Listed 36 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "KARYSTIA Province EVIA" .
DYSTOS (Ancient city) KARYSTIA
Dustos: Eth. Dustios: Dhysta., A town in Euboea in the vicinity of Eretria, mentioned
by Theopompus. It still bears the name of Dhysta, which village is situated a
little to the northward of Porto Bufalo.
GERESTOS (Ancient port) KARYSTOS
Geraistos: Eth. Geraistios. A promontory of Euboea, forming the south-west extremity
of the island, now called Cape Mandili. There was a town on this cape, with a
celebrated temple of Poseidon, and at its foot there was a well-frequented port,
which seems to have been small, though Livy, as Leake observes, calls it nobilis
Euboeae portus.
KAFIREAS (Cape) EVIA
Caphareus or Caphereus (Kaphereus), a rocky and dangerous promontory,
forming the south-eastern extremity of Euboea, now called Kavo Doro or Xylofago;
it was known by the latter name in the middle ages. (Tzetzes, ad Lycophr. 384.)
It was off this promontory that the Grecian fleet was wrecked on its return from
Troy. (Eurip. Troad. 90, Helen. 1129; Herod. viii. 7; Strab. viii. p. 368; Pans.
ii. 23. § 1, iv. 36. § 6; Virg. Aen. xi. 260; Prop. iii. 5. 55; Ov. Met. xiv.
472, 481, Trist. i. 1. 83, v. 7. 36; Sil. Ital. xiv. 144; Leake, Northern Greece,
vol. ii. p. 423.)
KARYSTOS (Ancient city) EVIA
Karustos: Eth. Karustios. A town of Euboea, situated on the south
coast of the island, at the foot of Mt. Oche. It is mentioned by Homer (Il. ii.
539), and is said to have been founded by Dryopes. (Thuc. vii. 57; Diod. iv. 37;
Scymn. 576.) Its name was derived from Carystus, the son of Cheiron. (Steph. B.
s. v.; Eustath. ad Hom. l. c.) The Persian expedition under Datis and Artaphernes
(B.C. 490) landed at Carystus, the inhabitants of which, after a slight resistance,
were compelled to submit to the invaders. (Herod. vi. 99.) Carystus was one of
the towns, from which Themistocles levied money after the battle of Salamis. (Herod.
viii. 112.) A few years afterwards we find mention of a war between the Athenians
and Carystians; but a peace was in the end concluded between them. (Thuc. i. 98;
Herod. ix. 105.) The Carystians fought on the side of the Athenians in the Lamian
war. (Diod. xviii. 11.) They espoused the side of the Romans in the war against
Philip. (Liv. xxxii. 17; Pol. xviii. 30.)
Carystus was chiefly celebrated for its marble, which was in much
request at Rome. Strabo places the quarries at Marmarium, a place upon the coast
near Carystus, opposite Halae Araphenides in Attica ; but Mr. Hawkins found the
marks of the quarries upon Mt. Ocha. On his ascent to the summit of this mountain
he saw seven entire columns, apparently on the spot where they had been quarried,
and at the distance of three miles from the sea. This marble is the Cipolino of
the Romans,- a green marble, with white zones. (Strab. x. p. 446; Plin. iv. 12.
s. 21, xxxvi. 6. s. 7 ; Plin. Ep. v. 6; Tibull. iii. 3. 14; Senec. Troad. 835;
Stat. Theb. vii. 370; Capitol. Gordian. 32.) At Carystus the mineral asbestus
was also obtained, which was hence called the Carystian stone (lithos Karustios,
Plut. de Def. Orac. p. 707; Strab. l. c.; Apoll. Dysc. Hist. Mirab. 36.) There
are very few remains of the ancient Carystus.
Antigonus, the author of the Historiae Mirabiles, the comic poet Apollodorus,
and the physician Diocles were natives of Carystus.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
STYRA (Ancient city) EVIA
ta Stura: Eth. Stureus. A town of Euboea, on the W. coast, N. of Carystus,
and nearly opposite the promontory of Cynosura in Attica. The town stood near
the shore in the inner part of the bay, in the middle of which is the island Aegileia,
now called Sturanisi. Styra is mentioned by Homer along with Carystus (Il. ii.
