Product Code Database
Leibethra or Libethra, in the modern pronunciation Leivithra (), was an ancient Macedonian city at the foot of Mount Olympus, near the present settlement of Skotina. Archaeologists have discovered tombsPoulaki-Pandermali, Efi. Leivithra. Greek Ministry of Culture, 2008, p. 27. there from the late Bronze Age (13th–12th century BC) containing rich burial objects. Leivithra played a remarkable role in the history of Pieria.
In the 19th century, the Frenchman Léon Heuzey identified the location of ancient Leibethra. In 1914 the location was confirmed by his countryman André Plassart.
The location of Leibethra was held to be a favourite place of the Muses, hence their epithet Libethrides (Ancient Greek: Λειβηθρίδες). Pliny the Elder, The Natural History,"To Thessaly Magnesia joins, in which is the fountain of Libethra1. Its towns are Iolcos2, Hormenium, Pyrrha3, Methone4, and Olizon5. The Promontory of Sepias6 is here situate. We then come to the towns of Casthanea7 and Spa- lathra8, the Promontory of Æantium9, the towns of Melibœa10, Rhizus, and Erymnæ11; the mouth of the Peneus, the towns of Homolium12, Orthe, Thespiæ, Phalanna13, Thaumacie14, Gyrton15, Crannon16, Acharne17, Dotion18, Melitæa, Phylace19, and Potniæ20. The length of Epirus, Achaia, Attica, and Thessaly is said altogether to amount to 490 miles, the breadth to 287. 1 Near Libethrum; said to be a favourite haunt of the Muses, whence their name "Libethrides." It is near the modern Goritza."
The 2nd-century geographer Pausanias writes: Pausanias, Description of Greece Boeotia, 9.30.9 ff.
In Larisa I heard another story, how that on Olympus is a city Libethra, where the mountain faces, Macedonia, not far from which city is the tomb of Orpheus. The Libethrians, it is said, received out of Thrace an oracle from Dionysus, stating that when the sun should see the bones of Orpheus, then the city of Libethra would be destroyed by a boar. The citizens paid little regard to the oracle, thinking that no other beast was big or mighty enough to take their city, while a boar was bold rather than powerful.
The Muses also gathered up the fragments of his body and buried them at Leibethra below Mount Olympus, where the nightingales sang over his grave. of the Muses were also located in Leibethra. Well-known springs and memorials dedicated to Orpheus were there in great number.
When Alexander the Great set out against Persia,Plut. Alex. 14" the image of Orpheus at Leibethra (it was made of cypress-wood) sweated profusely at about that time. Most people feared the sign, but Aristander bade Alexander be of good cheer, assured that he was to perform deeds worthy of song and story, which would cost poets and musicians much toil and sweat to celebrate." the cypress-wood statue of Orpheus was said to have sweated as an omen.
In addition to the poet and musician Orpheus, the place is also associated with the Muses.
The Muses lived near sources and were devoted to literature, science, and fine arts. According to Hesiod,Hesiod, Theogony, lines 29 to 52. they delighted Zeus with their singing. They looked into the past, into the present, and into the future.
Orpheus, the son of Muse Calliope and the Thracian king of Oiagros, was born in a cave between Pimpleia (near Litochoro) and Leivithra. He was killed by women who had been enraged and was buried in Leivithra. According to a legend recounted by Pausanias,Pausanias Book 9, 30, 4 the city was to be destroyed by a wild boar, as soon as Orpheus' bones saw the sun. A careless shepherd moved the top of Orpheus' grave and the sunlight touched Orpheus' remnants. Thereupon, the river Sys (ancient Greek name for wild boar, biological name: Sus Scrofa) swelled strongly and a flood destroyed the place.
Findings from the time of the last settlement date from the year 100 BC. What ultimately caused the destruction of the settlement is still unclear. According to the latest findings, it is thought to have been an earthquake, possibly in connection with subsequent flooding.
The acropolis was fortified by a wall. The north side wall was constructed of small stones, whereas the south side wall consists of large, stacked stone blocks.Poulaki-Pandermali, Efi. Leivithra. Greek Ministry of Culture, 2008, p. 32. On the west side, the foundation of a tower was uncovered. The shape of other buildings vary and are irregularly built at narrow streets. The foundations have a remarkable depth and indicate a multi-story structure. The upper walls were made of bricks and the roofs were covered with tiles. Large clay storage pots ( pithoi) where excavated from within the floor of the dwellings.Poulaki-Pandermali, Efi. Leivithra. Greek Ministry of Culture, 2008, p. 35.
The parts of the acropolis that had been unearthed so far are temporarily covered for their protection. Through a construction of metal baskets filled with stones, the hill was partially secured against further slipping.
In the neighborhood (Voulkani, Vakoufika, Palaia Leptokarya and Skotina) graves were discovered from the Mycenaean Greece and from the Iron Age. They housed weapons, tools and clay vessels as burial objects. The finds are stored in the Archaeological Museum of Dion.
The foundation of a former vineyard were cleared in the east-facing plain. Built in the middle of the 4th century BC, it was destroyed by a fire approximately at the beginning of the 3rd century BC. Fragments of a nearly 2,000-liter clay storage container are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki.
Further along is an oval-shaped house, which was built in the 8th century BC. The dimensions of the ground plan were modeled on a house excavated in Krania, at the foot of the Platamon Castle. The foundation consist of stone and the basic framework of wood. The walls were made of a mixture of clay and straw, in which goat hair was incorporated. The roof was covered with reed.
The main building of the park was modeled on the ancient winery the foundation of which was excavated in the plain of Leivithra (Komboloi). Within the building, the development of the region from the Neolithic Greece to the destruction of the place is represented.
On the west side of the park, four pavilions inform about the life and work of Orpheus and the Muses; in the immediate vicinity is a small open-air theater, which was created in the form of an ancient amphitheater. Behind the theater, a staircase leads to the opposite archaeological site.
Along the ways are plants that play a role in Greek mythology and whose importance is explained on information boards. On the southwestern edge of the park is a small forest trail.
|
|
