Right in 15 kilometers from Katerini is placed Dion village. This is an ancient archeological park and an antique Zeus’s city. 

Why is it so famous? We need to remember a Hesiod’s legend about Magnes and Makednos, two sons of Zeus and mortal Thyia. They settled to the Olympus foot and installed a sanctuary in honor of their father Zeus or Dios.  

The Macedonian king Archelaus I was inspired by the legend and established a large city, naming it in honor of Zeus. Dion had the stadiums, temples, and theaters, where Euripides presented his works and Alexander the Great organized the feasts and sports competitions.  Exactly in Dion, he installed a monument in honor of the best 25 warriors he had. But the fame of the city was temporary. After the death of Alexander, Dion got under the power of the Rome Empire, which caused architectural losses – the temples were sacked and some of the artworks were transported to Rome. In the 16th century, Dion was destroyed by Turks incursion and several earthquakes and inundations. 

Today Dion is a peaceful place. Restorers recreated several sculptures completing the view of famous temples’ ruins and a basement of a market. In the center of it, the visitors can see the ground made of mosaics in the 3rd century BC. Several fragments are lost, but the general form is amazing.