Cults and sanctuaries of Poseidon in the Ancient Greek World. The Chalcidian perspective: A preliminary sketch

The multifaceted cult of Poseidon was shaped in the Aegean Bronze Age and spread in its diversity over the Greek world. For the area of ancient Macedonia only two sanctuaries of Poseidon are safely identified, both situated on the Chalcidice peninsula in Northern Greece. The first Ποσειδώνιον at Cape Poseidi on Pallene is significant as it represents an extra-urban sanctuary of the nearby ancient city of Mende. It has an ash-altar dating to the 12 th century BC and one of the oldest apsidal cult buildings known in Greece, dating to the 10 th century BC. The second sanctuary of Poseidon is associated with Potidaea, which according to a literary source, was the sole colony of the Corinthians in the Chalcidice on the isthmus of Pallene. The archaic coinage depicts the city's patron god Poseidon Hippios, whose temple has been located outside of the city. The paper aims to outline the origins and the variety of Poseidon's worship in combination with the investigation of the god's divine character on the Chalcidice. The preliminary sketch is based on archaeological information discussed with myth, history and the literary and numismatic record.