Pontic Olbia

An ancient Greek colonial city founded in the 6th century BC by Ionian settlers from Miletus on the shore of the Southern Bug estuary in Ukraine. Olbia, meaning 'the fortunate one,' became a major Black Sea trading hub, minting distinctive dolphin-shaped bronze coins and maintaining ties with Athens and Corinth. Herodotus visited in the 5th century BC. The city was destroyed by the Getae around 48 BC and abandoned by the 5th century AD. Now a national archaeological preserve housing nearly 96,000 artifacts, it is Ukraine's largest accessible ancient Greek site.