Pantikapaion ( , from Scythian 'fish-path'; ) was an ancient Greek city on the eastern shore of Crimea, which the Greeks called Taurica. The city lay on the western side of the Cimmerian Bosporus, and was founded by Milesians in the late 7th or early 6th century BC, on a hill later named Mount Mithridat. Its ruins now lie in the modern city of Kerch.

Early existence

thumb|A coin from Pantikapaion, bearing a star inside a [[diadem and the letters "ΠΑΝ" (Pan), 2nd century BC.]]

During the first centuries of the city's existence, imported Greek articles predominated: pottery (see Kerch Style), terracottas, and metal objects, probably from workshops in Rhodes, Corinth, Samos, and Athens. Local production, imitated from the models, was carried on at the same time. Athens manufactured a special type of bowl for the city, known as Kerch ware. Local potters imitated the Hellenistic bowls known as the Gnathia style as well as relief wares—Megarian bowls. The city minted silver coins from the 5th century BC and gold and bronze coins from the 4th century BC. At its greatest extent it occupied . A 3rd-century Hebrew funerary inscription for an individual named Isaac includes a blessing for peace; this inscription was cited by archaeologist Anna Collar as evidence of a broad resurgence in the use of the Hebrew language among the Jewish diaspora during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.

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Further reading

  • Perseus Digital Library
  • Iconicarchive Photo Gallery
  • Decree honoring Diophantos, general of the Pontic king Mithridates VI
  • Similarities between Panticapaeum and the City of Atlantis as described by Plato. Eagle/Wind 2005