Ancient Elea (Thesprotia)

Elea stands on a spur of Mount Korilla, 460-525 m above sea level, just east of the village of Chrysavgi and about 7 km south-east of Paramythia. It was the main mountain town of the Eleans of Thesprotia, the tribe that held the fertile valleys of the Acheron and the Kokytos down to the Necromanteion and the bay of Ammoudia, which ancient writers called the harbour of Elea.

The acropolis was founded around 350 BC, when the Eleans began to strike their own bronze coins. Elea was the capital of Thesprotia and the seat of the Thesprotian League, and later joined the League of the Epirotes. The Romans took the region in 168 BC, and after the Battle of Actium its people were made to move to Nikopolis. A small Roman settlement, probably called Velia, lived on here.

The walls on the north-east and east sides are the best preserved: more than 3.5 m thick and up to 7 m high, built of polygonal stones fitted together, with a monumental gate. Inside, on about 105 stremmata (10.5 hectares), are the remains of houses, public buildings, a stoa, the agora and a theatre that once held 3,000-4,000 people. About 3,000 people lived inside the walls. Excavations from 1985 to 2010 also found storerooms, a small temple and a public building. The finds are in the Archaeological Museum of Igoumenitsa.