- Asine
:"This page refers to ancient Asine of
Argolis . For other cities under the same name look atAsine (disambiguation) "Asine (Ἀσίνη) was an ancient Greek city ofArgolis , which was the first city mentioned by Homer as part of the kingdom ofDiomedes , king ofArgos .In 740 BC, the Argives destroyed the city because its citizens helped the
Sparta ns in their war against Argos. After the destruction, its citizens left and established the city of Asine inMessenia upon land that was given to them by the Spartans. Excavations made from 1922 by Swedish archaelogists led byAxel W Persson (and involving the then Crown Prince Gustav Adolf of Sweden) found theacropolis of ancient Asine surrounded by a Cyclopean wall (much modified in theHellenistic era ) and a Mycenaean eranecropolis with manyMycenaean chamber tomb s containing skeletal remains and grave goods. Excavations have continued since the 1920s almost continuously under theSwedish Institute in Athens . The site was last used as a fortified position by Italian troops during the second world war when machine gun nests were built.
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