Olympe

Olympe (Ancient Greek: Ολύμπη) (Albanian: Olimpi) was an ancient city located in the territory of the Amantes, between northern Epirus and southern Illyria in classical antiquity. It is located in modern day Mavrovë, Vlorë County, Albania.[1][2]

For other uses, see Olympe (disambiguation).
Olympe
Ολύμπη
Olimp
Olympe is located in Albania
Olympe
Location in Albania
LocationMavrovë, Vlorë County, Albania
RegionEpirus or Illyria
Coordinates40°24′32″N 19°35′28″E
TypeSettlement
History
Periods
  • Iron Age
  • Classical
  • Hellenistic
  • Roman
Cultures
  • Illyrian
  • Greek
  • Roman
Site notes
OwnershipGovernment of Albania

History

The settlement at Olympe was fortified between the late 5th century BC and the early 4th century BC.[1]

Taking into account archaeological and historical considerations, the city of Olympe should have been founded in the ethnic context of the Amantes, but later it was organized as a proper polis turning away from its ethnic context.[2][3] The dissociation from the ethnic to the polis coincided with Philip V of Macedon's conquest of a number of cities in Illyria.[2]

In the Hellenistic period there is evidence for the polis status of Olympe, and Stephanus of Byzantium (fl. 6th century AD) recorded Olympe as a "polis of Illyria" (πόλις Ίλλυρίας). During the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC Olympe minted bronze coins bearing the inscription ΟΛΥΜΠΑΣΤΑΝ (OLYMPASTAN), and the city-ethnic was probably ’Ολυμπαστάς (Olympastas). The coins of Olympe depict a snake, the totemistic symbol among Illyrians. The same symbol is depicted in ancient Scodra, Byllis, Amantia and other major settlements.[4] A late 3rd century BC dedication to Zeus Megistos mentions a politarches, a grammateus and the synarchontes.[1]

See also

References
  1. Hansen & Nielsen 2004, p. 347.
  2. Shpuza 2017, p. 43.
  3. Cabanes 2011, p. 80.
  4. Castiglioni 2006À côté des productions des orfèvres locaux, les données livrées par la numismatique sont aussi intéressantes car elles fournissent quelques éléments utiles pour mieux cerner l’importance symbolique rattachée au serpent chez les peuples illyriens (..) Sur les monnaies du dernier quart du iiie siècle av. J.-C. des villes illyriennes méridionales de Byllis, Olympè et Amantia, le serpent est représenté enroulé autour d’une corne d’abondance ou d’un bâton ou simplement entortillé sur lui-même

Sources
  • Cabanes, Pierre (2011). "Disa çështje mbi Amantët / Interrogations sur les Amantes". Iliria. 35: 75–98. doi:10.3406/iliri.2011.1100.
  • Castiglioni, Maria Paola (2006). "Cadmos-serpent chez les Illyriens". Hypotheses. 1 (9). doi:10.3917/hyp.051.0241.
  • Hansen, Mogens Herman; Nielsen, Thomas Heine (2004). An Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198140991.
  • Shpuza, Saimir (2017). Dyczek, Piotr (ed.). "Scodra and the Labeates. Cities, rural fortifications and territorial defense in the Hellenistic period". Novensia. Warszawa: Ośrodek Badań nad Antykiem Europy Południowo-Wschodniej. 28: 41–64. ISBN 978-83-946222-5-1. ISSN 0860-5777.
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