This ancient city where the capital of Karpathos lies today thrived in Roman and early Christian times. However, it was inhabited as far back as the Neolithic and early bronze period, revealing a wide variety of remains and surprising finds.
One of the most notable finds is the small statue of a female goddess (now in the British Museum) from around 3000 BC. There are also remains of the Acropolis of Potidaion from the Hellenistic period, with evidence of an area used for sacrifices, a tomb carved in stone at Myli and two shrines in the rocks south of the capital. Also noteworthy are ceramics from Minoan and Mycenaean times.
The town of Potidaion defended itself successfully in the 2nd century BC against pirates from Crete and flourished during Roman times. Three Early Christian churches or basilicas reveal that the city was alive and well during the 4th to 6th centuries AD. Remains of two of these are evident in the Bay of Pigadia, while the third in the area of Vronti is under excavation. Probably due to more pirate activity by the Saracens, the city seems to have moved inland to Aperi.