Scione, the Ancient City Founded by Greek Warriors After the Trojan War

The ancient Greek city of Scione is a relatively minor site, but it has a fascinating history connected to legendary events after the Trojan War. Ancient sources describe how Greek soldiers founded Scione on their way back to Greece after the fall of Troy. What are the sources for this legendary history, and does it have any basis?

The ancient Greek city of Scione

First, what do we know for sure about Scione? It does not exist today, but it is only 2 miles from modern-day Nea Skioni, whose name comes from the old city. This is on the Kassandra peninsula in Chalkidiki, Macedonia, Greece.

Scione was a member of the Delian League, a confederation of hundreds of Greek city-states led by Athens in the fifth century BCE. The purpose of the league was to oppose the Persian Empire.

However, this alliance with Athens did not last long. In 423 BCE, Scione rebelled against Athens. The Athenians went to war against the city. Just two years later, in 421 BCE, Athens defeated Scione. The destruction was total. All the men were put to death, while the women and children were enslaved.

The legendary founding of Scione after the Trojan War

One of our main sources for the destruction of Scione is the historical account of Thucydides. He was an important historian in the fifth century BCE. Thucydides also explains its past and provides an account of its destruction.

It occupies only a brief portion of his account of the city. Nonetheless, Thucydides provides us with valuable information. He wrote:

“The Scionaeans say that they are Pallenians from Peloponnese, and that their first founders on their voyage from Troy were carried in to this spot by the storm which the Achaeans were caught in and there settled.”

According to this brief record, Scione was founded by Achaeans, or Greeks, from Pallene in the Peloponnese. This is meant to be the origin of the identically-named Pallene in the Kassandra Peninsula, where Scione is located.

The Pallene in the Peloponnese was a deme, or suburb, of the city-state of Athens. Hence, the founders of Scione were allegedly Athenians.

How the Trojan War led to Scione’s founding

What has the Trojan War got to do with the founding of Scione? Simply put, the war was allegedly the reason for its founding. After all, Athens is very far from Scione, all the way over in northern Greece. What would motivate Athenians to establish a settlement that far from their home?

According to Thucydides, this event occurred “on their voyage from Troy.” This references the Athenian army returning to Greece after fighting in the Trojan War. This explains the great distance between Athens and Scione.

The Athenians had travelled to Troy, in northwest Anatolia, and then, during their return trip, some of them had been pushed by a storm to the Kassandra peninsula, which is just off the logical route back to Athens from Troy.

This legend about the founding of Scione ties in well with many other legends of the gods punishing the Greeks after the Trojan War. Due to the Greeks engaging in ungodly acts during the sacking of Troy, the gods cursed the efforts of many of them to return home.

Thucydides does not say whether the storm that carried the Athenians to the Kassandra peninsula was a punishment from the gods or not. Nevertheless, this legend is wholly consistent with others about the aftermath of the Trojan War.

The historical founding of Scione

How does this legend about the aftermath of the Trojan War tie in to the historical facts about the founding of Scione? According to historian Konstantinos Moustakas in the book Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece,

“Chalkidiki first entered Greek history in the 8th century BC with the founding of the first Greek colonies.”

In line with this, some other sources place Scione’s founding in c. 700 BCE. The Greeks who first started settling Chalkidiki were Euboeans. The island of Euboea is quite close to Athens. Interestingly, legends of the Trojan War hint at the close association between Athens and Euboea.

Elephenor was the king of Euboea during the Trojan War. According to several sources, he received Demophon, the son and heir of Theseus of Athens. Therefore, while Greek history does not confirm the legend, there may be some truth to Athenian involvement in the founding of Scione, in a region where the Euboeans primarily settled.

The most significant difference between the legend and the verifiable facts is that the traditional date for the Trojan War would place Scione’s founding in the twelfth century BCE, many centuries before the historical founding of Scione.

However, it is worth noting that some modern scholars, such as Greek historian Nikos Kokkinos, have argued that the Trojan War occurred much more recently than the traditional date. This is supported by scholars such as Professor Mark Morford and Professor Robert J Lenardon.

If this later date for the Trojan War is correct, then perhaps Scione was founded not too long after the war.