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61-485: Leibethra is located at the eastern foot of Mount Olympus in the Pieria Prefecture , Central Macedonia , Greece . It is about four kilometers from the coast and two kilometers north of the village of Skotina . The city comprises the acropolis , which reaches an altitude of 130 meters, and the plain below it stretching towards the sea. The excavation site covers an area of 150 hectares , 1.5 of which belong to

122-574: A boar was bold rather than powerful. The Muses also gathered up the fragments of his body and buried them at Leibethra below Mount Olympus, where the nightingales sang over his grave. Cults of the Muses were also located in Leibethra. Well-known springs and memorials dedicated to Orpheus were there in great number. When Alexander the Great set out against Persia , the cypress-wood statue of Orpheus

183-453: A certain ambiguity of meaning as to whether actual rope was used to physically impress them, or they are merely intended to visually resemble rope. If the pithos was small enough to stand in a conspicuous location, the bands were further divided into polychrome geometric patterns, such as a checkerboard or chevrons , or painted panel or band scenes, often in relief. These scenes are in no way inferior to those of other painted pots; in fact,

244-516: A common ancestor other than Proto-Indo-European. Contemporaneously with Pokorny's epic dictionary, Linear B was first being deciphered, and various analyses were being put forward that Greek and Latin were not all that similar. There was no need to prove that developments in Latin were necessarily parallel to those in Greek. If bh- became f- in Latin, it would not necessarily do so in Greek. The pithos

305-458: A convenient coffin. In Middle Helladic burials in Mycenae and Crete , sometimes the bones of the interred were placed in pithoi. The ancient Iberian culture of El Argar used pithoi for coffins in its B phase (1500–1300 BC). The external shape and materials were approximately the same: a ceramic jar about as high as a man, a base for standing, sides nearly straight or generously curved, and

366-400: A factor of the cube of 3.542, or 44.438, which would be 1804 liters. The capacity of the 170 cm pot, however, is 996 liters, half the amount estimated using the cube, and that is generally true of the several pots for which Younger lists heights. An exponent of 2.53 estimates the increase in capacity, which means that, at least for these vases, the potters did not add to the diameter to keep

427-546: A fire approximately at the beginning of the 3rd century BC. Fragments of a nearly 2,000-liter clay storage container are exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki . The area forms part of the Archaeological Park of Leivithra. Since the park is dedicated to Mount Olympus as well as to Orpheus , the park's paths are shaped like his associated musical instrument, the lyre . The park

488-539: A flood destroyed the place. Leibethra means canals in Greek, as does the equivalent Roman-era toponym , Canalia. The excavations so far confirm that the acropolis was inhabited from the 8th century BC to the 1st century BC. The surrounding area was inhabited at least since the Bronze Age . In approximately 169 BC, the Romans erected their army camp in the plain between Herakleion (now Platamonas ) and Leibethra, during

549-574: A large mouth with a lid, sealed for shipping. Jars of this size could not be handled by individuals, especially when full. Various numbers of handles, lugs, or some combination thereof, gave a purchase for some sort of harness used in lifting the jar with a crane. Pithoi were manufactured and exported or imported over the entire Mediterranean. They were used most heavily in the Bronze Age palace economy for storing or shipping wine, olive oil, or various types of vegetable products for distribution to

610-441: A line or two of Linear A . Perhaps pithos derives from a Linear A word. Ventris and Chadwick do not exclude fiscus from necessarily being related to pithos , they only point out that, if such is the derivation, the process is more complex than previously thought. A study done in 2003 by John Younger used a computer program, "vase", to calculate the maximum capacity of an LM I pithos, catalog number ZA Zb 3. The program required

671-420: A multi-story structure. The upper walls were made of bricks and the roofs were covered with tiles. Large clay storage pots ( pithoi ) where excavated from within the floor of the dwellings. The parts of the acropolis that had been unearthed so far are temporarily covered for their protection. Through a construction of metal baskets filled with stones, the hill was partially secured against further slipping. In

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732-513: A problem of classical archaeology. Pithos has two irreconcilable derivations, classical and Mycenaean. On the one hand, it was a well-used word of the Iron Age in Greece, dating to as early as the works of Homer . Julius Pokorny and other professional linguists developed a derivation from Proto-Indo European *bhidh- , "container", that followed all the rules of language change and moreover

793-410: A problem of distinguishing the smaller pithoi from other types of pottery. Many ceramics are not any easily classifiable shape. If they were used for transportation or storage, they are likely to be called pithoi, even though they are not the size of the palace pithoi, and even though the forms might well have fit other types. Reconciliation of pre-classical pottery types with classical types has long been

