This contribution aims to offer a historical overview of ancient Methoni (Peloponnese, Greece) during the Roman period. The few literary references to Methoni reveal its close link with the sea. Its geographical position at the crossroad between East and West was enhanced after the Mediterranean was unified under the Roman domination. In the first century AD the Roman geographer Pomponius Mela mentions Methoni as the second most important city of Messenia after Messene (De chorographia 2.36). In the Tabula Peutingeriana, a fourth century map of the Roman road system, Methoni is among the few Peloponnesian cities that are represented with symbols and not just with their name. Methoni is also mentioned in one (or two) epigraphic lists dated to the imperial period respectively from Argos (IG IV, 619, l. 2) and Corinth (Corinth VIII.1, n° 13) which include some cities, mostly from the Peloponnese; although the exact nature of these documents remains uncertain, the fact that Methoni is mentioned is worth noting. Even the grant of the privileged status of civitas libera under Trajan – this is probably what Pausanias intends when he states that the emperor allowed the citizens of Methoni to be free and autonomous (Paus. 4.35.3) – may be connected in some way to Methoni’s strategic importance. In fact, due to its geographical position along the sea route linking the eastern and western Mediterranean Methoni came to play a key role in maritime communications and trade activities until Late antiquity and beyond. This is also reflected in the coins Methoni minted between the reigns of Septimius Severus and Geta, which depict on the reverse the harbor of the city. Remains of the port facilities dating to the second century AD have been also identified archaeologically.
Η Μεθώνη κατά τη ρωμαϊκή εποχή. Μια ιστορική επισκόπηση / Camia, Francesco. - (2022), pp. 37-50. (Intervento presentato al convegno Η Μεθώνη και η περιοχή της από την αρχαιότητα έως τα νεότερα χρόνια. Αρχαιολογικές και ιστορικές προσεγγίσεις tenutosi a Methoni; Greece).
Η Μεθώνη κατά τη ρωμαϊκή εποχή. Μια ιστορική επισκόπηση
Francesco Camia
2022
Abstract
This contribution aims to offer a historical overview of ancient Methoni (Peloponnese, Greece) during the Roman period. The few literary references to Methoni reveal its close link with the sea. Its geographical position at the crossroad between East and West was enhanced after the Mediterranean was unified under the Roman domination. In the first century AD the Roman geographer Pomponius Mela mentions Methoni as the second most important city of Messenia after Messene (De chorographia 2.36). In the Tabula Peutingeriana, a fourth century map of the Roman road system, Methoni is among the few Peloponnesian cities that are represented with symbols and not just with their name. Methoni is also mentioned in one (or two) epigraphic lists dated to the imperial period respectively from Argos (IG IV, 619, l. 2) and Corinth (Corinth VIII.1, n° 13) which include some cities, mostly from the Peloponnese; although the exact nature of these documents remains uncertain, the fact that Methoni is mentioned is worth noting. Even the grant of the privileged status of civitas libera under Trajan – this is probably what Pausanias intends when he states that the emperor allowed the citizens of Methoni to be free and autonomous (Paus. 4.35.3) – may be connected in some way to Methoni’s strategic importance. In fact, due to its geographical position along the sea route linking the eastern and western Mediterranean Methoni came to play a key role in maritime communications and trade activities until Late antiquity and beyond. This is also reflected in the coins Methoni minted between the reigns of Septimius Severus and Geta, which depict on the reverse the harbor of the city. Remains of the port facilities dating to the second century AD have been also identified archaeologically.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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