539). Its inhabitants were originally Dryopians, though they denied this origin
(Herod. viii. 46; Paus. iv. 34. § 11), and claimed to be descended from the demus
of Steiria in Attica. (Strab. x. p. 446.) In the First Persian War (B.C. 490)
the Persians landed at Aegileia, which belonged to Styra, the prisoners whom they
had taken at Eretria. (Herod. vi. 107.) In the Second Persian War (B.C. 480, 479)
the Styrians fought at Artemisium, Salamis, and Plataeae. They sent two ships
to the naval engagements, and at Plataeae they and the Eretrians amounted together
to 600 men. (Herod. viii. 1, 46, ix. 28; Paus. v. 23. § 2.) They afterwards became
the subjects of Athens, and paid a yearly tribute of 1200 drachmae. (Thuc. vii.
57; Franz, Elem. Epigr. Gr. n. 49.) The Athenian fleet was stationed here B.C.
356. (Dem. c. Mid. p. 568.) Strabo relates (x. p. 446) that the town was destroyed
in the Maliac war by the Athenian Phaedrus, and its territory given to the Eretrians;
but as the Maliac war is not mentioned elsewhere, we ought probably to substitute
Lamiac for it. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. ii. pp. 422, 432.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
TAMYNES (Ancient city) EVIA
Tamunai, Tamuna, Eth. Tamuneus. A town of Euboea in the territory
of Eretria, at the foot of Mt. Cotylaeum, with a temple of Apollo, said to have
been built by Admetus. (Strab. x. p. 447; Steph. B. s. v. Tamuna, Kotulaion.)
It was taken by the Persians, when they attacked Eretria in B.C. 490 (Herod. vi.
101), but it is chiefly memorable for the victory which the Athenians, under Phocion,
gained here over Callias of Chalcis, B.C. 350. (Aesch. c. Ctes. § § 85 - 88, de
Fals. Leg. 180; Dem. de Pac. 5; Plat. Phoc. 12.) Leake places Tamynae at the village
of Ghymno, at the foot of a high, mountain, which he supposes to be the ancient
Cotylaeum (Ancient Greece, vol. ii. p. 439); but Ulrichs regards Aliveri, where
there are several ancient remains, as the site of Tamynae.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited June 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
GERESTOS (Ancient port) KARYSTOS
(Geraistos). A promontory and harbour at the southern extremity of Euboea, with a celebrated temple of Poseidon.
ICHALIA (Ancient city) EVIA
A town of Euboea, in the district Eretria. The ancients were divided in opinion as to which of these places was the residence of Eurytus, whom Heracles defeated and slew. The original legend probably belonged to the Thessalian Oechalia, and was thence transferred to the other towns.
KAFIREAS (Cape) EVIA
The modern Capo d' Oro; a rocky and dangerous promontory on the southeast coast of Euboea, where the Greek fleet is said to have been wrecked on its return from Troy
KARYSTOS (Ancient city) EVIA
A town on the southern coast of Euboea, founded by Dryopes, celebrated for its marble quarries and for the mineral known as asbestos
MARMARION (Ancient city) EVIA
(Marmarion). A place in the southwestern part of Euboea with celebrated quarries of marble and a temple of Apollo Marmarius.
STYRA (Ancient city) EVIA
(Ta Stura). Now Stura; a town in Euboea on the southwest coast, not far from Carystus, and nearly opposite Marathon in Attica.
TAMYNES (Ancient city) EVIA
Now Aliveri; a city of Eubola with a temple of Apollo said to have been built by Admetus. Here the Athenians under Phocion gained a great victory over Callias of Chalcis in B.C. 354.
KARYSTOS (Ancient city) EVIA
A titular see of Greece.
According to legend it was named after Carystus, a son of Chiron.
