Callium
Kallion (or Kallipolis) was an ancient city of the Ophioneis, an Aetolian clan. It was destroyed by the Galatians but was revived and played an important role in local politics until the Roman period. In the Frankish period it was known as "Castle of Velouhovo".
Names and sources
Kallion, or ancient Kallipolis, was situated to the northwest of modern Lidoriki, at the site called "Steno", where the castle of Velouhovo was later built. Thucydides [1] mentions its inhabitants (Kallieis) as the easternmost part of the Aetolian tribe of the Ophioneis. It is possible that Kallion constituted the administrative centre of all the Ophioneis, as attested by Pausanias [2] and Stephanus Byzantius (who refers to the city as "Sollion" and "Phacion"). In the Hellenistic period, as attested by the inscriptions, the city was called Kallipolis.
History
Despite the fact that traces of habitation exist since the Geometric period, Kallion was permanently settled in the 4th century B.C. Its prosperity is possibly related to the rise of the Aetolian League into an important power in Greece. Its geographic location was particularly important and it is perhaps the reason why it was ravaged and completely destroyed by the Galatians in 279 B.C. Following their campaign, the city was rebuilt. Several of its citizens, as attested epigraphically, rose to the political hierarchy of the Aetolian League...[3] The excavations revealed a wealthy city, with civic organization and sanctuaries. However, the inhabitants seem to have taken parts in the political frictions of the 2nd century B.C. regarding the advent of Rome. After the Battle of Pydna (167 B.C.) it seems that Kallion was destroyed by a fire possibly due to an arson. In the 9th century A.D. Lidoriki appears to have succeeded Kallion as it features in the episcopal lists of that time. In the 14th and 15th centuries only the castle of Lidoriki (Velouhovo) is mentioned, possibly identified with the remains of buildings and fortifications preserved on the ancient acropolis.
Archaeological remains
The site underwent systematic excavation in the period 1977-1979 by prof. Petros Themelis. Following the excavations, the site was inundated by the waters of the dam lake of Mornos. Among the archaeological finds counted the fortification precinct, the sanctuaries of Demeter and Kore and possibly of Eileithyia or Artemis Eileithyia, the bouleuterion, the agora, the theatre and the necropolis. In the renowned "house of the Archive" were discovered about 600 clay sealings, small pieces of clay with which the sender of a letter would stick on the ribbon which held it tied. This piece of clay bore the imprint of the sender's seal as a token that the letter was genuinely written by him. The sealings, which were probably not fired, were preserved due to the fire which destroyed the house. On the imprints one discerns symbols of city-states, such as Chios, Lamia, Delphi, mythological creatures and profiles of male figures, recognised as prominent kings, such as Ptolemy Philopator, Attalus I, Prusias of Bithynia etc. The entire group of sealings leads to the conclusion that Kallion or -at leas-t the receiver of the documents bearing them maintained relations with the political authorities of large part of mainland Greece, of the islands as well as of the Hellenistic kingdoms. . Several of the movable artifacts and finds are displayed in the Archaeological Collection of Lidoriki, whereas some have been transferred also into the Archaeological Museum of Amphissa.
Links
Odysseus: internet portal of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports https://web.archive.org/web/20140714153733/http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=4923
References
Sources
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