Listed 61 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "LOKRIDA Province FTHIOTIDA" .
KALLIDROMO (Mountain) FTHIOTIDA
The Asopos river flows to the W of the Mt. Kallidromon.
ALES (Ancient city) FTHIOTIDA
A town situated upon the Opuntian gulf, but belonging to Boeotia in the time of
Strabo and Pausanias. It is described by Pausanias as situated to the right of
the river Platanius, and as the last town of Boeotia. It probably derived its
name from some salt springs which are still found in its neighbourhood. Leake
places it on the cape which projects to the northward beyond Malesina and Proskyna,
where some ruins are said to exist at a church of St. John Theologus.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited May 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ALOPI (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
Eth. Alopites, Alopeus. A town of the Opuntian Locrians on the coast between Daphnus
and Cynus. Its ruins have been discovered by Gell on an insulated hill near the
shore.
AMFIKLIA (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
Amphicaea or Amphicleia (Amphikaia, Herod., Steph. B.; Amphikleia,
Paus.: Eth. Amphikaieus, Amphikleieus, a town in the N. of Phocis, distant 60
stadia from Lilaea, and 15 stadia from Tithronium. It was destroyed by the army
of Xerxes in his invasion of Greece. Although Herodotus calls it Amphicaea, following
the most ancient traditions, the Amphictyons gave it the name of Amphicleia in
their decree respecting rebuilding the town. It also bore for some time the name
of Ophiteia (Ophiteia), in consequence of a legend, which Pausanias relates. The
place was celebrated in the time of Pausanias for the worship of Dionysus, to
which an inscription refers, found at Dhadhi, the site of the ancient town. (Herod.
viii. 33; Paus. x. 3. § 2, x. 33. § 9, seq.; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. ii.
pp. 75, 86.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ATALANTI (Island) FTHIOTIDA
Atalanta (Atalante: Eth. Atalantaios.) (Talandonisi), a small island
off Locris, in the Opuntian gulf, said to have been torn asunder from the mainland
by an earthquake. In the first year of the Peloponnesian war it was fortified
by the Athenians for the purpose of checking the Locrians in their attacks upon
Euboea. In the sixth year of the war a part of the Athenian works was destroyed
by a great inundation of the sea. (Strab. i. p. 61, ix. pp. 395, 425; Thuc. ii.
32, iii. 89; Diod. xii. 44, 59; Paus. x. 20. § 3; Liv. xxxv. 37; Plin. ii. 88,
iv. 12; Sen. Q. N. vi. 24; Steph. B. s. v.; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. ii. p.
172.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
AVES (Ancient city) ATALANTI
Abae (Abai. Eth. Abaios: near Exarkho, Ru.), an ancient town of Phocis,
near the frontiers of the Opuntian Locrians, said to have been built by the Argive
Abas, son of Lynceus and. Hypermnestra, and grandson of Danaus. Near the town
and on the road towards Hyampolis was an ancient temple and oracle of Apollo,
who hence derived the surname of Abaeus. So celebrated was this oracle, that it
was consulted both by Croesus and by Mardonius. Before the Persian invasion the
temple was richly adorned with treasuries and votive offerings. It was twice destroyed
by fire; the first time by the Persians in their march through Phocis (B.C. 480),
and a second time by the Boeotians in the Sacred or Phocian war (B.C. 346). Hadrian
caused a smaller temple to be built near the ruins of the former one. In the new
temple there were three ancient statues in brass of Apollo, Leto, and Artemis,
which had been dedicated by the Abaei, and had perhaps been saved from the former
temple. The ancient agora and the ancient theatre still existed in the town in
the time of Pausanias. According to the statement; of Aristotle, as preserved
by Strabo, Thracians from the Phocian town of Abae emigrated to Euboea, and gave
to the inhabitants the name of Abantes. The ruins of Abae are on a peaked hill
to the W. of Exarkho. There are now no remains on the summit of the peak; but
the walls and some of the gates may still be traced on the SW. side. There are
also remains of the walls, which formed the inclosure of the temple. (Paus. x.
