chapter two

History and Archaeology at Olynthus

Olynthus lies between the westernmost and central fingers of the Chal- cidic peninsula in northern Greece, about 2.5 km inland from the sea (figs. 1, 4). The country immediately surrounding the city is rolling fields, well drained and plentifully supplied with water. To the north, the Polygyros hills rise to some 1,000 m. The city was built on two flat-topped hills rising 30–40 m above the surround- ing plain (figs. 5, 6). The original settlement was on the smaller and more steep- sided South Hill. The North Hill was later laid out as a planned settlement with a strict grid plan (see below). In the later fifth and fourth centuries, the city ex- panded onto the plain to the east, in an area referred to as the ‘‘Villa Section.’’ A narrow ridge extending southwards from the southeast corner of the North Hill is known as the East Spur Hill (ESH). The urban geography of Olynthus reflects the major historical periods of the city, and we can compare housing and urban organization in different phases of the city’s life. The site offers many advantages. The fields around the city are today lush with green alfalfa, wheat, and olives, and in antiquity the soil was considered particu- larly fertile.1 The region is rich in timber for shipbuilding, and in antiquity grew figs (for which the city is named), grapes, and olives, as well as grain, beans, and fruit. Horses and livestock grazed in the hills. The Sandanus River (modern Resetnikia) flows by the foot of the city and supplied a convenient source of water (although water was also piped into the city from the hills to the north).Today the river is swollen in winter and quite low in summer, but in antiquity it seems to have been greater: a bridge seems to have been built over the river near the South Hill (fig. 6, Sec. L). ‘‘The country itself possesses ship-timber and has revenues from many ports and many trading-places, and likewise an abundant population on account of the abundance of food’’ (Xen. Hell. 5.2.16).

23 M y g d o Amphipolis Pella n i a Argilos L a k K o e r o n e i L a k e B a o l b e

Apollonia Stagira

Dikaia i k e Strepsa t t Aineia o Methone B 152 m 305 m 610 m Polichne? (Smixi) Akanthos Stolos Assera

Piloros Olynthus Mecyberna A kte Singos Dion Sermylia Potidaea/ Cassandreia

P a l Aphytis S le i Sarte n th e o n Torone ia

Mende Scione 4,400,000 m 4,420,000 m 4,440,000 m 4,460,000 m 4,480,000 m 4,500,000 m 4,520,000 m 4,540,000 m 4,560,000 m 110,000 m (UTM zone 35) 130,000 m 150,000 m 170,000 m 190,000 m 210,000 m 230,000 m 250,000 m 270,000 m figure 4. Map of the Chalcidice

The urban history of Olynthus can be divided into fairly distinct periods. An early phase began with the first Greek habitation of the site and lasted until the Peloponnesian War. The rebellion of Olynthus and other Chalcidic communities from the Athenian Empire in 432 b.c. led to an anoikismos or ‘‘moving inland,’’ in which the populations of some neighboring cities moved to Olynthus to form a larger and more defensible city. In the later fifth and fourth century, the Chalcidic League, with Olynthus as its capital, grew in strength and population, becoming the predominant power in this part of Greece. In the fourth century, the League came into conflict with the rising power of the Macedonians, until Philip II de-

24 History and Archaeology at Olynthus [To view this image, refer to the print version of this title.]

figure 5. View of the North Hill, Olynthus creed that there wasn’t enough room for them both. Outmaneuvered by Philip and betrayed by its own commanders, Olynthus was captured and its inhabitants sold into slavery in 348 b.c. The city was essentially abandoned, its houses in ruins. A few settlers returned to the site, either as squatters or as a garrison; but they had little impact either historically or archaeologically. The history of Olynthus as an independent polis ends, then, with its destruction in 348, only eighty-four years after the anoikismos. These events, particularly the anoikismos and the destruction, dominate our in- terpretation of the archaeological remains at Olynthus and tend to encourage a view of the site which may be oversimplified. Following a brief outline of the lay- out of the city, in this chapter I will discuss a few problems which are relevant to the planning and urban history of Olynthus in the later fifth and fourth cen- turies.The early remains are therefore of less interest than the Classical, while the questions surrounding Philip’s destruction of Olynthus are of great interest for understanding the houses and domestic assemblages. And the problem of the re- occupation of the site, which has been raised and discussed with some vehemence in recent years, must be resolved if we are to try to use the published data with any confidence.

