Pantikapaion

Pantikapaion

Παντικάπαιον(in Ancient Greek)
Theprytaneionof Pantikapaion, second century BC.Kerch's Obelisk of Glory is visible in the background.
Shown within Crimea Pantikapaion (Black Sea)
Location	Kerch,Autonomous Republic of Crimea
Region	Taurica
Coordinates	45°21′3″N36°28′7″E
Type	Settlement
Area	100 ha (250 acres)
History
Builder	Settlers fromMiletus
Founded	7th or 6th century BC
Abandoned	Approximately 370 AD
Periods	Archaic Greek
Cultures	Greek
Site notes
Condition	Ruined
Ownership	Public
Public access	Yes

Pantikapaion(Greek:ΠαντικάπαιονPantikapaion,fromScythian*Pantikapa'fish-path';Latin:Panticapaeum) was anancient Greekcity on the eastern shore ofCrimea,which the Greeks calledTaurica.The city lay on the western side of theCimmerian Bosporus,and wasfoundedbyMilesiansin the late 7th or early 6th century BC, on a hill later namedMount Mithridat.Its ruins now lie in the modern city ofKerch.

Early existence

See also:Greeks in pre-Roman Crimea

A coin from Pantikapaion, bearing a star inside adiademand the letters "ΠΑΝ" (Pan), 2nd century BC.

During the first centuries of the city's existence, imported Greek articles predominated:pottery(seeKerch Style),terracottas,and metal objects, probably from workshops inRhodes,Corinth,Samos,andAthens.Local production, imitated from the models, was carried on at the same time. Athens manufactured a special type of bowl for the city, known asKerchware. Local potters imitated theHellenisticbowls known as theGnathiastyle as well as relief wares—Megarianbowls. The city minted silver coins from the 5th century BC and gold and bronze coins from the 4th century BC.At its greatest extent it occupied 100 hectares (250 acres).TheHermitageandKerchMuseums contain material from the site, which is still being excavated.

Representations of Pan on 4th century BC gold and silver Pantikapaion coins

Fifth to first centuries BC

In the 5th–4th centuries BC, the city became the residence first of theArchaeanactidsand then of theSpartocids,dynasties ofThraciankings ofBosporus,and was hence itself sometimes called Bosporus. Its economic decline in the 4th–3rd centuries BC was the result of theSarmatianconquest of the steppes and the growing competition ofEgyptiangrain.

Mithridates

Small statue ofScythianswith bows from Panticapeum, 4th century BC

The last of theSpartocids,Paerisades V,apparently left his realm toMithridates VIEupator, king ofPontus.This transition was arranged by one of Mithridates's generals,Diophantus,who earlier had been sent to Taurica to help local Greek cities againstPalacusof theScythian kingdom in Crimea.The mission did not go smoothly: Paerisades was murdered byScythiansled bySaumacus,and Diophantus escaped to return later with reinforcements to suppress the revolt (c. 110 BC).

Half of a century later, Mithridates took his life in Pantikapaion, when, after his defeat in awaragainstRome,his son and heirPharnacesand citizens of Pantikapaion turned against him.

Further reading

• Noonan, Thomas S.(1973). "The Origins of the Greek Colony at Panticapaeum".American Journal of Archaeology.77(1): 77–81.doi:10.2307/503240.JSTOR503240.
• Treister, Michail Ju. (1990). "A Matrix from Panticapaeum".The Journal of the Walters Art Gallery.48:29–35.JSTOR20169058.
• Tsetskhladze, Gocha R. (1997). "A Survey of the Major Urban Settlements in the Kimmerian Bosporos (With a Discussion of Their Status as Poleis)". In Nielsen, Thomas Heine (ed.).Yet More Studies in the Ancient Greek Polis.Historia Einzelschriften. Vol. 117. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 39–82.ISBN9783515072229.

External links

• Perseus Digital Library
• Iconicarchive Photo Gallery
• Decree honoring Diophantos,general of the Pontic king Mithridates VI
• Similarities between Panticapaeum and the City of Atlantis as described by Plato. Eagle/Wind 2005