Greece

Cichyrus

Mycenaean acropolis and oracle, Bronze Age Greece

Location

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Historical Context

About

Cichyrus (Ancient Greek: Κίχυρος, Kichyros), earlier called Ephyra (Ἐφύρα or Ἐφύρη), was the capital of ancient Thesprotia, according to the myth built by the Arcadian leader Thesprotos. Thucydides describes it as situated in the district Elaeatis in Thesprotia, away from the sea. At its site is the famous Necromanteion (Νεκρομαντεῖον, "Oracle of the Dead"). First settled during the Bronze Age and resettled in the 14th century BC by colonists most probably from Chaonia and the west Peloponnese region, the city is about 800 m north of the junction of the Kokytos River with the Acheron, and about 4.5 km east of the bay of Ammoudia. Near it was the outlet into the sea of the Acherusian Lake. Strabo (7.7.5) gives the same information and adds that in his time Ephyra was called Kichyros. The name had been changed from Ephyra back to the more ancient name about 200 years earlier.

Paleolithic
Mesolithic
Neolithic
Chalcolithic
Bronze Age
Iron Age
Classical Period
Post-Classical Period
Early Modern Period
Industrial Period
Contemporary Period
Temporal Epochs

Historical Timeline

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Resettlement by colonists

14th century BCE

Funerary mounds erected

12th century BCE

Pottery evidence from late Republican period

1st century BCE

Construction of Cyclopean walls

14th–early 13th century BCE

Philip II conquest and regional change

343–342 BCE

Modern excavations

1958–1987; 2006–2008

Classification

Archaeological Features

Unique architectural and cultural elements found at this historical site

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Storage Structures

Storage Jars
category

Defensive Structures

Defensive Walls
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Burial and Funerary Structures

Tombs
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Religious and Ritual Structures

Temples
category

Domestic and Habitation Structures

AcropolisTowns
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Reference

Details

Country

Greece

Coordinates

39.24° N, 20.53° E