Site details

Atrax

PK	C1284
TITLE	Atrax
WGS84	39.573426° N, 22.192096° E
Accuracy	Exact

LAT/LON	39.573426, 22.192096
LON/LAT	22.192096, 39.573426

DMS

39° 34' 24.3336" N

22° 11' 31.5456" E

W3W	barons, gullies, friendlier
UTM	34 S, 602389, 4381092
EGSA87	344567, 4381688

Elevation m	229
Elevation feet	751.3
Region	Pelasgiotis

GENERAL SITE TYPE Hab

TYPE

1.    Settlement.   Simpson and Dickinson [1979], 288    'The citadel of ancient Atrax is ... '
2.    Sherds.   Simpson [1981], 169    'Some Mycenaean sherds were found here ...'
3.    Sherds.   Ålin [1962], 138    'Hier sind spätmykenische ... Scherben gefunden worden.'
4.    Sherds.   Simpson and Dickinson [1979], 288    'Some LH III sherds were found here, among more abundant later material.'
5.    Wall.   Ålin [1962], 138    'Milojcic vermutet, dass Teile der Befestigungen aus mykenischer Zeit stammen könnten.'

PERIOD (High Chronology)

1. LH III: (1410 BC - 1060 BC)
    a.    Ålin [1962]: 138, 'Hier sind spätmykenische ... Scherben gefunden worden.'

2. LH IIIA: (1410 BC - 1315 BC)
    a.    Simpson [1981]: 169, 'LH III(A-B) PG A C'
    b.    Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 288, 'LH III(A-B) PG A C', 'Some LH III sherds were found here, ... '

3. LH IIIB: (1320 BC - 1190 BC)
    a.    Simpson [1981]: 169, 'LH III(A-B) PG A C'
    b.    Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 288, 'LH III(A-B) PG A C', 'Some LH III sherds were found here, ... '

4. Protogeometric: (1100 BC - 900 BC)
    a.    Ålin [1962]: 138, '...und protogeometrische sowie auch archaische ... Scherben gefunden worden.'
    b.    Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 288, 'LH III(A-B) PG A C'

5. Archaic: (700 BC - 480 BC)
    a.    Ålin [1962]: 138, '...und protogeometrische sowie auch archaische ... Scherben gefunden worden.'
    b.    Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: 288, 'LH III(A-B) PG A C'

NOTE

1. This marker was placed based on a user-contribution to Wikimapia. On this hill the walls of the acropolis of Atrax may be clearly seen. These walls are thought to be some 3 km. in length. I was able to trace their length in Google Earth and derived the value of 2.21 km. I believe this place is what is meant when the literature refers to the 'Palaiokastro' of Atrax. The town itself, I presume, spread around this acropolis on the plain reaching as far as the Peneios on the N.

For the site generally see The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites for 'Atrax'. Leake seems to give an account consistent with this when he speaks of 'Atrax' (Leake, IV, xxxix, 292).

Simpson talks about a conical hill some 500 m. SW of the modern Kastro (formerly Alifaka). While there is a hill in that place I can see no traces of ruins on it, not even of mandres or modern terracing.

rhc

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Ålin [1962]: Ålin, Per. Das Ende der mykenischen Fundstätten auf dem griechischen Festland. Carl Bloms Boktryckeri A.-B., Lund, 1962., 'Atrax (Alifaka)', pg. 138.

2. Simpson [1981]: Simpson, Richard Hope. Mycenaean Greece. Park Ridge, New Jersey: Noyes Press, 1981., 'H 42 Alifaka: Ancient Atrax', pg. 169. Online here.

3. Simpson and Dickinson [1979]: Simpson, Richard Hope and O.T.P.K. Dickinson. A Gazetteer of Aegean Civilization in the Bronze Age, Vol. I: The Mainland and the Islands. Paul Åströms Förlag, Goteborg. 1979., 'H 43 Alifaka: Ancient Atrax', pg. 288. Online here.