The ancient city is often mentioned by geographers, chiefly on account
of its beautiful marble and its amianth obtained from Mount
Oche.
The see was at first a suffragan of Corinth,
but early in the ninth century was made a suffragan of Athens
and before 1579 of Euripos (Chalcis).
The bishopric was maintained in 1833, but under the district name of Carystia,
its titular residing at Kyme.
In 1900 it was united to Chalcis
(Euripos), the capital of the island.
Carystus is to-day a village on the southern coast of Euboea.
S. Petrides, ed.
Transcribed by: Gerald M. Knight
This extract is cited June 2003 from The Catholic Encyclopedia, New Advent online edition URL below.
DYSTOS (Ancient city) KARYSTIA
The ancient site is to be associated with a rocky outcrop of conical
shape, some 300 m high, along the main road from Chalkis to Karystos (ca. 20 km
SE of Aliveri). It is prominently located in the middle of a marshy basin which
is partially transformed into a lake during the rainy season. (There is some evidence
to indicate that efforts were made to drain the basin in antiquity.)
Dystos is thought to have been founded by the Dryopians, early inhabitants
of S Euboia, but little is known of its subsequent history. Surface reconnaissance
has shown that the site was occupied in prehistoric and Classical times, and there
is epigraphical evidence to indicate that it had become a deme of Eretria at least
by the mid 4th c. B.C. It continued to be occupied in the Hellenistic and Roman
periods, and substantial remains of a Venetian castle are to be found at the crest
of the hill.
Impressive remains of the Classical town can still be seen on the
lower slopes of the hill. These remains were partially surveyed and subjected
to brief excavation by a German expedition in 1895. A fortification wall of large
stone masonry, about two-thirds of whose circuit is preserved, enclosed the town.
One of the best preserved stretches is that at the E where, in the neighborhood
of the main city gate, the wall stands to a height of about 3 m. Numerous buildings
thought to be largely residential in character still can be seen at several points
within the fortifications. The largest of these is House J, near the wall in the
SE part of the town. Its plan is complete, and its well-dressed stone walls are
exposed to a level above that of the ground floor. This and other houses here
have been dated to the 5th c. B.C. and, therefore, are among the earliest known
examples of domestic architecture of the Classical period in Greece. The extent
and preservation of the walls and other buildings render this site worthy of further
archaeological investigation.
T. W. Jacobsen, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 13 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
GERESTOS (Ancient port) KARYSTOS
The site of a Sanctuary of Poseidon, near Platanistos in the S part
of the region. The name was also used for the cape, now called Mandeli, and a
harbor 3 km to its N at Porte Kastri. As the only good harbor on the S coast,
the town was visited by merchant ships throughout antiquity. The sanctuary, of
pre-Hellenic origin, is mentioned by Homer and Strabo. Bursian and others have
located it at Helleniko 5 km N of the harbor, as no remains have been found at
Porto Kastri, though Geyer thought the cape itself would be a more appropriate
location. Bursian found a terrace with traces of walls around the remains of a
white marble temple, and cited an inscription mentioning Artemis Bolosia.
M. H. Mc Allister, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
GRYCHE (Ancient city) EVIA
Southwest of this modern village in E central Euboia is a naturally
fortified site with the most extensive visible remains in the region. The acropolis
can be approached only on the E, where there are rock-cut steps for pack animals.
The circuit wall of irregular masonry has some ashlar blocks, especially at the
corners, and some Venetian repairs. Within the walls Ulrichs found many foundations
for houses and large buildings. In a grotto with a spring-fed pool, he saw a rock-cut
altar; fragments of marble columns and Ionic capitals were in the debris of two
ruined chapels. The ancient name of the city is unknown; Grynchai, known from
the Athenian tribute lists, has been proposed, but has also been located at Episkopi,
now marked with a mediaeval fortress.
M. H. Mc Allister, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
KARYSTOS (Ancient city) EVIA
At modern Palaiochora under Castel Rosso hill, over a km inland from
the N shore of the great bay. Sparse Neolithic and Early Helladic finds occur
at half a dozen nearby spots. The Dryopian town probably dates from the Dark Ages.
