Description : The Archaeological Park of Dion is the most important archaeological site at Mount Olympus in Greece, located in Dion (Greek: Δίον). In the area comprised by the Archaeological Park of Dion, sanctuaries were found from the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The park displays the importance of ancient Dion in the history of Pieria. 424 v. Thucydides mentions Dion as the first city reached by the Spartan general Brasidas, coming from Thessaly (Tempi) in Macedonia. Pausanias mentioned Dion as one of the places at Orpheus had lived. In the Hellenistic period, Dion became the religious center of Macedonia. Zeus was venerated here, and Olympic games were held in honor of Zeus and the Muses. The village of Dion gained a certain importance within Greece through the sanctuary and over time developed into a city. Alexander the Great sacrificed to Zeus in Dion before he began his campaign against the Persians. Later, he had 25 bronze statues of the cavaliers fallen in the Battle of the Cranicos, erected in the Zeus Olympios Shrine. In the year 219 BC, the city was destroyed by the Aitolians. Philipp V had the city rebuilt immediately. The Romans took the city 169 BC. Gradually, Roman settlers came to Dion and brought their officialdom, their units of measurement and weight units with them. In the course of the changing owners, more sanctuaries were built. After the middle of the 3rd century AD, the decline started by the raids of neighboring tribes, earthquakes and floods. In the fourth century AD, Dion (Dium) experienced a last flourishing when it became the official seat of a bishop. The place is last mentioned as an administrative district of the Byzantine emperor Constantinos Porphyrogennetos in the 10th century.
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