| Foundation and Destruction: Nikopolis and Northwestern Greece: The Archaeological Evidence for the City Destructions, the Foundation of Nikopolis Contributor(s): Isager, Jacob (Editor) |
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ISBN: 8772887346 ISBN-13: 9788772887340 Publisher: Aarhus University Press OUR PRICE: $11.40 Product Type: Paperback Published: March 2001 Annotation: In 31 BC, four years before he became Caesar Augustus, Octavian founded Nikopolis to commemorate his naval defeat of Antony and Cleopatra in nearby Actium. To people this 'City of Victory', he compelled the inhabitants of Greek cities in the surrounding area to forsake their homes and take up residence in Nikopolis. What was the state of these cities beforehand, and to what extent were they actually abandoned? The papers in the present volume focus on recent archaeological excavations, in both Nikopolis and the affected regions of Epirus, Acharnania and Aetolia, to determine the impact of the synoecism. The evidence indicates that the neighbouring settlements were much less deserted than previously assumed. The editor supports these findings with a persuasive rereading of Strabo, the chief contemporary source of information on the Nikopolitan area, who described it as a realm of eremia (desolation) inhabited only by barbaroi (barbarians). Isager demonstrates that in other contexts, Strabo uses these terms figuratively, to denote merely some reduction in the level of urbanisation. Another paper, by the leader of the excavation team involved, provides an intriguing glimpse of the Actian Tropaeum, the most important construction in Nikopolis. Octavian erected this unique rostral monument to immortalise his victory in what was to be the last major naval battle of antiquity. Although familiar to ancient writers, the monument lay forgotten and largely unexcavated until 1995. Other articles in this volume use settlement patterns (Stratos, Leukas, Kassope, Butrint), epigraphy, landscape archaeology, pottery surveys, material topography, the distribution of cults (Artemis, Apollo) and thecontrasting synoecism of Patras to help construct a portrait of this important but overlooked corner of the classical world. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Archaeology - History | Ancient - Greece |
| Dewey: 938 |
| Series: Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens |
| Physical Information: 0.74" H x 8.28" W x 10.9" (2.49 lbs) 277 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - Ancient (To 499 A.D.) - Cultural Region - Greece |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Octavian founded Nikopolis in 31 BC to commemorate his naval defeat of Antony and Cleopatra at Actium. He then compelled the inhabitants of neighbouring cities to relocate and populate his City of Victory'. These papers focus on recent excavations, in Nikopolis and in the surrounding regions, to examine the impact of this forced relocation. The evidence indicates that the neighbouring settlements were much less deserted than had been assumed and a rereading of Strabo, the principal contemporary source, supports this. Other papers examine the Actian Tropaeum, the most important construction in Nikopolis which celebrated Actium, settlement patterns, epigraphy, pottery surveys and the distribution of cults. |
