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Eretria 177 pictures 3.30 minutes HQ video The site of Eretria was already inhabited in the 3^rd -2^nd millennia B.C. At the beginning of the 8^th century B.C., Eretria became one of the most important cities in Greece, having developed commercial ties around the whole Mediterranean. The wealth of the city is demonstrated by the opulent sanctuary of Apollo Daphnephoros (the laurel-bearer), which was founded in this period and twice rebuilt (7^th and 6^th centuries B.C.). Eretria was sacked by the Persians in 490 B.C. During the 5^th century B.C., the city was a member of the Attic-Delian League. In 411 B.C., the Euboian cities freed themselves from Athenian domination, and in the 4^th century B.C. Eretria flourished anew. The mighty city walls, the luxurious abodes in the western quarter, the house with the mosaics, the gymnasium and the theater with the temple of Dionysius all date from this thriving period. At the end of the 4^th century B.C., Eretria came under the political domination of the Macedonian kings. In 198 B.C., the city was stormed by the Romans. After a short period of relative prosperity in the 2^nd century B.C., it lost its importance and was abandoned in late antiquity. It was repopulated after 1830 with refugees from Psara. Theater Dating from the end of the 4^th century B.C., the Theater is structurally similar to the theater of Dionysus at the foot of the acropolis in Athens, and could seat over 6000 spectators. Temple of Dionysos Doric peripheral temple hexastyle, dedicated to Dionysus, was built during the same period, and only the foundations are visible today. Western Gate After the destruction of Eretria by the Persians in 490 B.C., a monumental gateway was constructed at the point where the road from Chalcis crossed the river on a bridge supported by pillars. Two massive mud brick towers, set on socles carefully executed in polygonal masonry, stood on either side of the road. Access to the city could be sealed off by means of a wooden portal, its sockets are preserved on the threshold. After the city walls were rebuilt around 400 B.C., the gate remained unchanged until the 2^nd century B.C. When the city came under Roman attack in 198 B.C., a bulwark was constructed on the outer side of the gateway in order to protect the river crossing. The river itself passed through a vaulted canal under the bulwark. During the same period, the passage between the two towers was narrowed by a wall placed in front of the southern tower, built of re-used blocks. House I House I was built at the beginning of the 4^th century B.C. Originally, it consisted of a courtyard, reception rooms in the north and living quarters in the south. The two parts were joined by a triangular courtyard. An underground chamber with a fresh-water canal running beneath its floor adjoined the city wall. Between House I and House IV lie the remains of a 5^th century B.C. house. Towards the middle of the 2^nd century B.C., extensive transformations took place, although some of the old walls remained in use. Two independent peristyle houses, IA and IB, were formed. Grouped around their courts are the dining room, living rooms, kitchens and bathrooms (with a terracotta bathtub) and other subsidiary rooms. House IV In House IV, two main construction phases can be distinguished. In the first of these, at the beginning of the 4^th century B.C., the house comprised of two separate buildings. The eastern building had a dining room and a three-room living unit common to Eretrian houses; they were accessible from a peristyle court. In the western part were three large banquet rooms and a number of subsidiary rooms. The unusual disposition suggests that this house may have belonged to an association whose members regularly met and dined together. In the second phase, around 300 B.C., the two buildings were joined and several extensions were added. House IV was destroyed during the Roman conquest of Eretria in 198 B.C. and completely abandoned there after. The Western Quarter The western part of Eretria was occupied by residential houses of the 4^th to the 2^nd century B.C. Houses I, II and IV lie just inside the city wall, which was built around 400 B.C. To the north is the main gateway of the city, the western gate through which passes the road leading to Chalcis. Underneath the Classical and Hellenistic houses, the archaeologists found remains of earlier periods: in the north, a small cemetery ("Heroon"), dating from approximately 700 B.C. and marked by a triangle of stone slabs; further south several buildings of the 7^th to the 5^th centuries B.C. whose walls are visible under the foundations of House I. At the beginning of the 4^th century B.C., the whole area was rebuilt. The three houses I,II, and IV were altered several times around the turn of the 4^th and 3^rd centuries, to be destroyed finally by the Romans in 198 B.C. Only House I was reconstructed in the 2^nd century and remained in use until the 1^st century B.C. Back to Greece Index