Dion (Greece). Antique city of Dion Dion ancient city in Greece
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GREECE PART I- [Greek Republic; Greek Ελληνική Ϫημοκρατία], state in the southeast. Europe, occupying the south of the Balkan Peninsula. Territory 131,944 sq. km, including islands of 25 thousand square meters. km, coastline has a length of 4100 km (including the islands, about 15 thousand km). On the… … Orthodox Encyclopedia
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ANCIENT GREECE- territory in the south of the Balkan Peninsula (see also the articles Antiquity, Greece). The history of D.G. covers the period from the beginning. II millennium BC to the beginning I millennium AD Geography and ethnography Phaistos disc. XVII century BC (Archaeological Museum in Heraklion, ... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia
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The archaeological park of Dion fascinates with the beauty of nature, the breath of antiquity and the abundance of the water element.
City of Zeus- this is how the name can be translated Dion.
Founded in ancient times at the foot of the city inhabited by the gods Olympus, the city has played a role throughout its history religious center Macedonia, and subsequently throughout Greece. Dion, in importance in ancient Hellas, was not inferior to such world-famous ancient Greek cultural and religious centers as Delphi And Olympia. World famous plays were staged here for the first time in the theater. Euripides"Archelaus" and "Bacchae". Here to the sounds of the divine lyre Orpheus Rivers stopped, wild animals were humbled, and trees and stones danced. Here they thanked the gods with abundant sacrifices Philip and Alexander the Great, after the Chaeronean victory of 338 BC. From here, having made sacrifices to Zeus and the Olympians after the defeat of Thebes, the Great Alexander went on his Asian campaign. Here, after the fall of Macedonia, during the era of Roman rule, the center of the province was located and its own coin was minted. With the arrival of the Ottoman Turks, the city was destroyed to the ground.
Archaeological 20th century surveys on site ancient Dion led to a breakthrough in the study of history ancient world and gave a huge number of unique finds, such as one of a kind musical instrument "Gidravlis" and several unique Macedonian mosaics, which are exhibited today in the Museum and Archaeological Park of Dion.
Helpful information
In the town, where the vast majority of the population today are Vlachs and Sarakats, unique crafts and culinary traditions, whom you can meet during traditional festivities, which are usually held in the spring before the start of Lent.
How to get there
Regular transport: Dion is located near large cityKaterini, where you can get there and by railway And by regular bus both from Athens and Thessaloniki.
Auto: from Athens along the E75 highway, passing the Platamonas fortress on the right side, follow the signs to DION; from Thessaloniki along the E75 highway, passing the town of Katerini, follow the signs for DION.
Narrating about the divine love of Zeus for Fie, the daughter of the destroyer of the Greeks Deucalion, Geosid says that the girl became pregnant by the god and bore him two sons, Macedon and Magnet. They lived near Olympus in Pieria. The sacred site of Zeus in these lands was Dion in the foothills of Olympus. Ancient Dion, it was first mentioned by the ancient Greek historian Thucydides, when describing the route of the campaign of the Spartan commander Brasidas, through Thessaly, to the country of his ally, King Perdicus 2. This was the first city that Brasidas met on the way, crossing the border in the summer of 424 BC n. e.
Philip and Alexander, after winning the popes, held holidays in Dion and made sacrifices to Zeus and the Muses, and also made athletic competitions obsolete. According to Diador, Alexander the Great celebrated the preparations for his famous campaign with celebrations in Dion. Many ancient writers report on the masterpiece of Lysippos, created at the behest of Alexander and installed in Dion. This work depicted 25 mounted getters who fell in the Battle of Granicus. These statues were later taken to Rome. Alexander’s special love for Dion is evidenced by the desire written in his will to erect a majestic temple of Zeus here.
The last mention of Dion dates back to the tenth century, in the work of Constantine Bagrynarodny “On Themes”. Since the Renaissance and later, the inscription Dium was mentioned on maps, the current inhabitants call the fortified city “Kastro” (Fortress), which corresponds to the reality of the early Christian era. In 1973, a new period of excavations began under the leadership of the Greek archaeologist, Professor Dimitris Pandermalis. In 1983, thanks to the personal interest of the then The President of Greece, K. Karamanlis, is building an archaeological museum in Dion. To this day, excavations are being carried out in the city of Dion by students and graduates of Arestotelous University, Thessaloniki.
Ioannina. Capital of Epirus
Church of Our Lady of Apparitions
The Sanctuary of Hera can be reached either from Mycenae along the new national highway, or from Argos via Neo Ireo or Chonika. In the center of the village there is a Byzantine temple dedicated to the Dormition of the Virgin Mary, built in 1144. It is considered one of the best preserved temples of the Komnenos dynasty. It belonged to the monastery complex, which was located on the site of the modern village
Sights of Kyparissia
This town is located in one of the mainland parts Greece and already fell in love a huge number tourists. Kyparissia is located in the Peloponnese. Guests visit this town all year round. Of course, you can swim in summer and early autumn. Here are golden beaches and beautiful shores of the Ionian Sea. The resort has gained fame as a rather calm place, which is popular with both young people and the older generation. The abundance of greenery, as well as a lot of cultural and historical attractions make the town unforgettable.
