Rediscovered in 2001, the ancient Greek city of Helike, once a formidable force, now lies as a profound echo of the past, submerged beneath layers of history and myth. Helike’s catastrophic end and subsequent entombment beneath the earth has intrigued scholars and enthusiasts alike, fueling speculation that it may have served as a real-life inspiration for the legendary Atlantis.
Helike was an ancient Greek city-state, remarkable in its time for cultural and religious significance. It was not just a hub for political activity within the Achaean League but also a religious center, housing the revered sanctuary of Helikonian Poseidon, second only to Delphi in religious importance. Its destruction in the winter of 373 BC was nothing short of apocalyptic: “The city and a space of 12 stadia below it sank into the earth and were covered over by the sea. All the inhabitants perished without a trace, and the city was obscured from view except for a few building fragments projecting from the sea.”
This catastrophe was considered by some to be an act of divine retribution, as “immense columns of flame” were seen prior to the disaster, and animals and vermin were observed fleeing the city days before it met its ill fate. Ancient accounts suggest that the wrath of Poseidon fell upon Helike due to its inhabitants’ refusal to share a statue of the deity with Ionian colonists.
For centuries, Helike’s remains were a curious spectacle, visited by Roman tourists and later disappearing completely, prompting intense archaeological inquiry. Adalberto Giovannini, among others, hypothesized that the story of Helike’s submersion might have inspired Plato’s narrative of Atlantis sinking into the ocean.
Yet, it was not until 2001 that Helike was rediscovered, buried in what once was an ancient lagoon near the village of Rizomylos. The Helike Project, led by Greek archaeologist Dora Katsonopoulou and Steven Soter, was integral to its rediscovery. It challenged previous assumptions that the city lay beneath the Corinthian Gulf. Instead, it was found inland, covered by sediment from the Selinous River, following the hypothesis that “poros” referred to an inland lagoon rather than the sea.
The discovery included not only the ruins of the city walls and Classical-era buildings but also an “earthquake destruction layer” confirming the site’s identity. The ongoing excavations in the Helike delta each summer continue to unravel the city’s long-lost stories, from its founding in prehistoric times to its resurgence in Hellenistic and Roman eras.
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