History and Archaeology at Olynthus 25 OLYNTHUS

Row A´ 0 100 m Ave. B Ave. A St. x North Hill Ave. C

North Cemetery Ave. D Row A Row ESH 6

St. v ESH 1-3 / Tr. 13

Agora East Spur Hill Riverside Tr. 7 H. of the Cemetery Wash Basin

e St. i R s e G Ave. t n F Ave. i k i a H. of Many Colors Villa CC

R

i Sec. N/ V. of Good H. of the Tiled Prothyron v Tr. 10 H. of the Fortune

e Comedian H. of the Twin Erotes

r “Civic Sec. L - Center” Sec. G Fortification V. of the Bronzes bridge? wall?

S. Villa Sec. J/K Sec. F Villa Section

fountainhouse Sec. E Tr. 4 South Hill Sec. Q/ Tr. 5-6

Sec. O (C -x 5-7)

theater??

Byzantine church; Neolithic settlement (Tr. 1-3)

figure 6. Plan of Olynthus a brief tour of the city

The architecture and city plan of Olynthus are familiar from Robinson’s publica- tions and numerous later discussions. An extensive description is therefore not necessary here, but a short account will help set the stage for the more detailed descriptions and analyses of the houses (fig. 6).2

The South Hill

The South Hill was settled in a somewhat irregular fashion, with clusters of rooms and, probably, shops facing out onto a simple network of streets. Two streets ran roughly north-south along the east and west sides of the hill, separated from the brow of the hill by a row or two of rooms. Two cross-streets running roughly east- west were excavated, and there were probably others. The plan is therefore some- what similar to that of the North Hill, although less regular.3 A public area was built in the north part of the hill in the fifth century, and other public buildings were constructed at the northern tip of the hill.

The North Hill: Blocks and Streets The North Hill was laid out in an orthogonal plan which, with some irregulari- ties, extended over the entire hill (fig. 7). Houses were mostly built in blocks of ten, composed of two rows of five houses separated by a narrow alley. On the east side of the city, however, the blocks were shortened to allow streets to follow the topography of the hill. The streets are oriented almost due north-south and east- west. North-south arteries were labeled ‘‘avenues’’ by the excavators, east-west ar- teries ‘‘streets.’’ Avenues were labeled A, B, C, D, E, and F from west to east; streets were labeled in roman numerals i, ii, iii, up to xiii, beginning at the south end of the North Hill, with the streets south of these labeled −i, −ii, etc. Blocks were identified by the intersection of street and avenue at their southwest corner: hence blockAvisbounded on the west by Avenue A and on the south by Street v. Within the blocks, houses were numbered from the northwest: house Av1isatthenorth- west corner of block A v;Av2isatthesouthwest corner of A v;Av3is the second house from the west on the north half of A v, and so forth.

Row A and the East Spur Hill Along the west side of the city a single row of houses lies between Avenue A and the city wall, in a scheme recommended by Plato.4 This was referred to as Row A, and the excavated houses numbered from A −5 at the north (adjoining the gate in Avenue A) to A13at the south. North of the gate, another row of houses con- tinues to the tip of the hill, referred to as Row A'. The northernmost six houses

History and Archaeology at Olynthus 27 Blocks A iv - B ix and Row A

13579 0 50 m

house numbering scheme

246810

Block A viii

Block A vii

B vii 1

B vii 2

Block A vi Block B vi Fortification Wall

Block A v

B v 1 Avenue B Avenue

Block A iv Avenue A Avenue A 13 A 12 A 11 A 10 A 9 A 8 A 7 A 6 A 5 A 4 A 3 A 2 A 1 A -1

figure 7. Blocks A iv–B ix and Row A were partly explored; these houses were probably reoccupied after the destruction of the city (below, ‘‘Olynthus after 348 b.c.’’). This row of houses seems to con- tinue around the eastern side of the hill, where, however, it was more irregularly planned and the circuit wall was not definitely uncovered. Houses ESH 1 to ESH 4 seem to belong to this scheme, and traces of house walls continue the row farther to the south.

