Olympe
Ancient city in present-day Albania
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Olympe (Ancient Greek: Ολύμπη) (Albanian: Olimpi) was an ancient city located in the territory of the Amantes, between northern Epirus and southern Illyria in classical antiquity. It is located in modern day Mavrovë, Vlorë County, Albania.[1][2]
Ολύμπη Olimp | |
  Olympe Location in Albania | |
| Location | Mavrovë, Vlorë County, Albania |
|---|---|
| Region | Epirus or Illyria |
| Coordinates | 40°24′32″N 19°35′28″E |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Periods |
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| Cultures |
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| Site notes | |
| Ownership | Government of Albania |
History
The settlement at Olympe was fortified between the late 5th century BC and the early 4th century BC.[1]
Taking into account archaeological and historical considerations, the city of Olympe should have been founded in the ethnic context of the Amantes, but later it was organized as a proper polis turning away from its ethnic context.[2][3] The dissociation from the ethnic to the polis coincided with Philip V of Macedon's conquest of a number of cities in Illyria.[2]
In the Hellenistic period there is evidence for the polis status of Olympe, and Stephanus of Byzantium (fl. 6th century AD) recorded Olympe as a "polis of Illyria" (πόλις Ίλλυρίας). During the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC Olympe minted bronze coins bearing the inscription ΟΛΥΜΠΑΣΤΑΝ (OLYMPASTAN), and the city-ethnic was probably ’Ολυμπαστάς (Olympastas). The coins of Olympe depict a snake, the totemistic symbol among Illyrians. The same symbol is depicted in ancient Scodra, Byllis, Amantia and other major settlements.[4] A late 3rd century BC dedication to Zeus Megistos mentions a politarches, a grammateus and the synarchontes.[1]