Epidaurus in Greece. Sights of Epidaurus.
Monasteries of Holy Mount Athos. Iveron, Iveron Monastery.
Iveron Monastery (Iviron) is a Greek Orthodox monastery, which ranks third in importance among the Athos monasteries. Iviron is located in the northeastern part of the peninsula, and was founded at the end of the 10th century by Georgian monks (in 980-983).
Our next stop on the second day of our trip to Greek Macedonia is ancient city DION.
I’ll say right away - again, we were only shown the museum... and what was there, behind its walls, was left to the conscience of the tour operator Mouzenidis. I consider that light and unobtrusive rain not a hindrance, but an excuse.
What is DION famous for? - its direct connection with ZEUS himself (in Greek - Dios). The city is located at the foot of Mount OLYMPUS - the abode of the Greek Gods.
The first mentions in written sources date back to 424 BC.
Dion was cultural center Macedonia. In the Theater of Dion, the greatest tragedian of antiquity, Euripides, staged his “Bacchae” and “Archelaus”. Temples with many statues, theaters, a stadium, and city walls decorated with sculptures were built here.
During the times of Philip II and Alexander the Great, the city hosted holidays and sports competitions before military campaigns.
During Roman rule, most of the works of art were taken from Dion to Rome, and the Turks who came in the 14th century completely destroyed it.
In ancient Dion, nine-day games dedicated to Zeus were held, and in modern Dion, the Olympic Marathon and Olympic Festival are held in the summer. Tragedies and comedies by ancient authors are still performed on the stage of the ancient theater.
Since 1983, there has been an archaeological museum in Dion, which displays finds discovered during the excavations of ancient Dion. The exhibition includes statues, funerary monuments, coins and other artifacts found during excavations of the ancient city. The museum didn’t make much of an impression on me, but there are certainly interesting exhibits there.
The duty officer at the entrance to the museum). 
Finally! The first beautiful ticket from the trip is the Museum of Ancient DION.
Archaeological sites in Greece, for the most part, have similar entrance ticket designs. Tickets for the largest monuments indicate that they belong to a specific museum, while tickets for smaller ones modestly say “Monuments of Greece” or “Monuments of Byzantium.”
So on this ticket - “Monuments of Greece” - a fragment from a red-figure epinetron (425 BC) is depicted - an ancient Greek device used to protect a spinner’s knees when rolling out wool. And it was not found in Dion, but in Greek Eritria.
Naturally, in the city dedicated to Zeus there was a sanctuary of Olympian Zeus. The photo shows one of the halls of the museum, where the statues found during the excavations of this sanctuary are collected. In the center, the figure of Zeus himself, on the left the figure of Hera is the only case, when two figures of the ancient Greek consort gods were in the same temple. Also in the sanctuary there were many figures of eagles - as you know, the EAGLE is a symbol of Zeus, a symbol of the highest power and solar nature of the ruler of the heavens and the head of all gods.
Mosaic floor depicting the head of the Gorgon Medusa. 2nd century AD e. 
Our guide said that it was an “organ”... In general, it was once a musical instrument that worked using hydraulics - but I can’t tell you how... 
Very often you can see an image of a dog on gravestones. This is due to the fact that the Dog is a psychopomp (“guide of souls” to the underworld). A dog is a connection between two worlds.
This tombstone seemed somehow special to me - the longer you look at it, the harder it is to look away. As I see it: the dog confidently points his whole body forward, and by turning his head he invites the person not to be afraid of anything and to follow him. By taking a dog's face in his palm, a person shows that he trusts it. They look into each other's eyes, and their glances are full of tenderness...
The dog is a companion and “attribute” of Hermes, the guide of souls in afterworld. And, at the same time, the dog has the abilities of a healer and accompanies the god of medicine, Asclepius. She can heal, give birth, new life. The world of the dead is also guarded by a dog - the monstrous three-headed dog Kerber.
The goddess Hecate appears in the guise of a dog or accompanied by a pack of dogs and acts as a deity connecting the two worlds - the living and the dead.
I don’t know who is depicted in this stone, but the face is mesmerizing. 
The "Greek Hairstyle" is clearly visible here - it has become EXTREMELY fashionable these days! No matter how I try to do something similar on my head... alas, it requires thick hair.
I was absolutely delighted with the next exhibit - amazing work!
Copper head of the Roman Emperor Septimius Seviriu. 222-235 AD e.
Ceramics of different styles in museum display cases. 
Beads! Different - wonderful! 
Inscriptions on stone slabs from the Temple of Zeus - they carried a variety of information about the political and social life of Dion.
Glass vessels. 
Plates with “imprints” of feet were brought to the museum from the Temple of Isis. Such slabs with dedicatory inscriptions to the gods and their own names were left by pilgrims who had traveled a long way to the temples. The master made the outlines of the feet on marble, then carved them with special tools. The prints show that one foot is smaller than the other - this is because they belonged to a husband and wife.