Fortifications The fortification wall of the city was preserved mostly in foundations, about 0.8 m wide. It was traced primarily along the west side of the North Hill, where the wall forms the back walls of the houses of Row A.5 A gate at the north end of Ave- nue A was one of the main entrances into the city; other gates were presumably located to the south, probably between the North and South Hills and elsewhere. The circuit wall continues around the hill to the north, forming the back wall of Row A'. At the tip of the North Hill, it turns to the east in a rounded bastion to fol- low the contour of the hill. Possible traces of a fortification wall were discovered along the brow of the East Spur Hill, and the arrangement of houses and build- ings along the east side of the North Hill suggests that the east brow of the hill formed the original limit of the city, with the circuit wall ringed inside by a row of houses analogous to Rows A and A'.6 The wall was not traced farther south than the East Spur Hill, and the south- eastern limit of the city was not determined. Unpublished plans show a stretch of what may be the fortification wall and tower exposed in a trial trench west of the Villa of the Bronzes (fig. 8).7 If this is the fortification, it may account for irregu- larities in the city grid in this region. The House of the Comedian probably lay within the city wall, therefore; it seems to be one of the earlier houses on the site. The fortification wall must have been built when the city was expanded in 432 b.c. When the city expanded into the Villa Section, however, the eastern for- tification may have been torn down, leaving few traces for Robinson to excavate. On the South Hill, a section of fortification wall was uncovered at the north end of the hill, just west of Section N.8 The date of the wall was not determined; it may have been part of the enclosure that ringed the North Hill or an earlier circuit that protected only the South Hill before the anoikismos. The South Hill must have been fortified in both periods, however: Artabazus’s siege of Olynthus in 479 b.c. shows that it was fortified at least that early (below, ‘‘The Early Period at Olyn- thus’’).

The Villa Section On the plain to the east of the North and South Hills was a district which Robinson dubbed the Villa Section.The houses in this area were not labeled according to the scheme used on the North Hill but were named after some distinguishing feature

History and Archaeology at Olynthus 29 in their plan or contents: the Villa of Good Fortune after the mosaic inscription in one of its rooms; the House of Many Colors after its painted decoration, and so forth (figs. 6, 8). The layout of theVilla Section was not completelyclarified. A numberof houses were excavated between Avenues F and G, and trial trenches explored the city grid in the vicinity; but wide areas were not opened up as they were on the North Hill. The grid in this part of the city is oriented 2–3° nearer to magnetic north than the grid on the North Hill. In general, the blocks seem to consist, like those on the North Hill, of ten houses in two rows of five. However, unlike on the North Hill, open spaces were left between some of the houses. In some cases, these empty spaces probably resulted from irregular land distribution, creating house plots which were larger than normal (such as the Villa of Good Fortune or the South Villa) and leaving adjacent small plots empty, or perhaps used as gardens associated with adjacent houses (below, chapter 6, ‘‘gardens’’). In other cases, house plots of normal size may have simply been left undeveloped. The existence of these undeveloped areas and larger-than-normal house plots suggests that the process of land division and distribution was different in this part of the city. Whereas on the North Hill each block or row of houses was built as a single uni- fied structure, the house plots in the Villa Section were allotted less uniformly, perhaps over a longer stretch of time, and the houses built one by one rather than as blocks (chapter 5). Regular street intersections were followed along Avenue F for almost half a kilometer north of house ESH 4. However, in the southeast part of the city, be- tween the House of the Comedian and the Villa of Good Fortune and Villa of the Bronzes, the layout of houses was somewhat irregular. The east-west streets to the east of Avenue F are offset about 5.6 m to the south of their course to the west. The house fronts along Avenue F do not line up, and the course of the avenue here is unclear. The reason for this irregularity may be the trace of the earlier city wall here, as described above. This area would therefore mark the intersection of the two city grids. The full extent of the Villa Section was not determined. It must have been for- tified, but no trace of the later circuit was found. House walls were found as far as the Byzantine church of St. Nicholas, some 455 m east of the East Spur Hill, but Robinson suggests that this area was outside the regular grid, as the intervening valley flooded in most years.9 Graham, however, suggests that the city might have extended this far east, bringing its total dimensions to about 1000 × 900 m.10 The South Hill has an area of some 7 hectares. The North and East Spur Hills together measure some 28 ha, including the valley between the two hills. The ex- tent of the Villa Section was not determined: roughly 16 ha can be documented, but the section may continue considerably farther. The built-up urban area docu- mented by the excavations therefore totals about 51 ha, but the Villa Section could

30 History and Archaeology at Olynthus The Villa Section

0 50 m Excavation trench

Ave. F ESH 5

ESH 4 Ave. G House of Many Colors

Villa CC

Street -ii

House of the House of the Tiled Prothyron Comedian Villa of Good Fortune

House of the Twin Erotes Line of city wall, 432 BC?

Street -iii

Villa of the Bronzes

Street -iii

South Villa

Street -iv Ave. F figure 8. Reconstructed Plan of the Villa Section be somewhat larger. Of those more than 51 ha, about 4.5 ha was actually exca- vated. This is a fairly small proportion of the whole town, but is more than has been excavated at almost any other Greek urban site.

