Ancient Methone

A Greek colony in coastal Pieria, Macedonia, founded by Eretrian settlers around 733/732 BC. Famous for the siege of 354 BC when Philip II of Macedon captured the city and lost his right eye to an arrow during the assault. The site yielded 191 pottery pieces with inscriptions dating to c. 730-700 BC, among the oldest known examples of Greek alphabetic writing. These finds challenge the view of coastal Macedonia as a peripheral region, revealing it as a major hub of early literacy and trade.