The deme of the Halasarnitae lies in the area occupied today by the seaside village of Kardamaina. It was second in religious importance among the six demes into which ancient Kos was divided. From epigraphic and excavation evidence it becomes apparent that ancient Halasarna, at least during the 2nd century BC, was an important urban centre with a thousand citizens, to which the slaves and the paroikoi should be added.
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The island of Kos with the ancient demes and
the most important archaeological sites |
| Exactly when the place was first inhabited is not yet known, but some finds dating from the Neolithic period – Early Bronze Age testify to the presence of human activity on the site as early as the 5th and 4th millenium BC. as well as later during the Mycenean period, the 14th and 13th c. B.C. Mycenaean potsherds were also found at the place known as 'Elaionas' (the Olive Grove), north of present-day Kardamaina. |  | | Fragments of vases of the Sub-Geometric/Orientalizing period. 7th c. B.C. | |
| Scant are the finds from the Geometric period (10th- 8th century BC). The same applies to the period that followed, that is, the 7th century BC, which is known as the 'Orientalizing' period |
 | | Sherds of ceramic vases of the Orientalizing period. 7th c. B.C. | | Richer and more clearly identifiable are the pottery remains of the 6th century BC. Pottery sherds, local or imported from Asia Minor as well as from Athens (Fig. 3: Sherds of ceramic vases of the Orientalizing period. 7th c. B.C. Fig. 4: Sherds of black-figure vases.), testify to the fact that the site of present-day Kardamaina was not only inhabited, but was also a busy commercial centre, where trade was carried out with places as far – in terms of that time – as Athens and Corinth, whose products found their way to ancient Halasarna. We have as yet no knowledge regarding the size and form of this settlement during the early – Geometric and Archaic – periods, nor do we know its extent and character in Classical times (the 5th and 4th centuries BC). We cannot therefore say whether it was a village, a township or a small city. More abundant and more certain is the information we possess regarding the Sanctuary of Apollo Pythaios or Pythaeus during the Hellenistic period (3rd-1st c. BC). The existence of the deme of the Halasarnitae, of the sanctuary of Apollo, and the worship of Artemis, as well as the presence here of a temple of Asclepius, were known to archaeological researchers and archaeologists already since the middle of the 19th century, thanks to inscriptions that had been found in the area of present-day Kardamaina. |
 | | Sherds of black-figure vases. | |
The German excavations by R. Herzog in the early 20th century, at the southern edge of Kardamaina across the gully Basilica and just north of the Tholos hill, in the area known as ‘Tsoukalaria’ (pot-making places) and ‘Liopyra’ (sun heat) – named for the pottery workshops that stood here and for the extreme heat -, uncovered the Basilica of Aghia Theotes (the Holy Divinity). In 1828 the Italian archaeologist Luciano Laurenzi brought to light an ancient theatre on the northeastern flank of the Tholos hill, on the acropolis of ancient Halasarna. Of this, only six rows of seats and part of the skene survive. Unfortunately, nothing is visible on the site today, and it is feared that the ignorance of the inhabitants contributed to the destruction of the remains of the theatre, since, according to oral information, architectural members belonging to it were used for the building of houses in Kardamaina.
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| Topographical drawing of the Sanctuary of Apollo, of the Acropolis and of part of the Early Christian settlement of Halasarna west of Kardamaina (drawing by G. Antoniou |