There are also a lot of exhibits behind the walls of the museum - mainly tombstones that were installed on both Greek and Roman graves.
CYCLOMENS - I first saw them not in a flower shop, but in the wild.
Right next to the museum there is a large tavern where the whole group and we stopped for a snack. Lunch was not included in the price of the program. On average, we paid 35 euros for two - a couple of salads, a couple of main courses, a glass of wine, olives. Not cheap, I must say), but the portions are very large.
There are a lot of cats in Greece - but you won't see them in my photos anymore - I was mostly sad to look at them...
This cat looked quite well-fed. 
Greek salad - it seems there is nothing tastier in the world! 
There are still 15 minutes until we get on the bus - we look around.
Olympus 
The streets of modern Dion.
When for the first time in my life I saw pomegranates ripening on a branch - it was in Abkhazia - I definitely had to pick them, even though by that time they had not yet ripened.
There are tons of pomegranates in Greece - they grow on every corner! BEAUTIFUL!!!
The figs are ripe! 
But the olives are still green. Don't try the olives from the branches - they are as bitter as cinchona. 
Opposite the tavern, recently harvested tobacco was drying.
Greek tobacco belongs to the class of “oriental tobaccos” and has a thin, delicate leaf that produces a round, very soft and velvety-feeling smoke. The spear-shaped leaves range in color from light lemon to dark brown. Characterized by a well-balanced sweet and aromatic smoke, much stronger than other Orientals.
The almonds are ripe. There is a mess of nut shells on the road under the tree.
We leave DION and go even closer to Zeus - to the foot of Olympus in the village of LITOCHORO. All routes to climb Olympus begin in this village.
Olympus is the highest MOUNTAIN MASSIF in Greece. Now organized here national park, on whose territory you can find many endemic species of plants and animals. Three most high peaks Olympus is called Mytikas (2918 m), Scolio (2912 m) and Stefani (2905 m).
In ancient Greek mythology, Olympus is sacred mountain, the seat of the gods led by Zeus. In this regard, the Greek gods are often called “Olympians.”
Olympus did not appear to us in all its glory - it was covered by clouds, and the distant peaks behind them could not be seen.
“There is neither rain nor snow in the kingdom of Zeus; there is always a bright, joyful summer there. And below clouds swirl, sometimes they cover the distant land. There, on earth, spring and summer are replaced by autumn and winter, joy and fun are replaced by misfortune and grief True, even the gods know sorrows, but they soon pass, and joy reigns again on Olympus."
We leave Litochoro - it's raining and we head back to Thessaloniki.
ALL CHAPTERS OF OUR GREEK JOURNEY.
There is an ancient town - Ancient Dio n. For a long time he was in the shadow of such largest cities like Delphi and Athens. And now it does not go unnoticed by travelers.
Dion is a city that was dedicated to Zeus. The world-famous great commander Alexander the Great spent his entire youth here. From this city he went on a campaign that led him to death.
Today, entrance to this ancient city is paid, but the impressions of everything you see will be simply amazing and unforgettable. The entire territory of the ruins can be roughly divided into 2 parts:
1. Well preserved, where even after strong and numerous earthquakes there remained neighborhoods with residential villas, public buildings and baths.
2. The ruins of the cultural and temple complex, where it’s incredible interesting object is the temple of Isis (to be more precise, the ruins of this sanctuary).
A river flows through the city, carrying its majestic waters from Olympus. Since ancient times, it has served as a source of vital moisture for local residents. It was navigable, i.e. was indeed a very large transport artery. But today it is precisely this that threatens the preservation of most architectural monuments of antiquity by flooding them. And maybe this happens by the will of the gods themselves.
Residential area of Dion
This part of the ancient city is the most interesting and intriguing. This is noted by every traveler who has been here at least once. Even the main road is already making a lasting impression. It is paved with huge boulders. At the same time, the boundaries of this trail are designed in the form of curbs. Along the road on one side there are many administrative buildings. But on the other side, there are charming villas that belonged to wealthy citizens of that time.
Everything is perfect in these villas:
There are luxurious floors created using the mosaic technique;
There are numerous swimming pools;
The architecture is incredibly diverse and vibrant.
You just need to add a little of your own imagination and imagine how people look out of the windows local residents. And someone is walking along the streets among all these buildings. You can even draw Alexander the Great himself, walking through local neighborhoods with his friends and comrades, discussing a plan for revenge on the Persians.
When the Romans came to power in Greece, Dion began to change somewhat. At this time, not only thermal baths appeared in the city, but also toilets, and running water was installed. It was the Romans who ordered the construction of numerous temples here.
Since 1920, Dion has become a site where archaeological excavations are constantly carried out. They don't stop today. Perhaps scientists will find many more secrets and mysteries of antiquity that this ancient city dedicated to Zeus conceals.
Ancient Dion has its own unique Archaeological Museum. All those artifacts that were ever found on the territory of the city during excavations are presented here. In the museum's collection you can see ancient coins, and sculptures, monuments, household items and much more.
All travelers who are interested in the antiquities and history of Greece really want to come here. Therefore, you should not miss the opportunity to be here. Especially if your vacation spot is