The gate of Silinos is an opening in the impressive wall of the ancient city of Thassos. On the left pillar of the gate there is a relief of a bearded ithyphal Silenus (which is 2 m high) holding a beetle. It is probably the oldest of the reliefs that adorn the fortification, whose possible dating is placed in the 6th century BC.
From this monumental gate we are led to the district of Silinos. It is an important residential area with a set of houses that develop to the right and left of a street and show several successive building phases dating between the 6th and 4th centuries BC.
The houses are organized in irregular blocks with rooms around small courtyards and with shops facing the street. The district was abandoned after 250 BC due to the problems created by floods and the constant rise of the water table. But the gate continued to be used and then a tower was built.
Editor: Fotini Anastasopoulou