Pangaeum
Pangaeum, located in southwestern Thrace (northeastern Greece), is a notable mountain characterized by its bulbous spurs and knobbly summits. Rich in myths, it is closely linked to Thracian Dionysus and the legendary figure Orpheus, who is said to have climbed the mountain daily to greet the sun-god. Historically, Pangaeum was significant for its abundant natural resources, particularly crystalline white marble and valuable deposits of gold and silver, which were exploited by various groups, including the Thracian princedoms and settlers from the island of Thasos. The mountain's resources played a role in the region's economic and political dynamics, with notable interest from Athenian and Macedonian powers seeking to control these precious materials. Notably, under King Philip II of Macedonia, the area saw extensive mining activities, producing up to a thousand talents of gold annually. Additionally, Pangaeum gained fame for its roses, adding a cultural and ecological layer to its historical significance. Overall, Pangaeum stands as a site of rich natural wealth and cultural lore, reflecting the complex interactions of ancient civilizations in the region.
Pangaeum
Pangaion, Pangaios, Mount
A mountain `with bulbous spurs and knobbly summits’ in southwestern Thrace (northeastern Greece), between the Angites (a tributary of the Strymon [Struma]) and the seacoast. Pangaeum was closely associated with myths of the Thracian Dionysus, and it was said that Orpheus (whom he supposedly killed) had climbed the mountain every day to greet the sun-god. Strabo also recorded that the wealth of the Phoenician Cadmus came from the mines of Pangaeum; and the same story was told of the Homeric hero Rhesus. For although the mountain itself is made of crystalline white marble, its vicinity contained important gold and silver deposits which were exploited, notably at Scaptosyle, by the Thracian princedoms and by immigrants and businessmen from the island of Thasos.
There are few traces of mines, but the gold was washed down mountain streams. As a recent coin-find shows, the Thraco-Macedonian tribes joined up at the end of the sixth century BC to use Pangaean silver for a common monetary system. The Athenians, too (like many others), took an interest in the metals from the same period, and gained control of their production after the reduction of Thasos (463). In 382 the Greeks of Chalcidice sought to negotiate with the tribes of western Thrace with a view to obtaining these gold mines. But the major exploitation of the metal followed the Macedonian king Philip II's annexation of the area, including the adjacent Thasian mining town of Crenides, which he seized from a Thracian prince (c 357) and resettled under the name of Phillippi. Philip at once began to produce gold on a very large scale, deriving as much as a thousand talents a year from this source; the forests of the area gave him abundant timber for ship building.
At the beginning of the second century the Thracian leader Abrupolis tried to gain possession of the mines, but was driven away by King Perseus of Macedonia, whose action was later cited by the Romans as a pretext for making war on the Macedonian kingdom and wiping it out of existence. In subsequent centuries, however, the mines did not play a major part. Pangaeum was also famous for its roses.