The city- fortress


Platamonas is located by the sea, on a hill at the southeast foot of Mount Olympus. A city-fortress, it was founded during the mid-Byzantine period near the ancient city of Heraklion. The name Platamon is first attested in a chrysobull issued by Alexius III in 1198, granting the Venetians visiting privileges to the city. During the rule of the Franks, from 1204 to 1224, the castle came under the supervision of Rolando Piscia or Pise, who seems to have carried out repair works and lent the castle its present form. Platamonas then came under the rule of Theodore Comnenus Ducas, while in the 14th century it was used in wars waged by Catacuzenus and Apocaucus, then being referred to as a “small town” or “village”. Due to its important strategic position, the castle of Platamon remained in use even after its capture by the Turks, and was repaired and rebuilt many times during the Ottoman period; in 1897, heavy bombardment by the Greek naval commander Sachtouris forced the Turks to abandon the castle. It remained desolate until the Second World War, when the hill was reused as a fortified position.

The Castle of Platamonas sits atop a hill next to the Thessaloniki-Athens highway, its central tower dominating the highest point. Archaeological excavations in the northeast side of the castle area unearthed a Christian church (Church A) surrounded by a cemetery. Evidence points to this having been built in the 10th-11th century, as a one-aisled church decorated with wall paintings and exquisite sculptures. A narthex was subsequently added (14th century), converting the church into a three-aisled basilica with a new series of wall paintings.  An archaeological dig in area A brought to light a cemetery lying to the north and south of the church. More than 160 free burials, pit graves and burials in ciboria have been excavated, with offerings dating from the 13th-14th to the 16th-17th century.

A second, small, one-aisled church (church B) was located in the southeast section of the wall, decorated with frescoes dating from the mid 17th century. Over 127 late and post-Byzantine tombs, mostly pit graves, were discovered in the area immediately outside this church, mainly containing burials of infants and children.

Of interest are the mud walls of a building built around a courtyard with a well, and a small rectangular room at the north end of the yard with a hearth and fireplace. This building stands by the northern section of the city walls, and bears strong evidence of use as a forge, probably during the Ottoman period. Other private buildings – humble, one-roomed affairs surrounded by a cobbled courtyard - have also been uncovered at various points in the castle, as well as sections of the paved medieval city street plan.


Glossary (3)

narthex: oblong reception area extending along the western side of a basilica. Originally the east portico of the atrium, it was later incorporated into the church, and served as a waiting area for catechumens, who were not allowed to attend the Divine Liturgy.
three nave basilica: a basilica with three naves.
wall paintings or murals: Painted scenes on a wall or ceiling surface.


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Bibliography (3)

1. Βακαλόπουλος Α., Τα κάστρα του Πλαταμώνα και της Ωριάς Τεμπών και ο τεκές του Χασάν Μπαμπά, Thessaloniki, 1972

2. Βακαλόπουλος Α., Το κάστρο του Πλαταμώνα, 1940

3. Ευγενίδου Δ., Κάστρα Μακεδονίας και Θράκης, Βυζαντινή Καστροκτισία, Athens, 1997


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