The village of Dío (formerly known as Malathriá), near which are the excavated remains of the ancient Macedonian city of Dion, lies 16 km/10 mi south of Kateríni (chief town of the nomos of Pieria), under the northern foothills of Mt Olympus. It is 5 km/ 3 mi off the Athens-Salonica expressway (Limáni Litokhórou exit).
Ancient Dion, lying in the fertile Pieria plain at the foot of Mt Olympus, on the river Baphyras (then navigable) and near the west coast of the Thermaic Gulf, was a holy city to the Macedonians (its name is derived from Dios, the genitive form of Zeus). In its heyday the town is estimated to have had a population of 15,000. Its strategic situation enabled it to control the coast road between Macedonia and Thessaly, and it was the most southerly frontier stronghold of Macedon. King Archelaos (414-399 B.C.) built a temple of Zeus, a theater and a stadion and instituted Olympic Games in the town. While Pella was capital of Macedon, Dion became its cultural center. Alexander the Great made offerings in Dion before setting out on his Persian expedition. The town was destroyed by the Aetolians in 220 B.C. but soon recovered. In the reign of Augustus it was granted Roman citizenship.
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