35; Herod. i. 46, viii. 134, 33; Diod. xvi. 530; Strab. pp. 423, 445; Steph. Byz.
s. v.; Gell, Itinerary, p. 226; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. ii. p. 163, seq.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited September 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
DAFNOUS (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
Daphnous: Eth. Daphnountios, Daphnousios. A city on the Euboean sea, originally
belonging to Phocis, which thus extended from the Corinthian gulf to the Euboean
sea. Its narrow territory separated the Locri Epicnemidii from the Locri Opuntii;
but it was afterwards assigned to the Opuntii. The town was in ruins in the time
of Strabo, who fixes its site by describing it as distant 20 stadia from Cynus
and 120 from Elateia, and as having a harbour.
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
DRYMEA (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
Drumaia, (Paus), Drumos (Herod.), Drumia (Steph. B. (Drymiae, Liv.).
A frontier town of Phocis, on the side of Doris, whence it is included in the
limits of Doris by Livy. It was one of the Phocian towns destroyed by the army
of Xerxes. Pausanias describes it as 80 stadia from Amphicleia: but this number
appears to be an error of the copyists, since in the same passage he says that
Amphicleia was only 15 stadia from Tithronium, and Tithronium 15 stadia from Drymaea,
which would make Drymaea only 35 stadia from Amphicleia. He also speaks of an
ancient temple of Demeter at Drymaea, containing an upright statue of the goddess
in stone, in whose honour the annual festival of the Thesmophoria was celebrated.
Its more ancient name is said to have been Nauboleis, which was derived from Naubolus,
an ancient Phocian hero, father of Iphitus. (Hom. Il. ii. 518.) According to Leake
the site of Drymaea is indicated by some ruins, situated midway between Kamares
and Glunista, and occupying a rocky point of the mountain on the edge of the plain.
Some of the towers remain nearly entire. The masonry is generally of the third
order, but contains some pieces of the polygonal kind; the space enclosed is a
triangle, of which none of the sides is more than 250 yards. At the summit is
a circular acropolis of about two acres, preserving the remains of an opening
into the town.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited May 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ELATIA (Ancient city) FTHIOTIDA
Eth. Elateus. A city of Phocis, and the most important place in the
country after Delphi, was situated about the middle of the great fertile basin
which extends near 20 miles from the narrows of the Cephissus below Amphicleia
to those which are at the entrance into Boeotia. (Leake). Hence it was admirably
placed for commanding the passes into Southern Greece from Mt. Oeta, and became
a post of great military importance. (Strab. ix. p. 424.) Pausanias describes
it as situated over against Amphicleia, at the distance of 180 stadia from the
latter town, on a gently rising slope in the plain of the Cephissus (x. 34. §
1.) Elateia is not mentioned by Homer. Its inhabitants claimed to be Arcadians,
derivingu their name from Elatus, the son of Areas. (Paus. l. c.) It was burnt,
along with the other Phocian towns, by the army of Xerxes. (Herod. viii. 33.)
When Philip entered Phocis in B.C. 338, with the professed object of conducting
the war against Amphissa, he seized Elateia and began to restore its fortifications.
The alarm occasioned at Athens by the news of this event shows that this place
was then regarded as the key of Southern Greece. (Dem. de Cor. p. 284: Aeschin.
in Ctes. p. 73; Diod. xvi. 84.) The subsequent history of Elateia is given in
some detail by Pausanias (l. c.). It successfully resisted Cassander, but it was
taken by Philip, the son of Demetrius. It remained faithful to Philip when the
Romans invaded Greece, and was taken by assault by the Romans in B.C. 198. (Liv.
xxxii. 24.) At a later time the Romans declared the town to be free, because the
inhabitants had repulsed an attack which Taxiles, the general of Mithridates,
had made upon the place.
Among the objects worthy of notice in Elateia, Pausanias mentions
the agora, a temple of Asclepius containing a beardless statue of the god, a theatre,
and an ancient brazen statue of Athena. He also mentions a temple of Athena Cranaea,
situated at the distance of 20 stadia from Elateia: the road to it was a very
gentle ascent, but the temple stood upon a steep hill of small size.
