The last day of our excursion in Epirus started with the visit of Nikopolis. The first stop there was at the impressive aqueduct of 54 klm. Then we followed the flowing of Louros river and the route of the aqueduct and ended up at the Archaeological site of Nikopolis. Nikopolis is a true Roman city and it's the largest ancient city in Greece. Its foundation is strongly connected to one of the most important historical events in the Roman history; the naval battle of Action.
Two different fleets and two different cultures fought against each other till the end! On one side was Rome and on the other Egypt of the Ptolemaies. Each one was trying to keep its power and its position in the ancient world.
Protagonists were Gaius Octavian for Rome and Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra for Egypt. It took place in 31 B.C. and the end was the triumph of Rome, since the last Greek kingdom fell to the Romans. The world won't be the same again and the geography changes, since the Mediterranean sea turns into Mare Nostrum ("our sea"), a Roman lake!
As a memory of this victory Nikopolis was founded and people of 70 cities, that had been destroyed by the Romans in 168 B.C., and other ones inhabited settled down there. As a celebration they organised the Actian Games to honour the victory of the Romans that ended in the 4th century A.D. when Christianity was established.
It's a big Archaeological site and the visitor enters into a world where two eras change with each other. One it's the Roman with the aqueduct, the bouleuterion (the parliament) the theater, the odeon and the Monument of Augustus with the 36 rams of Cleopatra's ships and the stadiom. The other is the early christian era with the walls of the 6th century A.D., the Basilicas A or Doumetios, B or Alcison, C, D, E and F and the Episcopal Megaron.
George Riginos, archaeologist of the Ephorate of Preveza, accompanied us from Ioannina to Nikopolis and with his passion and love guided us through the Archaeological site and the museum, which is dedicated to the city (
www.nicopolismuseum.gr).
The rest of the day included a short visit in Preveza and then the long driving back to Athens. The feelings were mixed. Joy for the nostos and sadness for the return to reality. But in general terms we got wiser and richer in many different levels!
We would like to thank everyone that contributed to organization and realization of the excursion and the visits of the the sites and museums!
Of course we would like to thank all the participants!
Until next year!