Public Buildings

Two public areas were excavated on the South Hill. At the north end of the hill was a poorly preserved area with two ‘‘arsenals’’ or stoas, and fragments of other large buildings.11 This area was heavily robbed after the destruction, leaving little preserved remains. To the south of this area was a space Robinson called the ‘‘Civic Center,’’ includ- ing a large building—probably an assembly hall—built largely of reused ashlar blocks. Its construction dates to the fifth century b.c., probably to the period be- tween the Persian capture in 479 and the anoikismos of 432 b.c.12 The southern end of this public building was later built over by houses, indicating that the build- ing went out of use before the city was destroyed, perhaps replaced by the public buildings on the North Hill.13 Another public area was located towards the south end of the North Hill. This consisted of an open plaza, one block wide (about 85 m) and perhaps 137 m long, apparently free of buildings.14 Three public buildings surrounded the plaza on its north side and northeast corner. On the north was a poorly preserved stoa-like building taking up the southern part of block A iv—probably a stoa facing onto the square. At the northeast corner was another stoa-like building with a cen- tral colonnade, Aiv10(the so-called bouleuterion). To the south of this was a fountainhouse, A iii 9. This square was probably the agora of the city, although Robinson and Graham argued that it was an ‘‘open area for military maneuvers,’’ and Hoepfner and Schwandner claim that it was a sanctuary. There is, however, no evidence for any building in the open square, although it was explored with a trial trench over most of its length. I prefer, therefore, to identify this as the agora of the city (below, chapter 6, ‘‘The Agora’’).15 A hollow at the south end of the South Hill was tentatively identified in the first year of excavation as the theater of Olynthus. Trial trenches dug in 1931 at the bottom of the hollow, however, failed to locate any remains of the orchestra.16

Sanctuaries Leaving aside Hoepfner and Schwandner’s unsupported identification of a sanc- tuary at the south end of the North Hill, no sanctuaries have been found in the city. The main sanctuary of the city may have been outside the city walls. The treaty between Philip II and the Chalcidians decreed that a copy was to be set up ἀναθεῖν ἐςτὸἱε ρ ὸντῆ ς Ἀρτέμιδος ἐν ‘‘in the sanctuary of [Artemis at Olynthus]’’ ( [ ]. [ Ὀλύνθοι]). This inscription was found ‘‘in a field slightly south and to the west

32 History and Archaeology at Olynthus of the northern half of the village of the village [of Myriophyto], that is...some three-quarters of a mile to the west of...Olynthus.’’17 Limited excavation there uncovers no traces of building, however, and it remains uncertain whether this marks the site of an extramural sanctuary or whether the inscription was trans- ported here later. A dump of terracottas found on the South Hill just east of the Civic Cen- ter might be refuse from an early sanctuary. Reused blocks built into the public building in the Civic Center and fragments of painted stucco moldings and other decoration may come from this archaic sanctuary.18 There is plentiful evidence of household cult, and some domestic buildings in which ritual artifacts are unusu- ally common, such as the House of the Tiled Prothyron (below, chapter 3, ‘‘The House of the Tiled Prothyron’’).

Water Supply Although the Sandanus River flowed just below the city, other arrangements were made for drinking and washing water. Two fountain houses were discovered in excavations. One, whose southwestern corner was preserved, was set near the en- trance road at the southeast edge of the South Hill.This ashlar building was fed by a pressure pipe, which probably led to springs in the Polygyros mountains some 8 km away. Black-figured sherds found on the floor of the building suggest a date in sixth century b.c., a date accepted by Crouch and others,who places this among the earliest pressure systems in Greece.19 A second fountain house was built in the northeast corner of the agora (build- ing A iii 9). It was fed bya large terracotta pressure pipe, laid in a tunnel three to six meters below ground. The pipe continued across the northern part of the agora, turning a corner at the northwest corner of the square, and continued northward beneath Avenue A, leaving the city through the gate at the northern end of the avenue.20 This too was probably fed from the hills north of the city. The fountain- house was drained through another pipe leading off to the west. Some 631 am- phora toes were found in and around the building.

Cemeteries Three cemeteries were partly explored by Robinson’s team. Some 560 graves were excavated at the main one, known as the Riverside Cemetery, which was located just to the west of the city (fig. 6).To the north, the North Cemetery produced only some 30 graves, more widely scattered than at the Riverside Cemetery. The third burial ground was the East Cemetery, located on a small knoll some 700 m east of the tip of the South Hill. In addition, a Macedonian-type chamber tomb was ex- cavated some 2 km west of the city. Robinson believed that these three graveyards were the only ones used by the Olynthians.21

History and Archaeology at Olynthus 33