Ancient Eresos

With the arrival of the Aeolian tribes in the eastern region of the Aegean, Lesbos was transformed from a “non-city’’ island to one with plenty of flourishing cities (Pseudo-Herodotus, Homer’s Life, 38). Eresos (Eresos, since antiquity), birthplace of the lyric poetess Sappho and the philosopher Theophrastus, was one of the six city-states of ancient Lesbos, as we are informed by Herodotus (Histories, I.151.2), founded in its western coastal part in the Late Bronze Age. The ancient acropolis of Eresos was built on the top and slopes of a natural fortified hill (Strabo, Geographica, 13.2.4), which today is located southeast of the modern settlement of Skala in Eresos. In antiquity, the hill was described by Archestratus as ‘an enclosed udder‘ (Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae, 3.77), a coastal hill surrounded by waves. The Acropolis of Eresos was fortified early with walls built on the foothills of the hill, in the form of an enclosure, the remains of which are still preserved today.

Today, at the top of the trapezoidal hill, known to us as “Vigla” and located at a height of 78 m. above sea level, are preserved – apart from a Roman or (according to others) Byzantine water tank – the remains of the medieval Genoese Fortress of the Gattilusio. In particular, two towers, a round one and a later square tower, in the form of a bastion, built with the isodomic masonry and embedded ancient material in second use, are partially preserved. The Fortress, which is already known to us from the testimonies of the travellers of the 14th c. AD, underwent changes and additions over the years, while it was used continuously until the occupation of Lesbos by the Ottomans in 1462.

The German architect and archaeologist Robert Johann Koldewey (1855-1925) was the first to study the visible preserved material remains of the acropolis of Eresos. The findings of his study, the historical context and especially the archaeological data from the older and more recent rescue excavations by the Greek Archaeological Service, which were carried out in the 1920s, 1960s, 1980s and more recently between 2006-2007, make it possible, at least to a certain extent, to reconstruct the form of the ancient Acropolis of Eresos.

As mentioned above, the wall, with a total length of 1 km., was located on the foothills of the hill and surrounded the city, the size of which must not have exceeded 4.5 hectares (i.e. 45 acres). Externally, around its perimeter, it had towers and gates. The oldest remains of the wall date back to the Archaic period: they are located in the northern part of the acropolis and are made of rough stone, according to the wall-building tradition of Lesbos. On the same northern side is a large rectangular fortified structure, which is similar to one of the main gates of the acropolis. There are variations in the masonry system, indicating different chronological phases. Later parts of the wall, constructed with the isodomic and pseudo-isodomic stonemasonry systems, can be found near the medieval Castle. The oldest sections of the isodomic masonry certainly date back to the Late Classical and Hellenistic periods. There are few remains of houses and the retaining walls that held up the sloping hillsides of the acropolis. In general, the Acropolis of Eresos had the typical appearance of a traditional acropolis of Lesbos: there was a small town, initially confined within its walls, which later expanded towards the fertile, lowland part of the city outside its enclosure and together with its fortification, was also extended and adapted following the expansion of the city.

From the preserved building remains, it seems that the harbour of ancient Eresos was unfortified, as it was located in the southwest, outside the walls of the city. However, with the expansion of the city to the south in Hellenistic times, the harbour was incorporated into the city and became an integral part of it. It was largely naturally shaped, protected to the south by rocky outcrops, while to the north-west an L-shaped groyne was built following the traditional building techniques of Lesbos, with a maximum width of 7.3 m. As can be deduced from relevant epigraphic evidence (IG XII, Suppl. 124), the possibility that there were (at least in Roman times) two ancient harbours, one martial and one commercial, should not be excluded, something that is known to us from other cities of the Aegean, and of Lesbos in particular, such as Mytilene and Antissa.

During the Byzantine era, the city expanded further to the east and inland. From the remains of the houses and monuments of the period, such as the basilica of Agios Andreas and the basilica of Aphentelli (north-west, in the homonymous position), it seems that the prosperity of the city continued at least until the early Christian era. From the archaeological evidence of the inter-chronological burial practices, it can be concluded that the cemeteries of Eresos extended around the perimeter of the city, but the most important finds of this category (urns, cist graves, funerary pots, stone and clay sarcophagi of the Clazomenae type) were found in the northern and western peripheral part of the city. In later times, the urban population shrank and the town of Eresos (like the other large towns of Lesbos) lost its former glory, as it acquired the character of an inland town in the form of a Castle on the hill.

Among the archaeological data of ancient Eresos, worthy of mention is the significant number of inscriptional evidence of a mainly political nature, such as the inscriptions related to the tyrants of Eresos (Agonippos, Eurysilaos, Hermon, Heraios, Apollodoros, etc.), which give us important information about the city. In one of them it is mentioned that it was the tyrant Agonippos who rebuilt the Acropolis, imposing, however, unbearable taxes on the citizens of the city. Inscriptions of the Hellenistic period, and more specifically of the 3rd c. BC, testify to the close contacts of the inhabitants of Eresos with the Ptolemies. Other inscriptions refer to the sanctuary and temple of Athena Polias, the so-called ‘Athinaion‘, which was probably located to the southeast of the city, as indicated by the adjacent building remains (fragments of Doric and unfluted columns, of epistyle, as well as sherds) in the present-day chapel of Panagia Minavra (from the Latin Minerva = Athena of the Romans). The inscriptions attesting to the worship of Dionysus and referring to the gymnastic games in his honour are also of great significance, an element that refers to the existence of an organised stadium in the city. The six Doric column drums and other architectural remains found behind the enclosure of the early Christian basilica of Agios Andreas are an indication of the existence of an important public building – perhaps a temple of Dionysus(?) – in the same area (the northwestern part of the city), where it is assumed that the ancient market place of the city was located. Finally, there is a wealth of inscriptional evidence from the Roman period, from which we learn about the many honours awarded to Roman emperors, such as Augustus, Trajan, etc.

Among the most important findings from the ancient acropolis of Eresos, is an Archaic Aeolian capital, found on the beach and in second use (in a modern house), presumed to have come from a temple (or other important monument) in the area of “Xokastro” (the northwestern part of Vigla), where the lower left limb of a marble statue of a life-size kouros statue was also found. Unfortunately, in both cases, these are out-of-context finds, cut off from their original setting, which prevents us from drawing safe conclusions. However, a future systematic excavation of the site would undoubtedly shed light on many of the aforementioned issues, essentially completing the current fragmentary picture we have of the ancient acropolis of Eresos. Finally, from the rich numismatic tradition and the votive inscriptions that we have, it can be concluded that, apart from Athena and Dionysus, Apollo, Hermes, Zeus, Artemis, Demeter, Poseidon, Cybele and probably Persephone and Asclepius were worshipped in Eresos.

The archaeological collection of Eresos is now housed in a modern stone-built museum, with an adjacent semi-open-air space and a spacious courtyard, located in Skala of Eresos, which along with the archaeological site of the acropolis of Eresos, is available to visitors.

Location

Municipality: Western Lesbos

Municipal Section: Eresos-Antissa

Location: Eresos

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