Maroneia
| Maroneia Μαρώνεια | |
|---|---|
| Municipal unit | |
| File:20091122 Marwneia Rhodope Greece 2.jpg | |
| Location within the regional unit | |
| Maroneia Location within Greece | |
| Coordinates: 40°54′N 25°31′E / 40.900°N 25.517°E | |
| Country | Greece |
| Administrative region | East Macedonia and Thrace |
| Regional unit | Rhodope |
| Municipality | Maroneia-Sapes |
| Area | |
| • Municipal unit | 287.2 km2 (110.9 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[1] | |
| • Municipal unit | 5,129 |
| • Municipal unit density | 17.86/km2 (46.25/sq mi) |
| • Community | 514 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Vehicle registration | ΚΟ |
Maroneia (Greek: Μαρώνεια) is a village and a former municipality in Rhodope regional unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Maroneia-Sapes, of which it is a municipal unit.[2] The municipal unit has an area of 287.155 km2.[3] Population 5,129 (2021). The seat of the municipality was in Xylagani.
History
In legend, it was said to have been founded by Maron, a son of Dionysus,[4] or even a companion of Osiris.[5] According to Pseudo-Scymnus it was founded by Chios in the fourth year of the fifty-ninth Olympiad (540 BCE).[6] According to Pliny, its ancient name was Ortagures or Ortagurea.[7] It was located on the hill of Agios Charalampos,[8] and archaeological findings[9] date it as a much older and as a pure Thracian city. Herodotus says it belonged to the Cicones.[10]
Maroneia was close to the Ismaros mentioned by Homer in the Odyssey.[11] Some scholars identify Maroneia with his Ismaros.[12] Homer has Odysseus plundering the city but sparing Maron, whom he identifies as a priest of Apollo. Maron presents Odysseus with a gift of wine, as well as with gold and silver.
In the era of Ancient Greece and Rome, Maroneia was famous for its wine production. The wine was esteemed everywhere; it was said to possess the odor of nectar,[13] and to be capable of mixture with twenty or more times its quantity with water.[14] That the people of Maroneia venerated Dionysus, we learn not just from its famous Dionysian Sanctuary, the foundations of which can still be seen today, but also from the city's coins. It was a member of the Delian League.[15]
In 200 BCE it was taken by Philip V of Macedon; and when he was ordered by the Romans to evacuate the towns of Thrace, he vented his rage by slaughtering a great number of the inhabitants of the city.[16] The Roman Republic subsequently granted Maroneia to Attalus, King of Pergamon, but almost immediately revoked their gift and declared it a free city.[17]
Maroneia was the largest and most important of all ancient Greek colonies of Western Thrace. The city owed its prosperity to the extensive and rich territory and to the port which favored the development of intense commercial activity. Furthermore, Romans had granted many privileges to the city, such as the proclamation of its freedom and the increase of its territory, where a dense network of rural settlements was developed.[18]
Today's settlement is located on the hillside of mount Ismaros. It was transferred there in the 17th century CE due to the threat of piracy.[19][20]
During the Greek Revolution of 1821, people from Maroneia, like Panagiotis Michanidis and Georgios Gevidis, supported the revolt.[21]
In December 1877 Captain Petko Voyvoda overthrew the Ottoman rule and established free administration in the town.
Ecclesiastical history
In 1316 the church of Maroneia was received by the metropolis of Chalcedon, which was facing severe decline, until 1327.[22]
It is the seat of a Roman Catholic titular bishopric called Maronea.[23]
Notable people
- Metrocles (4th century BC), Cynic philosopher
- Hipparchia, Cynic philosopher and sister of Metrocles
- Sotades (3rd century BC), poet
- Petko Kiryakov (Captain Petko Voyvoda) (1844–1900), Bulgarian politician and leader of the national revolution
- Archbishop Michael of America (1892-1958)
References
- Back to citation "Αποτελέσματα Απογραφής Πληθυσμού - Κατοικιών 2021, Μόνιμος Πληθυσμός κατά οικισμό" [Results of the 2021 Population - Housing Census, Permanent population by settlement] (in Greek). Hellenic Statistical Authority. 29 March 2024.
- Back to citation "ΦΕΚ A 87/2010, Kallikratis reform law text" (in Greek). Government Gazette.
- Back to citation "Population & housing census 2001 (incl. area and average elevation)" (PDF) (in Greek). National Statistical Service of Greece. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-21.
- Back to citation Euripides, Cyclops, v. 100, 141
- Back to citation Diodorus Siculus. Bibliotheca historica (Historical Library). Vol. 1.20.
- Back to citation Pseudo-Scymnus, 675 ff
- Back to citation Pliny. Naturalis Historia. Book 4.11.18.
- Back to citation Lund University. Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire.
- Back to citation "ANCIENT MARONEIA (Archaeological Site) | Rhodope | Thrace | Golden Greece". golden-greece.gr. Retrieved 2024-09-24.
- Back to citation Herodotus. Histories. Vol. 7.109.
- Back to citation Homer, Odyssey, ix. 196-211
- Back to citation Isaac, B., (1986), The Greek Settlements in Thrace Until the Macedonian Conquest, page 113. BRILL.
- Back to citation Nonnus, i. 12, xvii. 6, xix. 11
- Back to citation Homer, Odyssey, ix. 209; Pliny, xiv. 4. s. 6
- Back to citation Athenian Tribute Lists
- Back to citation Livy, xxxi. 16; xxxix. 24; Polybius, xxii. 6, 13, xxiii. 11, 13
- Back to citation Polybius, xxx. 3
- Back to citation D. C. Samsaris, Historical Geography of Western Thrace during the Roman Antiquity (in Greek), Thessaloniki 2005, p. 97-108
- Back to citation "Archaeology Online, Βυζαντινό οδοιπορικό στη Θράκη, Nikolaos Zikos, curator of antiquities (in Greek)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-29. Retrieved 2011-08-29.
- Back to citation "Guide to Eastern Macedonia and Thrace". www.xanthi.ilsp.gr. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
- Back to citation "Ιδεογραφήματα, Θρακιώτες φιλικοί". Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
- Back to citation Vryonis, Speros (1971). The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamisation from the Eleventh through the Fifteenth Century. Berkeley: California University Press. p. 301
- Back to citation "Maronea". catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
Bibliography
- Durando, Furio, Greece: A Guide to the Archaeological Sites, 2004.
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Maronia". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- Smith, William, (1857), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography.
- Psoma, Selene, Chryssa Karadima and Domna Terzopoulou, The Coins from Maroneia and the Classical City at Molyvoti: A Contribution to the History of Aegean Thrace (Athens: Diffusion de Boccard, 2008) (Meletemata, 62).