Emporion

Ampurias

Empúries (Catalan) Ἐμπόριον (Greek) Emporiæ (Latin)
Palaeochristian basilica at Ampurias
Shown within Catalonia
Alternate name	Ampurias
Location	Alt Empordà, Province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain
Coordinates	42°08′05″N 03°07′14″E / 42.13472°N 3.12056°E / 42.13472; 3.12056Coordinates: 42°08′05″N 03°07′14″E / 42.13472°N 3.12056°E / 42.13472; 3.12056
Type	Settlement
History
Builder	Colonists from Phocaea
Founded	575 BC
Periods	Archaic Greek to Early Medieval

Ampurias, also known as Empúries (Greek: Ἐμπόριον, Catalan: Empúries [əmˈpuɾiəs], Spanish: Ampurias [amˈpuɾjas]), was a town on the Mediterranean coast of the Catalan comarca of Alt Empordà in Catalonia, Spain. It was founded in 575 BC by Greek colonists from Phocaea with the name of Ἐμπόριον (Emporion, meaning "trading place", cf. emporion). It was later occupied by the Romans (Latin: Emporiæ), but in the Early Middle Ages, when its exposed coastal position left it open to marauders, the town was abandoned.

The ruins are midway between the Costa Brava town of L'Escala and the tiny village of Sant Martí. There are good car parking facilities and the site may be reached by a traffic-free coastal walk from L'Escala.

Ampurias was founded on a small island at the mouth of the river Fluvià, in a region inhabited by the Indigetes. This city came to be known as the Palaiapolis, the "old city" when, towards 550 BC, the inhabitants moved to the mainland, creating the Neapolis, the "new city".