Elateia is represented by the modern village of Lefta, where are some
Hellenic remains, and where the ancient name was found in an inscription extant
in the time of Meletius. Some remains of the temple of Athena Cranaea have also
been discovered in the situation described by Pausanias.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited May 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
KNIMIDA (Mountain) LOKRIDA
Cnemis (Knemis), a range of mountains forming the boundary between
Phocis and the Epicnemidii Locri, who received their distinguishing name from
this mountain. Mount Cnemis was a continuation of Callidromus, with which it was
connected by a ridge, at the foot of which is the modern town of Pundonitza. (Strab.
ix. pp. 416, 425; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. ii. pp. 66, 180.) A spur of this
mountain, running out into the sea, formed the promontory Cnemides (Knemides),
opposite the islands called Lichades and the Euboean promontory Cenaeum. Upon
this promontory stood a fortress, also called Cnemides, distant 20 stadia from
Thronium. It was near the modern Nikoraki. (Strab. ix. p. 426; Ptol. iii. 15.
§ 10; Mela, ii. 3. § 67 called Cnemis by Scylax, p. 23, and Plin. iv. 7. s. 12;
comp. Leake, Northern Greece, vol. ii. p. 177.)
KORSIA (Ancient city) ATALANTI
Corseia (Korseia),
1. A town of Boeotia, sometimes included in Opuntian
Locris, was the first place which the traveller reached after crossing Mt. Khlomo
from Cyrtones. In the Sacred War it was taken by the Phocians, along with Orchomenus
and Coroneia. In the plain below, the river Platanius joined the sea. Its site
is probably represented by the village Proskyna, on the heights above which are
the remains of an ancient acropolis. (Paus. ix. 24. § 5; Diod. xvi. 58; Dem. de
Fals. Leg. p. 385; called Chorsia by Steph. B. s. v.; Leake, Northern Greece,
vol. ii. p. 184; Forchhammer, Hellenika, p. 179.)
2. Scylax mentions Korsiai as aport of Boeotia on the Corinthian gulf. It appears from Pliny that there was a second town of this name in the western part of Boeotia, and that it was distinguished from the other by the name of Thebae Corsicae. ( Thebis quae Corsicae cognominatae sunt juxta Heliconem, Plin. iv. 3. s. 4.) It is probably represented by the modern Khosia. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. ii. P. 521.)
This is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
KYNOS (Ancient city) FTHIOTIDA
Kunos: Eth. Kunios, Kunaios. The principal sea-port of the Locri Opuntii,
was situated on a cape at the northern extremity of the Opuntian gulf, opposite
Aedepsus in Euboea, and at the distance of 60 stadia from Opus. (Strab. ix.; Paus.
x. 1. § 2.) Livy gives an incorrect idea of the position of Cynus, when he describes
it as situated on the coast, at the distance of a mile from Opus. (Liv. xxviii.
6.) Cynus was an ancient town, being mentioned in the Homeric catalogue (Il. ii.
531), and reported to have been the residence of Deucalion and Pyrrha; the tomb
of the latter was shown there. (Strab. l.c) Its site is marked by a tower, called
Paleopyrgo, and some Hellenic remains, about a mile to the south of the village
of Livanates.
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
KYRTONES (Ancient city) ATALANTI
Kurtones: Eth. Kurtonios. Anciently called Cyrtone (Kurtone), a city
of Boeotia, east of the lake Copais, and 20 stadia from Hyettus, situated upon
a lofty mountain, after crossing which the traveller arrived at Corsia. Cyrtones
contained a grove and temple of Apollo, in which were statues of Apollo and Artemis,
and a fountain of cold water, at the source of which was a chapel of the nymphs.
Forchhammer places Cyrtones on the hill of the church of St. Athanasius between
the villages of Paula and Luki, and the Metokhi of Dendra. Here is celebrated
every spring a great festival, which Forchhammer regards as the remains of the
ancient festival of Apollo and Artemis.
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
LARYMNA (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
Larumna. The name of two towns in Boeotia, on the river Cephissus,
distinguished as Upper and Lower Larymna. (Strab. ix.) Strabo relates that the
Cephissus emerged from its subterranean channel at the Upper Larymna, and joined
the sea at the Lower Larymna; and that Upper Larymna had belonged to Phocis until
it was annexed to the Lower or Boeotian Larymna by the Romans. Upper Larymna belonged
originally to the Opuntian Locris, and Lycophron mentions it as one of the towns
of Ajax Oileus. (Lycophr. 1146.) Pausanias also states, that it was originally
Locrian; and he adds, that it voluntarily joined the Boeotians on the increase
of the power of the Thebans. (Paus. ix. 23. § 7.) This, however, probably did
not take place in the time of Epaminondas, as Scylax, who lived subsequently,
still calls it a Locrian town. Ulrichs conjectures that it joined the Boeotian
league after Thebes had been rebuilt by Cassander. In B.C. 230, Larymna is described
as a Boeotian town (Polyb. xx. 5, where Larumnan should be read instead of Labrunan);
and in the time of Sulla it is again spoken of as a Boeotian town.
