ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES

Ancient Thermi settlement

In the village of Thermi, 12 km north of Mytilene, the ancient settlement of Thermi was discovered after excavations by the American archaeologist Miss Lam (1930-1932). The first two date from the period 3,200-3,000 BC, the third from the period 3,000-2,800 BC. and the other two from the period 2,800-2,400 BC. It is believed that the settlement was abandoned after a fire in 1200 BC. In the area there are ruins of the temple of the goddess Artemis, where many interesting foundings have been discovered, which you can see today at the Archaeological Museum of Mytilene.

The Temple of God Apollo in Klopedi

The temple in Klopedi, northwest of the village Agia Paraskevi, is one of the largest examples of archaic architecture on the island. Possibly dedicated to the god Apollo Napios, the temple was built in the 8th century BC. and its final shape was given in the middle of the 6th century BC. The excavations revealed the remains of two ancient temples. One of the two has tall columns and peculiar Aeolian column capitals, which can be seen today in the Archaeological Museum of Mytilene. This architectural style is a common feature of archaic art, not only in Lesvos, but also in many cities oposite the island in Asia Minor. .

 

Archaeological site “Messa” (The Temple of Venus)

In the place “Mesa”, where you find the ancient settlement with the same name, 9 km southeast of Agia Paraskevi and just 800 meters from the main road to Mytilene, there one can see the ruins one of the largest and most important temples of Lesvos where the “Community of Lesvos Cities” of the 4th c. The temple was dedicated to the three gods of lesvos- Jupiter, Hera and Dionysos, although the theory that temple was dedicated to goddes Venus finds many followers. The name of the temple comes from the old name “Messon” (the center), which marks the center of the island. Its main location has made this place a sacred place of worship and a point of contact for all the inhabitants of the island. There were common annual celebrations that represented the gods of the trinity and in fact the “goddess mother Aeolia”, the patroness of all Aeolian tribes. In honor of the goddess, a beauty contest was organized every year.
Worship has had an inter-lesbian character since antiquity. Literary sources (Alkaios, Sappho) refer to the “great temple” and from inscriptions we know that the temple was the seat of all the lesbian cities.
At the core of the archaeological site is the Ionian pseudo-diptych temple of the 4th c. BC, dimensions 45 X 26 m., a unique monument of this type in Greece.

Ancient Pyrra

The ancient Pyrra, one of the six ancient cities of Lesvos, occupied in the area were today’s Achladeri. The city was built on a natural fortress-like hill south of the Vouvaris estuary. The wall of the fortress was built around the edge of the hill and had three gates, the ancient harbor with the boathouses was built close the river and on the southern slope below the rock was the suburb. The port facilities on the southwest side belong to a later period, probably the 2nd century BC, after the destruction of the city wall (acropolis) by the earthquake and the “survival” of the suburb
An arched building on the southwest side of the city is considered a temple of the geometric era, the existence of which continued in antiquity. The necropolis was located on the northeastern slope of Geniati Hill (Achladeri building). The bowls in the vessels and the tombs show the existence of the city in the early geometric years. However, it is certain that a layer shows back to the end of the Bronze Age.