854-409: A purchase in sufficient numbers in the space around the jar to effect even a simple lift. From the physical point of view, at least for these multi-ton pithoi, J. L. Stokes' view that they were "unmoveable furniture, being in general, either wholly or partially sunk in the ground", is most likely accurate. Currently at Knossos some empty pithoi have been placed standing in passageways, such as those of

915-423: Is a city Libethra, where the mountain faces, Macedonia, not far from which city is the tomb of Orpheus. The Libethrians, it is said, received out of Thrace an oracle from Dionysus, stating that when the sun should see the bones of Orpheus, then the city of Libethra would be destroyed by a boar. The citizens paid little regard to the oracle, thinking that no other beast was big or mighty enough to take their city, while

976-425: Is based on the cube of the percentage of change in height; that is, if the diameter doubles when the height doubles, then the resulting volume ought to be 8 times the previous volume, the cube of two. Younger gives several heights of pots with associated volumes. The smallest listed with height is 40.6 liters at 48 cm high. If the height increases by a factor of 3.542 to 170 cm, the volume should increase by

1037-442: Is debatable. Slack rope lifts nothing; moreover, a rope around the neck of the pithos for lifting would only concentrate the weight on the neck, probably shattering it. Multiple lugs, loops and handles indicate that for lifting purposes some sort of harness to distribute the weight must have been used. These rope-like waves of pattern, regardless of the potter's possible intent, have been termed "rope patterns" or "rope decoration", with

1098-600: Is divided into three areas: The circular route starts at the ground plan of a house that dates back to the Mycenaean era. It was discovered in the course of road construction near Platamon. Further along is an oval-shaped house, which was built in the 8th century BC. The dimensions of the ground plan were modeled on a house excavated in Krania , at the foot of the Platamon Castle . The foundation consist of stone and

1159-484: Is represented. On the west side of the park, four pavilions inform about the life and work of Orpheus and the Muses ; in the immediate vicinity is a small open-air theater, which was created in the form of an ancient amphitheater. Behind the theater, a staircase leads to the opposite archaeological site. Along the ways are plants that play a role in Greek mythology and whose importance is explained on information boards. On

1220-533: Is the home of Orpheus , the Muses , and contains the Pierian Spring . Mount Olympus , the highest mountain in Greece and throne of the ancient Greek gods, is located in the southern part of Pieria. Other ancient cities included Leibethra and Pimpleia . The Pieria regional unit is bordered by Imathia to the north, Kozani to the west, and to the south and west by the region of Thessaly's Regional Unit of Larissa . The Pierian Mountains lie to

1281-587: The Muses , or to have lived in the city only temporarily. His tomb was later destroyed by a flood of the river Sys. It was a place where the Leibethrian Nymphs were worshiped. Remains of Leibethra have been found and there exists an archeological site close to Olympus. The location of Leibethra was held to be a favourite place of the Muses, hence their epithet Libethrides ( Ancient Greek : Λειβηθρίδες). The 2nd-century geographer Pausanias writes: In Larisa I heard another story, how that on Olympus

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1342-523: The Neolithic , the Bronze Age and the succeeding Iron Age . Pithoi were used for bulk storage, primarily for fluids and grains; they were comparable to the drums, barrels and casks of recent times. The name was different in other languages; for instance, the Hittites used harsi- . Secondarily, discarded pithoi found other uses. Like the ceramic bathtubs of some periods, the size of a pithos made it

1403-576: The Strymon river and Mount Pangaeus , where they formed a new settlement in Edonis . The name Pieria has been connected to Homeric πῖαρ "fat", πίειραν ἄρουραν "fertile land" in a metaphorical sense. At some time before the archaic period Pieria was incorporated in the Kingdom of Macedon (808 BC, see below) when it became the second province of the ancient kingdom, following its fate through

1464-730: The Third Macedonian War . Findings from the time of the last settlement date from the year 100 BC. What ultimately caused the destruction of the settlement is still unclear. According to the latest findings, it is thought to have been an earthquake, possibly in connection with subsequent flooding. The acropolis has been excavated only randomly, and the vast majority remains untouched. Excavated silver coins were predominantly of Macedonian origin , but coins from other parts of Greece have been unearthed as well. Also found were small clay vessels, large clay storage containers, fragments of metal work and arrow and spear tips. A weight of lead

1525-697: The Pieria's beaches have been awarded the Blue Flag certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE). Its climate is mainly of Mediterranean type with hot summers and cool winters. Severe winter weather is common in the central and western parts of Pieria, especially in the Pierian Mountains and on Mount Olympus. On June 8, 2007, a low pressure weather system from Southern and Central Europe resulted in heavy rainfall that ravaged

