KOROPE
Thessaly, Greece.
City and site of
the oracular Shrine of Apollo Koropaios. The god was
one of the Magnesian triad; the sanctuary was in existence from at least archaic times. The city was incorporated into Demetrias on its foundation in 293 B.C., but
the oracle continued to function through Roman times.
The site is located on the right bank of the (modern)
river Bufa, ca. 20 km S of Volo on the shore road which
runs along the inner coast of Magnesia. A small modern
settlement is presently known as Korope. The site was
identified in 1882 by the discovery of a decree of Demetrias relating to the management of the shrine. In 1906
and 1907 the area of the sanctuary was discovered and
partially excavated. This is on level ground above the
modern road and just below a hill called Petralona. The
excavation has now entirely filled in. Parts of the base
of the NW corner of the peribolos (?) wall constructed
of rough stones was found, and joining the W wall another wall (E end not found) parallel to the N peribolos
wall and 8 m away, perhaps belonging to a stoa. Numerous terracotta figurines and black-glazed and black-figure
sherds of the 7th-6th c. B.C. were found, and a number
of pieces of the handsomely painted archaic terracotta
revetment of the temple (?) and part of the wing of a
lateral acroterion, a gryphon or sphinx. Some terracottas
and fragments of terracotta revetment were also found.
The finds from the excavation (unpublished) are in the
Volo Archaeological Museum.
On a peak of the hill Petralona (175 m) above and
ca. one km to the E of the sanctuary are traces of habitation in the form of roof tiles, sherds, etc. To the SE of
the peak, at the edge of a flattish area is a semicircular
retaining wall about one to two m high, built of polygonal masonry. Between the peak of the hill and the sanctuary are two ancient tombs. There is no sign of acropolis
or city defense walls. The remains on the hill date from
the archaic through the early Hellenistic periods. By the
shore, SW of the sanctuary are remains of a Roman
tomb, and a floor probably of the Roman or Christian
period. Late Hellenistic and Roman sherds are commonly found in this area, indicating that the settlement
of Korope moved from the hill to the shore.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
IG IX
2 1109; H. G. Lolling,
AM 7
(1882) 71; A. S. Arvanitopoullos,
Praktika (1906) 123-25; (1907) 175; (1910) 225; F. Stählin,
RE (1922) s.v.
Korope; id.,
Das Hellenische Thessalien (1924) 53f; id.,
AM 54 (1929) 219-20; E. D. Van Buren,
Greek Fictile
Revetments in the Archaic Period (1926) 44
I; N. D.
Papahadjis, “Korope and its Sanctuary,”
Thessalika 3
(1960) 3-24
MPI.
T. S. MAC KAY