It stood Persian siege in 490 B.C. (the alleged traces of city walls are uncertain),
but in 480 contributed to Xerxes' fleet, and so was ravaged by the Greeks. Karystos
entered the Delian League after war with Athens, and revolted with the other Euboians
in 411. The only Classical remains are the walls at Platanisto. In 411 or after
the Lamian War the town probably lost territory to Eretria and by ca. 290 joined
the Euboian League. Later 3d c. coins show a pro-Macedonian tyrant and in 196
B.C. Karystos shared Eretria's fall to Rome.
The vogue at Rome for greenish Karystian marble, begun possibly by
Mamurra, revivified the area, its prosperity rising to a peak under Hadrian. Dozens
of quarries are known, though mostly for local stone, especially NW of Marmari
(Strabo's Marmarion) and above Karystos where unfinished columns 13 m long may
still be seen near Myloi. Monumental buildings spread now if not before to the
coast. A four-stepped heptastyle peripteral Ionic temple of the 2d c. has been
excavated there. Many marble and poros blocks, including a battered Roman pedimental
relief, were built into the 14th c. Venetian coastal fort, the Bourtzi.
The port of Geraistos to the E, with its Sanctuary of Poseidon, was
on the main route from the Euripos SE and from Athens NE, and probably had an
Athenian clerouchy. It is referred to from Homer to Procopios, and finds continue
to be made.
The region's most dramatic monument is the megalithic place of worship
atop Mount Ocha, the Dragon House, where the excavators found sherds inscribed
in archaic Chalkidian script outside, and Classical and Hellenistic pottery inside.
The building is a rectangle ca. 10 x 5 m, interior dimensions, with a door and
two windows in the S side. The roughly isodomic walls are ca. one m thick. In
the interior the blocks are smoothed; on the exterior many show a curious rustication.
The roof consists of four superimposed layers of great blocks corbeled inward,
but not meeting, at least today, in the center. (Cf. Styra.)
Other, comparatively undatable, remains have been found at Philagra
and at Archampolis (perhaps associated with iron mining), and on promontories
in the Karystos and Geraistos bays. Late Roman columnar members are found in churches
near Marmari, Metochi, and Zacharia.
M. B. Wallace, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
KYMI (Ancient city) EVIA
One of the chief towns of the region in the archaic period, joining
with Chalkis in the 8th c. B.C. to found Cumae in Italy. There was a tendency
in later times, when the Euboian city was overshadowed by Chalkis, to confuse
it with the far more important Aeolian Kyme in Asia Minor. The location of the
archaic city is not certain, but it is presumably to be found on the E slope of
Mt. Dirphys near the E coast town of Koumi. No ancient remains other than inscriptions
have been found at the modern town; the ancient acropolis was probably on the
height of Palaiokastri at Potamia, now marked by a mediaeval fortress. Bursian
reported 4th and 3d c. B.C. graves NE of Koumi; a small temple has been excavated
at Oxylithos not far to the S.
M. H. Mc Allister, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
MANDILI (Cape) EVIA
The site of a Sanctuary of Poseidon, near Platanistos in the S part
of the region. The name was also used for the cape, now called Mandeli, and a
harbor 3 km to its N at Porte Kastri. As the only good harbor on the S coast,
the town was visited by merchant ships throughout antiquity. The sanctuary, of
pre-Hellenic origin, is mentioned by Homer and Strabo. Bursian and others have
located it at Helleniko 5 km N of the harbor, as no remains have been found at
Porto Kastri, though Geyer thought the cape itself would be a more appropriate
location. Bursian found a terrace with traces of walls around the remains of a
white marble temple, and cited an inscription mentioning Artemis Bolosia.
