Archaeological Sites

The sanctuary of Poseidon in the area of ancient Mende was uncovered on the south coast of the sandy cape Poseidi, 4 km west of the settlement of Kalandra, next to the Lighthouse. According to Thucydides, it was the oldest sanctuary in northern Greece and it is believed to be founded by Eretrian settlers, along with the city of Mende, as early as the 12th century BC.

The ruins of four buildings of worship were revealed, which were adjacent or on multiple levels due to insufficient space. The oldest (ΣΤ), dating back to the 11th century BC, is considered to be the earliest to date in Macedonia exclusively associated with worship and one of the earliest in Greece. It is a relatively small-scale, single-room, apsidal building, with stone foundations and brick superstructure. It was succeeded by an oval building (Γ), inside which many objects were found, mainly sailors’ offerings to Poseidon, at the end of the 7th and beginning of the 6th century BC. A rectangular building (B) dates back to the end of the 6th century BC, while the main temple (A), a rectangular building with an entrance hall (pronaos) and an oblong cella, dates back to the middle of the 5th century BC. All buildings are preserved up to the height of the foundations.

Numerous vessels, domestic or imported from various workshops that served as offerings or used for rituals date back to the 6th and 5th century BC, the period of prosperity of the sanctuary. These are primarily Attic kylikes with engraved inscriptions, through which the worship of Poseidon is attested.
The sanctuary at Poseidi was in use until the Hellenistic period, while workshops were later established on the site.

References

Ι. Βοκοτοπούλου, Ποσείδι, Το ιερό του Ποσειδώνα στη Χαλκιδική, Θεσσαλονικέων Πόλις 2, 1997, 18-23
Σ. Μοσχονησιώτη, Μένδη-Ποσείδι, στο Α. Βλαχόπουλος – Δ. Τσιαφάκη (επιμ.), Αρχαιολογία. Μακεδονία και Θράκη (εκδόσεις Μέλισσα) Αθήνα 2017, 374-377
Σ. Μοσχονησιώτη, Ιερό του Ποσειδώνα στο Ποσείδι, Μελέτες για την αρχαία Μακεδονία. Προς τη γένεση των πόλεων, https://www.greek-language.gr/digitalResources/ancient_greek/macedonia/cities/page_020.html?prev=true (08.06.2023).