1586-461: The basic framework of wood. The walls were made of a mixture of clay and straw, in which goat hair was incorporated. The roof was covered with reed. The main building of the park was modeled on the ancient winery the foundation of which was excavated in the plain of Leivithra (Komboloi). Within the building, the development of the region from the Neolithic Age to the destruction of the place

1647-411: The considerable weights of the containers, the total weights can be estimated at 150 to 420 kg. Equipment for hauling to the ship and lowering into the hold must have been used. A Middle Bronze Age wreck of a small cargo ship off Sheytan Deresi (Devil's Creek), on the southwestern coast of Turkey, also was carrying pithoi, 3 "strap-handled" and 4 "handleless", of "ovoid-conical" form. The main cargo

1708-421: The deck in the hold. Some sort of hold-fast scaffolding must have been designed to keep the cargo from shifting with disastrous results, except that a disaster did occur. All ancient civilizations had standards of weights and measures, which were used extensively in the distribution of goods. As is true today, the standards were set by law. Enforcement of them was a function of government. Pottery, as containers of

1769-409: The density of water. The pithoi were not the chief cargo, which was 10 tons of copper ingots. The ship carried the load easily, with a draft of 1 m. The pithoi were comparatively light, with an estimated total mass of 2.7 tonnes. Not all contained liquid; a few were the first known packing crates, containing fine pottery. Fragments of lids were also found. Empty weights were obtained for all but two of

1830-410: The drawing of a profile on the computer screen and the entry of a parameter—Younger used height—which in this case was 1.7 m (5.6 ft). "Vase" computed 996 liters , which is slightly too great, because it was based on external dimensions. At the density of pure water , 1 kg per litre , the contents of a full pithos would weigh about a tonne . Moreover, the pithos selected was not among

1891-620: The fortified acropolis. The acropolis is bordered by the Griva and Kavourolaka rivers, which flow into the Ziliana river. In the 19th century, the Frenchman Léon Heuzey identified the location of ancient Leibethra. In 1914 the location was confirmed by his countryman André Plassart. According to Greek mythology , depending on the source consulted, Orpheus is said to have been born in Leibethra, and to have been buried there by

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1952-477: The goods distributed, was designed to planned capacities for specific purposes, which is the reason why pottery is so useful in archaeology as indicators of period and why standard types can be detected at all. All Bronze Age records of goods refer intentionally to the type, capacity and contents of ceramic storage and shipping vessels. Ventris and Chadwick devoted much of Documents in Mycenaean Greek to

2013-413: The intended use. Pithoi designed for marine transportation were generally not decorated. They must have been stored in a warehouse. Storage pithoi, however, might be viewed in residential and administrative locations. The neck and shoulders were generally decorated, which is consistent with a partially subterranean location. All the large pithoi featured circumferential bands of thicker clay strengthening

2074-457: The joints where sections of the pithos were lowered onto each other and fused together. The raised band concept was expanded over the upper body to a repeating circumferential pattern, incised or stamped at first, then rolled with a seal-like roller around the body of the pithos while it was still fresh clay. Some common themes are spirals, meanders, and waves. Waves in relief give the appearance of slack rope; whether they were intended to be that

2135-407: The large pithoi at Knossos, with smaller mouths relative to the body. The heights are approximately 50% of the heights at Knossos. The dependency of the capacity on height was approximately given by Heron , a 1st-century engineer. He is credited with a number of formulae, all called "Heron's formula." As far as pottery is concerned, he divided pots into spheroid and pithoid, all the larger ones being

2196-407: The large pithoi were sunk into the floor in the storage rooms, as the archaeological evidence indicates they were, their weight and bulk raise a question of how they were brought there. Handling of a full pithos except by extensive apparatus of tracks and cranes, of which there is no evidence, is unlikely. They were perhaps brought in empty, set in place, and then filled from smaller pithoi with some of

2257-400: The largest. On similar studies of some other pithoi mentioned by Ventris and Chadwick, he obtained volumes such as 1430.5 liters, 1377.5 liters, 1334.7 liters, and so on, with full weights in excess of two tons. Dry goods would be much less dense, but even half the density, a weight of about a ton, is far beyond any handling operations by individuals, or teams of individuals, who could not obtain

2318-437: The latter type, taking this classification from work done previously and appearing in the writings of Archimedes . The volume of a pithoid, which can be either a pithos or an amphora , is dependent, he asserts, on 11/14 of the product of the height and a number representing a squared average of minimum and maximum diameters. There has been some controversy about what geometric figure this formula represents. The manuscript gives