M. H. Mc Allister, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
OCHI (Mountain) KARYSTIA
This is the site of perhaps the best known of a series of stone-built
structures first recognized in the rugged country of S Euboia, where peasants
call them Drakospitia (Spitia or Sentia tou Drakou). Frequently mentioned in the
reports of 19th c. travelers, these structures have certain architectural characteristics
in common. All are built of a local gray-green schist which readily splits into
flattish slabs that were laid (without mortar) in basically horizontal courses,
sometimes with indications of polygonal masonry and stacking. There is very little
evidence of the use of wood in the construction; even the floors and roofs were
of stone. The latter are particularly interesting since, when sufficiently preserved,
they reflect the use of corbeling.
Although some 40 Dragon Houses have been reported, the best known
examples are three in the neighborhood of Styra and one on Mt. Ocha. The latter
is located near the crest of the mountain, some 1,400 m above sea level, and can
be reached only after a difficult climb from Karystos (preferably in the company
of a guide). It is a simple one-roomed structure (interior dimensions: ca. 5 x
10 m), entered by means of a single door in one (S) of the long sides. Two small
windows flank the door. Although some of the earliest visitors mention an altar
or offering table, there are no extant indications of special features inside
the building. It is not certain whether the roof was entirely corbeled or only
partially so, thus leaving a small opening through which smoke could escape.
No excavation had been carried out at any of these sites until 1959,
when a small investigation was conducted in the Dragon House on Mt. Ocha. The
results indicate that the building itself had been used at least in Classical
and Hellenistic times and the site had been frequented at least since the archaic
period. There is no evidence of prehistoric occupation. The finds tend to support
the early theories attaching a religious significance to this building, but no
concrete evidence of the deity (or deities) worshiped here has yet been reported.
In spite of the new information about the date and function of the
Dragon House on Mt. Ocha, there is no reason to assume that all structures of
this type in S Euboia ought to be regarded similarly. It is quite possible that
some served no religious purpose at all and were nothing more than dwellings.
(Those near the marble quarries of Styra, for example, may have been merely quarters
for the officials or laborers in the quarries.) Nor is it necessary to regard
all of them as of similar date, for village houses in the neighborhood are still
being made of the same materials today. Although their architectural style has
been termed Dryopian after the name of the early inhabitants of the region, it
should perhaps be noted that structures of comparable style can be found in geologically
related areas elsewhere, e.g., Andros, Tenos, Keos, and Mt. Hymettos in Attica.
This suggests that local building materials played a more important role in the
resulting architecture than has usually been recognized.
T. W. Jacobsen, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
STYRA (Ancient city) EVIA
At modern Nea Styra on the W coast. Styra was the most substantial
prehistoric settlement in the region. Two Cycladic figurines have been reported,
and Neolithic, Early Helladic, and Middle Helladic sherds, as well as some obsidian,
continue to be found at at least five sites.
Otherwise the only certain remains are Classical. The Dryopian inhabitants
were no doubt in some sense subject to Eretria during the archaic period (cf.
Strab. 446), but their formal independence dates at least from the Persian sack
of Eretria in 490 B.C. Styrans served at Artemision, Salamis, and Plataia; joined
the Delian League (normally paying one talent); and fought for Athens in the Peloponnesian
War until 411, when they revolted with the other Euboians. At an unknown date
before the 340s they had fallen back under Eretria, and shares its later history.
Quarries are frequent in the area. Three small dragon houses reminiscent
of the great building on the summit of Mt. Ocha (see Karystos) are the principal
remains. A further puzzle is provided by some 450 lead tablets with unusual names,
dating from the early 5th c. The acropolis, now surmounted by the Frankish castle
Larmena, still shows old fortifications.
Near the landing Nimporio are ancient quarries, and two tombs with
monolithic sarcophagi; half an hour inland at Pyrgos there is a tower with reused
Classical blocks.
M. B. Wallace, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ZARAX (Ancient demos) KARYSTIA
The remains of an ancient fort, probably Dryopian, near Zarka have
been identified with the deme of Zarex and the Eretrian fort of Zaretra; Plutarch
describes the location as the narrowest part of the island of Euboia.
M. H. Mc Allister, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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