We may conclude from the preceding statements that the more ancient
town was the Locrian Larymna, situated at a spot, called Anchoe by Strabo, where
the Cephissus emerged from its subterranean channel. At the distance of a mile
and a half Larymna had a port upon the coast, which gradually rose into importance,
especially from the time when Larymna joined the Boeotian League, as its port
then became the most convenient communication with the eastern sea for Lebadeia,
Chaeroneia, Orchomenos, Copae, and other Boeotian towns. The port-town was called,
from its position, Lower Larymna, to distinguish it from the Upper city. The former
may also have been called more especially the Boeotian Larymna, as it became the
seaport of so many Boeotian towns. Upper Larymna, though it had joined the Boeotian
League, continued to be frequently called the Locrian, on account of its ancient
connection with Locris. When the Romans united Upper Larymna to Lower Larymna,
the inhabitants of the fomer place were probably transferred to the latter; and
Upper Larymna was henceforth abandoned. This accounts for Pausanias mentioning
only one Larymna, which must have been the Lower city; for if he had visited Upper
Larymna, he could hardly have failed to mention the emissary of the Cephissus
at this spot. Moreover, the ruins at Lower Larymna show that it became a place
of much more importance than Upper Larymna. These ruins, which are called Kastri,
like those of Delphi, are situated on the shore of the Bay of Larmes, on a level
covered with bushes, ten minutes to the left of the mouth of the Cephissus. The
circuit of the walls is less than a mile. The annexed plan of the remains is taken
from Leake.
Leake adds, that the walls, which in one place are extant to nearly
half their height, are of a red soft stone, very much corroded by the sea air,
and in some places are constructed of rough masses. The sorus is high, with comparison
to its length and breadth, and stands in its original place upon the rocks: there
was an inscription upon it, and some ornaments of sculpture, which are now quite
defaced. The Glyfonero is a small deep pool of water, impregnated with salt, and
is considered by the peasants as sacred water, because it is cathartic. The sea
in the bay south of the ruins is very deep; and hence we ought probably to read
in Pausanias (ix. 23. § 7), limen de sphisin estin athnchibathes, instead of limWe,
since there is no land-lake at this place. The ruins of Upper Larymna lie at Bazaraki,
on the right bank of the Cephissus, at the place where it issues from its subterranean
channel.
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
NARYX (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
Narycium (Narukos, Naruch, Narycium, Eth. Narukios). A town of the
Opuntian Locrians, the reputed birthplace of Ajax, son of Oileus (Strab. ix. p.
425, Steph. B. s.v.), who is hence called by Ovid (Met. xiv. 468) Narycius heros.
In B.C. 395, Ismenias, a Boeotian commander, undertook an expedition against Phocis,
and defeated the Phocians near Naryx of Locris, whence we may conclude with Leake
that Naryx was near the frontier of Phocis. (Diod. xiv. 82.) In 352 Naryx was
taken by Phayllus, the Phocian commander. (Diod. xvi. 38.) It is placed by some
at Talanda, but by Leake at the small village of Kalapodhi, where there are a
few ancient remains. (Northern Greece, vol. ii. p. 187.) As Locri in Bruttium
in Italy was, according to some of the ancients, a colony of Naryx (Virg. Aen.
iii. 399), the epithet of Narycian is frequently given to the Bruttian pitch.
(Virg. Georg. ii. 438; Colum. x. 386; Plin. xiv. 20. s. 25.)
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
OPOUS (Ancient city) ATALANTI
Opous (contr. of Opoeis, Il. ii. 531), Eth. Opountios. The chief town
of a tribe of the Locri, who were called from this place the Locri Opuntii. It
stood at the head of the Opuntian gulf (ho Opountios kolpos, Strab. ix. p. 425;
Opuntius Sinus, Plin. iv. 7. s. 12; Mela, ii. 3. § 6), a little inland, being
15 stadia from the shore according to Strabo, or only a mile according to Livy
(xxviii. 6). Opus was believed to be one of the most ancient towns in Greece.
