Top of S wall from SE tower, with Bay of Aigosthena beyond

North half of E wall from SE, Aigosthena

Top of wall and S tower from the N, Aigosthena

Aerial view of city walls, Aigosthena

NE tower and N wall from below, Aigosthena

Central tower and postern gate in E city wall, Aigosthena

Summary: A Megarian fortified city.
Type: Fortified city
Region: Megarid

Periods:

Geometric

Archaic

Classical

Hellenistic

Roman

Physical:

Aigosthena is at a sheltered bay at the E end of the Gulf of Corinth. The site commanded the ancient route from Boeotia to the Peloponnese. It was never of great importance in antiquity and was mentioned by only one ancient writer, Xenophon in 378 B.C. It has not been excavated, but is considered one of the best surviving examples of Classical Greek military architecture.

Description:

Although surface finds suggest occupation in the area from Geometric to late Byzantine periods, the fortifications themselves belong to the 5th and 4th centuries B.C. Aigosthena belonged to Megara and formed part of the Achaean League in 244 B.C., although it had been under the control of Boeotia for a short time before the 2nd Macedonian War.

Sources Used:

Rossiter 1977, 363; PECS, 21; Leekley and Noyes 1976, 1

Other Bibliography:

E.F. Benson, "Aegosthena," JHS 15 (1895) 314ff; B.V. Head, Historia Numorum (2nd ed) (1911); R.L. Scranton, Greek Walls (1941) 81; N.G.L. Hammond, BSA 49 (1954) 110ff. A.K. Orlandos, Ergon (1954); A.W. Lawrence, Greek Architecture (1957); M. Bollini, ASAtene 41-42 (1963-64); K. Ghiannoulidou, Platon 16 (1964); F.E. Winter, Greek Fortifications (1971) 142, note 56, 145. Prakt, (1954) 129ff (on basilica excav.).