'Palace of Ajax' found in Greece

[Greek Stud]

The BBC Article:
'Palace of Ajax' found in Greece

Ajax was a King from Achaea with the strongest Poli (City-States) being that of Sicyon, Corinth and where his family was from: Megara. His palace was discovered on the island of Salamis. The Megarans are attributed to being connected to far off colonies like Byzantion & Chalcedon in Thrace and Megara Hyblaia & Selinos in Sicily.

Artifacts found in the Palace of Ajax were shown of Cypriot and Anatolian origin. One bronze armor artifact had the royal mark of Pharaoh Ramses II of Egypt, who ruled in the 13th Century BC.

Read more about the find in the BBC article. Ajax was called Ajax the Great under Mycenaen King Agamemnon, where he was the most useful warrior in the Trojan War, in stark contrast to his cousin Achilles (of Ithaca), who could not be induced to fight.

 

[Greek Stud]

The Kathimerini Article:
Island palace linked to Troy

Archaeologist Yiannis Lolos has led excavations on the island of Salamina (English: Salamis) for the past six years.

The find has provided evidence to support a theory that residents of the Mycenaean island kingdom fled to Cyprus after the king’s (Ajax's) death. Lolos also believes that, faced by an external threat, part of Salamis’s population left for Cyprus, founding a new town named after their homeland. “There is no other explanation for the creation on Cyprus of a city named Salamis,” he said. “We established that there was a population exodus from Salamis, which was completely abandoned shortly after 1200 BC...They must first have gone to Enkomi on Cyprus, which was already an established center.”

Salamis was founded around 1100 BC, when Enkomi, some 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) away, was abandoned. “It was probably the refugees’ children who moved there,” Lolos said.

The emigration theory would explain why almost no high-value artifacts were found at the Greek site, which bore no signs of destruction or enemy occupation. “The emigrants, who would have been the city’s ruling class, took a lot with them, including nearly all the valuables,” Lolos said.

The rest of the population moved to a new settlement further inland that offered better protection from seaborne raids.

Finds include pottery, stone tools, a sealstone and copper implements. Lolos is particularly pleased with a piece of a copper mail shirt stamped with the name of Pharaoh Ramses II, who ruled Egypt from 1279-1213 BC. “This is a unique find, which may have belonged to a Mycenaean mercenary soldier serving with the Egyptians,” he said. “It could have been a souvenir, a mark of honor or even some kind of a medal.”

Excavations will resume in September, while future targets include the settlement’s cemetery, which Lolos has located nearby.


The Island of Salamina:
The ancient playwright Euripides was born on Salamina, and a cave excavated by Lolos in 1997 has been identified as a hideout where he composed his work.

Salamina is best known for the naval battle in 480 BC, when Athenians defeated an invading Persian fleet.

 

[willemvanoranje]

the island of Salamis.

Wasn't that where the naval battle between Athens and the Persians took place? The one with the Corinthian ghostship?

Btw, nowadays the palace of Ajax is here in Amsterdam.

 

[Gladi]

Bright day
Was that the one Ajax that killed all those cows? ( always mistaking them...)

 

[Greek Stud]

Wasn't that where the naval battle between Athens and the Persians took place? The one with the Corinthian ghostship?

Yup it sure was!

Btw, nowadays the palace of Ajax is here in Amsterdam.

Note to self, visit Amsterdam next May.

Bright day
Was that the one Ajax that killed all those cows? ( always mistaking them...)

I like that Ajax!

 

[Gladi]

I like that Ajax!

I always felt Athena was bit too rough there . Odysseus could have beaten him for the armour on his own...