It was said to have been founded by Opus, a son of Locrus and Protogeneia; and
in its neighbourhood Deucalion and Pyrrha were reported to have resided. (Pind.
Ol. ix. 62, 87; Schol. ad loc.) It was the native city of Patroclus. (Hom. Il.
xviii. 326), and it is mentioned in the Homeric catalogue as one of the Locrian
towns subject to Ajax, son of Oileus (Il. ii. 531). During the flourishing period
of Grecian history, it was regarded as the chief city of the eastern Locrians,
for the distinction between the Opuntii and Epicnemidii is not made either by
Herodotus, Thucydides, or Polybius. Even Strabo, from whom the distinction is
chiefly derived, in one place describes Opus as the capital of the Epicnemidii
(ix. p. 416); and the same is confirmed by Pliny (iv. 7. s. 12) and Stephanus
(s. v. Opoeis; from Leake, Northern Greece, vol. ii. p. 181.) The Opuntii joined
Leonidas with all their forces at Thermopylae, and sent seven ships to the Grecian
fleet at Artemisium. (Herod. vii. 203, viii 1.) Subsequently they belonged to
the anti-Athenian party in Greece. Accordingly, after the conquest of Boeotia
by the Athenians, which followed the battle of Oenophyta, B.C. 456, the Athenians
carried off 100 of the richest Opuntians as hostages. (Thuc. i. 108.) In the Peloponnesian
War the Opuntian privateers annoyed the Athenian trade, and it was in order to
check them that the Athenians fortified the small island of Atalanta off the Opuntian
coast. (Thuc. ii. 32.) In the war between Antigonus and Cassander, Opus espoused
the cause of the latter, and was therefore besieged by Ptolemy, the general of
Antigonus. (Diod. xix. 78.) The position of Opus is a disputed point. Meletius
has fallen into the error of identifying it with Pundonitza, which is in the territory
of the Epicnemidii. Many modern writers place Opus at Talanda, where are several
Hellenic remains; but Leake observes that the distance of Talanda from the sea
is much too great to correspond with the testimony of Strabo and Livy. Accordingly
Leake places Opus at Kardhenitza, a village situated an hour to the south-eastward
of Talanda, at a distance from the sea corresponding to the 15 stadia of Strabo,
and where exist the remains of an ancient city. (Northern Greece, vol. ii. p.
173, seq.)
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
SKARFIA (Ancient city) FTHIOTIDA
Scarphe or Scarpheia (Skarphe, Horn.; Skarpheia, Strab., Paus., Steph.
B.: Eth. Skarpheus, Skarphaieus), a town of the Locri Epicnemidii, mentioned by
Homer. (Il. ii. 532.) According to Strabo it was 10 stadia from the sea, 30 stadia
from Thronium, and a little less from some other place of which the name is lost,
probably Nicaea. (Strab. ix. p. 426.) It appears from Pausanias that it lay on
the direct road from Elateia to Thermopylae by Thronium (viii. 15. § 3), and likewise
from Livy, who states that Quintius Flamininus marched from Elateia by Thronium
and Scarpheia to Heracleia (xxxiii. 3). Hence the town may be placed between the
modern villages of ‘Andera and Molo. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. ii. p. 178.)
Scarpheia is said by Strabo to have been destroyed by an inundation of the sea
caused by an earthquake (i. p. 60), but it must have been afterwards rebuilt,
as it is mentioned by subsequent writers down to a late period. (Plin. iv. 7.
s. 12; Ptol. iii. 15. § 11; Hierocl. p. 643; Geog. Rav. iv. 10; Const. Porphyr.
de Them. ii. 5. p. 51, Bonn.) Scarpheia is also mentioned by Lycophr. 1147; Appian,
Syr. 19; Paus. ii. 29. § 3, x. 1. § 2.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
TARFI (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
Eth. Tarphaios. A town of the Locri Epicnemidii, mentioned by Homer
(Il. ii. 533). It was situated upon a height in a fertile and woody country, and
was said to have derived its name from the thickets in which it stood. In the
time of Strabo it had changed its name into that of Pharygae (Pharugai), and was
said to have received a colony from Argos. It contained a temple of Hera Pharygaea.
It is probably the modern Pundonitza.
