city state · Greece and the Aegean

Potidaea

600 BCE – 356 BCE (approx.) · capital Potidaea

Corinthian colony on the isthmus of Pallene in Chalcidice whose revolt against Athens in 432 BCE helped trigger the Peloponnesian War.

Origins

Potidaea was founded around 600 BCE by Corinth under the tyrant Periander, whose son Evagoras is named as founder. It stood on the narrow neck of the Pallene peninsula, controlling the way into it, and remained unusually close to its mother city, which still sent it annual magistrates in the 5th century BCE.

Rule and society

A walled port city with an assembly and magistrates, Potidaea lived from trade in the northern Aegean, Macedonian timber and the produce of Pallene. It held out against the Persian commander Artabazus in 480-479 BCE and fought at Plataea. As a tribute-paying member of the Delian League it was caught between loyalty to Athens and its Corinthian ties.

Decline and legacy

Ordered by Athens to pull down its walls and expel the Corinthian magistrates, Potidaea revolted in 432 BCE and surrendered after a costly siege in 430 BCE; Athenian settlers replaced its people. It later joined the Chalcidian League, was retaken by Athens in 364 BCE and was captured by Philip II in 356 BCE. Cassander refounded it as Cassandreia.

Connections (3)

More states of Greece and the Aegean →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Potidaea. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/potidaea
MLA
“Potidaea.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/potidaea. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Potidaea.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/potidaea.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Potidaea’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/potidaea (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