DION ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Set beneath Mount Olympus, this huge site (Αρχαιολογικός Χώρος Δίου/Archaiologikos Choros Dion) is home to the remains of the ancient sanctuary and city of Dion. Excavated since 1928, it covers 150 ha. Be prepared for a long visit on relatively flat ground, but don't forget to bring a hat and water in summer. You should also be aware that information on site is rather sketchy. The tour begins at a pond that was considered sacred and is still fed by the Baphyras river flowing down from Olympus. It was here that the site's oldest artefact was discovered: a Mycenaean gemstone dating from the ^15th century B.C. This attests to a very early occupation and probably to a primitive place of worship linked to the nearby mountain. Just beyond, to the east, are the foundations of the oldest temple identified at Dion, that of Demeter, erected from the ^6th century BC and remodeled around 320 BC. This is followed by a temple to Zeus, which seems rather minor given that Dion was named in homage to the master of Olympus.

Temple of Isis and Shield monument. Throughout the site's long history, numerous divinities were honored here according to the beliefs of pilgrims. From the ^2nd century BC onwards, Isis became the central deity. Her vast, flattened temple is located after that of Zeus, in a marshy area accessed by a footbridge. Here, the Egyptian goddess was associated with the cults of Tyche (Greek divinity of Fortune) and Aphrodite Hypolympidia ("at the foot of Olympus"). Then return to the temple of Demeter, and choose a new route. If you don't have a lot of time, opt for the northern section, where you'll find the remains of the city. Founded by the Macedonian kings in the^5th century, the city retains part of its ramparts and its cardo maximus, a main paved axis 5 m wide and 620 m long. To the south, this street is flanked on the left for 37 m by the "Monument of the Shields" (^4th century BC), a wall decorated with seven shields and six breastplates, which formed the base of a temple probably commemorating the victory of Chaeronea in 338 BC. This temple was destroyed around 200 AD, to make way for the "Great Baths" (4,000^m2) with an odeon, and the "Roman Agora" (3,900^m2).

House of Dionysus and theaters. Further along the cardo and still on the left, the "polygonal building" (1,200^m2) is a former covered market dating from the late ^4th century B.C. It is located at the corner of a transverse street serving the ruins of two ^{4th-5th-century} Paleo-Christian basilicas. Back on the cardo, shortly after the "polygonal building" on the right is the famous "House of Dionysus", a vast villa-farm (3,200^m2), which yielded the magnificent mosaic of the Triumph of Dionysus on display in the adjoining building of the Archaeological Museum. Returning to the temple of Demeter, a looping route in the southern part of the site takes you past the foundations of the Roman temple of Zeus Hypsistos (the "Highest"), the Archaic altar where oxen were sacrificed in honour of Zeus, the Roman theater (^2nd century) and the large Hellenistic theater (^2nd century BC), which still hosts shows during the Festival of Olympus in July and August.