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
THRONION (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
Thronion: Eth. Thronios, Thronites, Thronieus. The chief town of the
Locri Epicnemidii, situated 20 stadia from the coast and 30 stadia from Scarpheia,
upon the river Boagrius, which is described by Strabo as sometimes dry, and sometimes
flowing with a stream two plethra in breadth. (Strab. ix. p. 436.) It is mentioned
by Homer, who speaks of it as near the river Boagrius. (Il. ii. 533.) It was at
one time partly destroyed by an earthquake. (Strab. i. p. 60.) At the beginning
of the Peloponnesian War (B.C. 431) Thronium was taken by the Athenians. (Thuc.
ii. 26; Diod. xii. 44.) In the Sacred War it was taken by Onomarchus, the Phocian
general, who sold its inhabitants into slavery, and hence it is called by Scylax
a Phocian city. The site of Thronium was ascertained by Meletius who found above
the village Romani, at a place named Paleokastro, where some remains of the city
still exist, a dedicatory inscription of the council and demus of the Thronienses.
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
TITHOREA (Ancient city) FTHIOTIDA
Eth. Neonios. An ancient town of Phocis, said to have been built after
the Trojan war (Strab. ix. p. 439), was situated at the foot of Mt. Tithorea,
one of the peaks of Mt. Parnassus. Herodotus relates that, when the Persian army
invaded Phocis, many of the Phocians took refuge in Tithorea near Neon (viii.
32), and that the latter city was destroyed by the Persians (viii. 33). It was,
however, afterwards rebuilt; but was again destroyed, with the other Phocian towns,
at the end of the Sacred War. (Paus. x. 3. § 2.) In its neighbourhood, Philomelus,
the Phocian general, was defeated, and perished in the flight by throwing himself
down from a lofty rock. (Paus. x. 2. § 4.) Neon now disappears from history, and
in its place we read of a town TITHOREA, which is described by Pausanias (x. 32.
§ 8, seq.). This writer regards Tithorea as situated on the same site as Neon
; and relates that Tithorea was the name anciently applied to the whole district,
and that when the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages were collected in the
city, the name of Tithorea was substituted for that of Neon. This, however, is
not in accordance with the statement of Plutarch, according to whom Tithorea,
in the time of the Mithridatic war, was a fortress surrounded by precipitous rocks,
where the Phocians took refuge from Xerxes. He further states that it was not
such a city as the one existing in his day. (Plat. Sull. 15.) If the view of Plutarch
is correct, that the fortress, the site of which was afterwards occupied by the
city Tithorea, was the place where the Phocians took refuge from Xerxes, we may
conclude that Tithorea and Neon were two different places.
The city, which existed in the time of Plutarch and Pausanias, was
a place of some importance, though it had begun to decline for a generation before
the time of Pausanias. The latter writer mentions, however, a theatre, the enclosure
of an ancient agora, a temple of Athena, and the tomb of Antiope and Phocus. A
river flowed by Tithorea, called Cachales (Kachales), to which the inhabitants
had to descend in order to obtain water. In the territory of Tithorea, but at
the distance of 70 stadia from the city, was a temple of Asclepius, and also,
at the distance of 40 stadia, a shrine of Isis. (Paus. x. 32. §§ 8 - 13.) The
name is written Tithorea in Herodotus and Pausanias, Tithoraia in Stephanus B.,
Tithora in Plutarch, but Tithorra in inscriptions. The Ethnic name in Pausanias
is Tithoreeus, in Stephanus Tithoraieus, but in inscriptions Tithoreus.
The ruins of Tithorea are situated at Velitza, a village at the NE.
foot of Mt. Parnassus. The site is fixed by an inscription found at Velitza, in
which the name of Tithorea occurs. Two-thirds of the modern village stand within
the ruined walls of the ancient city. A considerable portion of the walls, and
many of the towers, still remain. The town was carefully fortified towards the
W. and NW., and was sufficiently protected towards the NE. and E. by the precipitous
banks of the Cachales, and towards the S. by the steep sides of Mt. Parnassus.
