Ambracus
ancient port town of Ambracia, Greece
Ambracus or Ambrakos (Ancient Greek: Ἄμβρακος) was a town in ancient Epirus, and the port of Ambracia. It is described by Polybius as a place well fortified by ramparts and outworks, and as surrounded by marshes, through which there was only one narrow causeway leading to the place. It was taken by Philip V of Macedon, in 219 BCE, as a preliminary to an attack upon Ambracia. The Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax probably alludes to this place, when it says that Ambracia had a fortress near its harbour; for near the western shore of the old mouth of the river Arachthus some ruins have been discovered, whose topographical situation accords with the description of Polybius. They are situated on a swampy island, in a marshy lake near the sea. They enclosed an area of about a quarter of a mile in extent, and appeared to be merely a military post, which was all that the swampy nature of the ground would admit of. This fortress commanded the harbour, which is described by the Periplus and by Dicaearchus as a κλειστὸς λιμήν, or a port with a narrow entrance, which might be shut with a chain. The harbour must have been an artificial one; possibly obstructed by swamps and shoals as scarcely to be accessible even to boats. In ancient times its navigation was esteemed dangerous, whence Lucan speaks of "orae malignos Ambraciae portus."
Its site is located near the modern Phidokastro, Arta.
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Ambracus” as ancient port town of Ambracia, Greece. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as ancient port town of Ambracia, Greece. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q21027705. Authority coordinates are 39.041, 20.953. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Ambracus”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Ambracus primary sources, Ambracus archive and Ambracus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Ambracus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.