2379-581: The municipal unit Elafina , formerly a community in the Imathia prefecture, was attached to Pieria in 1974. Pithoi Pithos ( / ˈ p ɪ θ ɒ s / , ‹See Tfd› Greek : πίθος , plural: pithoi πίθοι ) is the Greek name of a large storage container. The term in English is applied to such containers used among the civilizations that bordered the Mediterranean Sea in

2440-522: The neighborhood (Voulkani, Vakoufika, Palaia Leptokarya and Skotina) graves were discovered from the Mycenaean period and from the Iron Age . They housed weapons, tools and clay vessels as burial objects. The finds are stored in the Archaeological Museum of Dion . The foundation of a former vineyard were cleared in the east-facing plain. Built in the middle of the 4th century BC, it was destroyed by

2501-486: The numerous bucket-type pottery. The problem of handling large pithoi also raises questions of shipping. However, large pithoi are not found in the few shipwrecks of merchant vessels from the Bronze Age. In a recent study of the lading of the ship wrecked at Uluburun in the Late Bronze Age, Lin hypothesizes a cargo of about 20 tons, including 10 pithoi at 3.5 tons, or 0.35 tons each, if filled with fluid at about

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2562-550: The pithoi. Pithos KW 255 could be modelled to obtain an estimated volume of 293 liters at an empty weight of 120.25 kg, the highest of the 8. The lowest empty weight, that of KW 250, was 43 kg. Assuming a direct proportion between capacity and empty weight, the smallest capacity would have been about 105 litre. This approximate data from the wreck suggests that pithoi were in fact shipped, but only those of much smaller capacity. The pithoi of Uluburun, if full of liquid, would still have been too heavy for manual handling. Including

2623-434: The populace served by the palace administration. Consequently, they became known to the modern public as pithoi when western classical archaeologists adopted the term to mean the jars uncovered by excavation of Minoan palaces on Crete and Mycenaean ones on mainland Greece . The term has now been adopted into the English language as a general word for a storage jar from any culture. Along with this universality has come

2684-467: The prefecture and caused great damage in fruit and vegetable production. The worst hit area was Korinos . The Regional Unit of Pieria is divided into 3 municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox): As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform , the Regional Unit of Pieria was created out of the former prefecture Pieria ( Greek : Νομός Πιερίας ). The prefecture had

2745-798: The rest of Greece, but their struggle failed and Pieria did not join the rest of Greece until the Balkan Wars in 1913. Until 1947, Pieria was part of the Thessaloniki Prefecture (at that time the largest Greek prefecture), as a province . Pieria saw an economic boom in agriculture and business. During the Greco-Turkish War , it saw an influx of refugees from Asia Minor , now a part of Turkey , and several places were named after their former homelands including Nea Trapezounta from Trebizond (now Trabzon ) and Nea Efesos from Ephesus (now Efes). The village of Elafos in

2806-897: The rule of the Antipatrid dynasty (302 BC - 277 BC) and the Antigonid dynasty (306 BC - 168 BC). It became part of the Roman Republic after the Fourth Macedonian War , and remained part of the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire . It was later invaded and became a part of the Ottoman Empire . During the Greek War of Independence in 1821, Pieria took up arms along with

2867-539: The rules of reconstructing Mycenaean Greek from Linear B, qe-to must be a transcription of q ethos or q hethos , from a "base" of *g hedh- . The latter is similar to some Indo-European roots but has no meaningful connection to any. Ventris and Chadwick suggest that either qe-to was not a pithos, but was some smaller vessel, or that pithos is a foreign loan, like aryballos , lekythos , and some others. The Cretan pithos precedes by several hundred years any mentioned in Mycenaean Greek; moreover, many are inscribed with

2928-490: The same proportion between diameter and height; the larger vases were made thinner. If Younger's data can be taken as reflecting general truth, then the vases at Sheytan Deresi should have capacities that are greater than 40.6 liters by a factor of 1.875 , or 4.91, where 1.875 is 90/48. The capacity is thus 4.91 x 40.6 = about 200 liters, or 440 pounds if water is the content. These pithoi also are too large for handling without equipment, and may even have required strengthening of

2989-629: The same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganized, according to the table below. The region, known as Pieria or Pieris ( Ancient Greek : Πιερία/Πιερίς ) in Antiquity, took its name from the Pieres ( Πίερες ), a Thracian tribe that was expelled by the Macedonians in the 8th century BC from their original seats, and driven to the North beyond