The walls are almost 9 feet broad. The Cachales, which now bears the name of Kakoreuma,
or the evil torrent, flows in a ravine below the village, and thus illustrates
the statement of Pausanias, that the inhabitants descended to it in order to obtain
water. Behind Velitza, ascending the Cachales, there is a cavern on the steep
side of the rock, which, during the last war of independence, received a great
number of fugitives. It is very spacious, is supplied with excellent water, and
is quite impregnable. This is probably the place where the inhabitants of Neon
and the surrounding places took refuge in the Persian invasion, as the Delphians
did in the Corycian cave, more especially as the height immediately above Velitza
is not adapted for such a purpose. A difficult mule path leads at present through
the ravine of the Cachales across the heights of Parnassus to Delphi. In the time
of Pausanias there were two roads from Tithorea across the mountain to Delphi,
one direct, the other longer, but practicable for carriages. Pausanias assigns
80 stadia as the length of the shorter road; but this number cannot be correct,
as Leake observes, since the direct distance is hardly less than 12 geographical
miles.
Most modern writers have followed Pausanias in identifying Tithorea
and Neon; but Ulrichs, for the reasons which have been already stated, supposes
them to have been different cities, and places Neon at the Hellenic ruins on the
Cephissus, called Palea Fiva, distant 1 1/2 hour, or 3 1/2 English miles, from
Velitza. (Leake, Northern Greece, vol. ii. p. 77, seq.; Ulrichs, in Rheinisches
Museum, 1843, p. 544, seq.)
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
TITHRONION (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
Tithronion: Eth. Tithronieus. A frontier town of Phocis, on the side
of Doris. Livy, who calls it Tritonon, describes it as a town of Doris (xxviii.
7), but all other writers place it in Phocis. It was destroyed by the army of
Xerxes together with the other Phocian towns. It is placed. by Pausanias in the
plain at the distance of 15 stadia from Amphicleia. The site of Tithronium is
probably indicated by some ruins at Mulki below Verzana, where a torrent unites
with the Cephissus.
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
YAMPOLIS (Ancient city) ATALANTI
Huampolis: Eth. Huampolites. An ancient town of Phocis, mentioned
by Homer (Il. ii. 521), and said to have been founded by the Hyantes after they
had been expelled from Boeotia by the Cadmeians. (Paus. ix. 35. § 5; Strab. ix.
p. 424.) It was situated on the road leading from Orchomenus to Opus (Paus. l
c.), and, as it stood at the entrance of a valley which formed a convenient passage
from Locris into Phocis and Boeotia, its name frequently occurs in history. It
was at the entrance of this pass that the Phocians gained a victory over the Thessalians.
(Herod. viii. 28.) Hyampolis was afterwards destroyed, along with the other Phocian
towns, by the army of Xerxes. (Herod. viii. 33.) In B.C. 371 Jason, in his march
through Phocis, when he was returning from Boeotia after the battle of Leuctra,
is said to have taken Huampoliton to proasteion (Xen Hell. vi. 4. § 27), which
is supposed by some to be the same place as Cleonae, a village belonging to Hyampolis.
(Pint. de Virt. Mul. p. 244; Valcken. ad Herod. viii. 28.) In B.C. 347 a battle
was fought near Hyampolis between the Boeotians and Phocians. (Diod. xvi. 56.)
The city is said to have been destroyed by Philip; but, as Pausanias states that
the ancient agora, senate-house, and theatre were still remaining in his time,
it must have been chiefly the fortifications which were destroyed by Philip. At
all events it continued to be an inhabited city, and is mentioned in the Roman
wars in Greece. (Liv. xxxii. 18.) It was embellished by Hadrian with a Stoa. Pausanias
mentions also a temple of Artemis, who was the deity chiefly worshipped in the
city. (Paus. x. 35. § § 6, 7.) Pliny (iv. 7. s. 12) and Ptolemy (iii. 15. § 20)
erroneously describe Hyampolis as a city of Boeotia.
The ruins of Hyampolis may be seen upon a height about five minutes
northward of the village of Vogdhani. The entire circuit of the fortifications
is traceable, but they are most complete on the western side. The masonry is of
the third order, nearly approaching to the most regular kind. The circumference
is about three-quarters of a mile. The direct distance to this ruin from the summit
of Abae is not more than a mile and a half in a north-west direction. Below Vogdhani,
on the side of a steep bank which falls to the valley of Khubavo, a fountain issuing
from the rock is discharged through two spouts into a stone reservoir of ancient
construction, which stands probably in its original place. (Leake, Northern Greece,
vol. ii. pp. 167, seq.)
