Finding Old Sikyon

The Project

The ancient polis of Sikyon was located on the north-east coast of the Peloponnese, between the poleis of Corinth to the east and Pellene to the west (Fig. 1). It was famous as a centre of arts and crafts, particularly sculpture and painting, from Archaic times to the end of the 3^rd c. BC. In 303 BC, the Macedonian general Demetrios Poliorcetes captured the city and rebuilt it at a new site close by where it could be better defended. The site of this Hellenistic city has been identified on a plateau between the rivers Asopos and Helisson and is well known through the investigations of American and Greek scholars since the 19^th century (Fig. 2). Recently, the site is being studied by an important project conducted by the University of Thessaly in Volos and the Archaeological Society of Greece. The site of the Archaic and Classical city, however, has never been clearly identified. It is supposed to be located in the plain to the north-east of the plateau, where according to literary sources its acropolis was, and had a separate harbour (Fig. 2). In the plain between the two rivers, Classical remains have been found at various locations within the framework of rescue excavations, including houses and cemeteries, but these only provide sparse indications.