3050-466: The southern part of the Region of Central Macedonia , within the historical province of Macedonia . Its capital is the town of Katerini . The name Pieria originates from the ancient Pieres tribe. In Pieria, there are many sites of archeological interest, such as Dion , Pydna , Leivithra and Platamonas . Pieria contains Mount Pierus , from which Hermes takes flight in order to visit Calypso , and

3111-504: The southwestern edge of the park is a small forest trail. The archeological park of Leivithra is one of the venues of the Olympus Festival . Inside and outside the main building exhibitions of local artists and clubs take place. In addition to classical tragedies and comedies, the theater also performs concerts and plays. Pieria Prefecture Pieria ( Greek : Πιερία ) is one of the regional units of Greece located in

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3172-405: The square of the average of minimum and maximum diameters. Vodolazhskaya points out that if the average of the squares is used instead, the formula applies to a truncated paraboloid of revolution. She proposes that the manuscript was corrupted. According to either version of Heron's formula, if height and diameter change proportionately, a change in height ought to result in a change in volume that

3233-413: The storerooms. This is a convention of display. Apart from the fact that they would seriously have impeded the dimly-lit corridors, there would have been no way to access them except by scaffold. They must have been originally placed in the pits of the storerooms, except possibly for the smaller and more easily accessed ones. There is also a question of stability. Only some were of a stable barrel-shape. If

3294-618: The topic of quantifiable measures. They and others were able to define a Mycenaean Greek dry unit of 96 liter and a wet unit of 36 liter. John Younger calculated the number of Mycenaean wet and dry units (96.1 L and 28.8 L, resp.) in the capacities of 300 pots of known dimensions, including several storage pithoi. He attempted to assign the volumes to integer or half-integer multiples of these units. Some pithoi were used for rituals and even for burial. The decor of those pithoi differed significantly from ones used for transportation and storage in warehouses. Decorations would have been used to match

3355-808: The west; the Thermaic Gulf lies to the east. It also has a valley by the GR-13. Most of the population live within the Olympian Riviera. The lowest point is the Thermaic Gulf and the highest point is Mount Olympus . It combines extensive plains, high mountains and sandy beaches. The region's beauty gives it a great potential for further tourist development. The main beaches are Paralia , Olympiaki Akti , Korinos , Neoi Poroi , Methoni , Leptokarya , Platamonas , Skotina , Kalyvia Varikou , Limenas Litochorou (also known as Gritsa). Many of

3416-535: Was born in a cave between Pimpleia (near Litochoro ) and Leivithra. He was killed by women who had been enraged and was buried in Leivithra. According to a legend recounted by Pausanias, the city was to be destroyed by a wild boar, as soon as Orpheus' bones saw the sun. A careless shepherd moved the top of Orpheus' grave and the sunlight touched Orpheus' remnants. Thereupon, the river Sys (ancient Greek name for wild boar, biological name: Sus Scrofa) swelled strongly and

3477-402: Was found bearing the inscription ΛΕΙΒΗ (LEIBE). The acropolis was fortified by a wall. The north side wall was constructed of small stones, whereas the south side wall consists of large, stacked stone blocks. On the west side, the foundation of a tower was uncovered. The shape of other buildings vary and are irregularly built at narrow streets. The foundations have a remarkable depth and indicate

3538-497: Was proposed to appear as 𐀤𐀵 , qe-to , in the Bronze Age records of Pylos and Mycenae , denoted by Ideogram 203 𐃢 , a small picture very similar to some Knossos pithoi, but which could just as well be matched by smaller pottery. Strangely enough it was not found at Knossos , a major find site of pithoi. It was duly transcribed as WINE JAR in Bennett's system, on the presumption that it would store primarily wine. According to

3599-439: Was related to Latin fiscus , "purse", from which English obtains "fiscal". Regardless of the real derivation, a pithos certainly seems to be a large purse containing economic goods in quantity. The derivation would have been elegant, tracing fiscality back to prehistoric Greece, it was thought, taking its place with oikos , "house", the origin word for economic , and others. At that time Greek and Latin were believed to have had

3660-469: Was said to have sweated as an omen. In addition to the poet and musician Orpheus, the place is also associated with the Muses. The Muses lived near sources and were devoted to literature, science, and fine arts. According to Hesiod, they delighted Zeus with their singing. They looked into the past, into the present, and into the future. Orpheus, the son of Muse Calliope and the Thracian king of Oiagros,

3721-467: Was those and other ceramics. The contents of the pithoi are not known. The handles are two parallel loops on either side of the mouth projecting slightly above it. The vases are now in the Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology . The dimensions of most of the pithoi are of the same order of magnitude. One has a height of 0.9 m and a body height of 0.84 m. The shapes are roughly similar to those of

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