final important period was in the 4th and 5th centuries AD when it became the seat of a bishopric. It was abandoned following major earthquakes and floods.
The modern village at the site was calledMalathria until 1961, when it was renamed toDion.[10]
The site of ancient Dion was first identified by the English travelerWilliam Martin Leake on December 2, 1806, in the ruins adjoining the village ofMalathria. He published his discovery in the third volume of hisTravels in Northern Greece in 1835.Léon Heuzey visited the site during his famous Macedonian archaeological mission of 1855 and again in 1861 when he also detected the ancientLeivithra. Later, theepigraphist 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, ProfessorDimitrios Pandermalis of theAristotle University of Thessaloniki has conducted archaeological research in the city.
Dion is the site of a large temple dedicated to Zeus, as well as a series of temples to Demeter and to Isis (the Egyptian goddess was a favorite ofAlexander).
Excavation of the magnificent House of Dionysos revealed a mosaic of exceptionally fine quality.
A rare and unusual find in the museum is a bronze "hydraulis" or hydraulic musical pipe organ found in a former workshop.
In 2006, a statue ofHera was found built into the walls of the city. The statue, 2200 years old, had been used by the early Christians of Dion as filling for the city's defensive wall.[11]
In October 1992, the Municipality of Dion (Δήμος Δίου,Dimos Diou) was formed. At the 1997Kapodistrias reform, it was expanded with the former communitiesAgios Spyridonas,Karitsa,Kondariotissa,Nea Efesos andVrontou.[12] The administrative center was in the village ofKondariotissa. As part of Greece's2011 local government reform Dion merged with the former municipalitiesEast Olympos andLitochoro to form the new municipalityDion-Olympos. Dion became a municipal unit of the newly formedmunicipality, and the former municipal districts became communities.[13] The community of Dion consists of the village of the same name andPlatanakia.[14] The municipal unit has an area of 172.74 km2 (67 sq mi), the community 31.38 km2 (12 sq mi).[15]
| Year | Community population | Municipal unit population |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 1,236 | - |
| 1991 | 1,149 | 9,876 |
| 2001 | 1,314 | 10,885 |
| 2011[14] | 1,424 | 10,066 |
| 2021[1] | 1,268 | 9,067 |
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![Inscription from the Archaeological Museum of Dion reading "ΒΑΣΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΦΙΛΙΠΠΟΥ" [King Philip]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aInscription_from_Dion.jpg)
Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). "Dium".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray.
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