Strabo relates that there was another town, named Hyampolis, in Phocis,
situated on Parnassus.
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
ALES (Ancient city) FTHIOTIDA
A town on the Opuntian Gulf.
AMFIKLIA (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
A town of northern Phocis, with a shrine of Dionysus.
AVES (Ancient city) ATALANTI
A city of Phocis, near and to the right of Elatea, towards Opus.
The inhabitants had a tradition that their city was founded by Abas, son of Lynceus
and Hypermnestra, grandson of Danaus. It was most probably of Pelasgic origin.
Abae was early celebrated for its oracle of Apollo, of greater antiquity than
that at Delphi, and hence Apollo is called Abaeus. During the Persian invasion,
the army of Xerxes set fire to the temple, and nearly destroyed it; soon after
it again gave oracles, though in this dilapidated state, and was consulted for
that purpose by an agent of Mardonius.
This text is cited Sep 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
DAFNOUS (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
A town of the Locri Opuntii, situated on the seacoast, at the mouth of a river of the same name, near the frontiers of the Epicnemidian Locri. Into the river Daphnus the body of Hesiod was thrown after his murder.
DRYMEA (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
A town in Phocis, a little south of the Cephissus.
KALLIDROMO (Mountain) FTHIOTIDA
According to Livy, the highest summit of Mount Oeta. It was
occupied by Cato with a body of troops in the battle fought at the pass of Thermopylae
between the Romans, under Acilius Glabrio, and the army of Antiochus; and, owing
to this manouevre, the latter was entirely routed.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
KYNOS (Ancient city) FTHIOTIDA
The chief seaport in the territory of the Locri Opuntii. According to some ancient traditions, it had long been the residence of Deucalion and Pyrrha; the latter was even said to have been interred here.
NARYX (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
(Narux), Narycus (Narukos), or Narycium (Narukion). A town of
the Locri Opuntii, on the Euboean Sea, described as the birthplace of Aias, son
of Oileus, who is hence called Narycius heros. Since Locri Epizephyrii, in the
south of Italy, claimed to be a colony from Naryx, in Greece, we find the town
of Locri called Narycia by the poets, and the pitch of Bruttium was also named
Narycia.
This text is cited Sep 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
OPOUS (Ancient city) ATALANTI
A town of Locris, from which the Opuntian Locrians derived their name. It was the birthplace of Patroclus. The bay of the Euboean Sea, near Opus, was called Opuntius Sinus.
SKARFIA (Ancient city) FTHIOTIDA
Scarphea (Skarpheia) or Scarphia (Skarphia). A town of the Epicnemidii Locri, at which the roads leading through Thermopylae united.
THRONION (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
Now Pikraki; the chief town of the Locri Epicnemidii, on the river Boagrius, at a short distance from the sea, with a harbour upon the coast.
TITHOREA (Ancient city) FTHIOTIDA
An ancient town in Phocis, at the eastern side of Mount Tithorea, a branch of Mount Parnassus, destroyed by the Persians under Xerxes, but rebuilt and named Tithorea (Tithorea), after the mountain on which it was situated.
YAMPOLIS (Ancient city) ATALANTI
A town in Phocis, east of the Cephissus, near Cleonae, founded by the Hyantes. It was first destroyed by Xerxes, and afterwards rebuilt to be destroyed again in part by Philip and the Amphictyons.
The Municipality of Tithorea comes under the county of Fthiotida and
is situated at the 15th klm of the Old National Road Athens
- Lamia.
The Municipality of Tithorea includes the following built-up areas:
Kato Tithorea,
which is the county town, Tithorea,
Modi, Agia
Marina, Agia Paraskevi.
The total area of the municipality is 149.593 sq. meters and the total population,
according to the census of 1991, is 4.902 inhabitants.
Kato Tithorea lies from both sides of the Old National Road. Tithorea
is situated at the same exact position of ancient Tithorea. Tithorea combines
flat and highland regions. In total the highland areas take up the 79% of the
municipality's edaphic territory and the flat ones the rest 21%.
The 47,3% of the total area is used for rangeland and the 31% for
farming. Forests take up the 13,1% regarding the areas of Kallidromo
(Modi) and Parnassos (Tithorea,
Agia Marina). Finally the residential area is the 5,8%.
This text is cited June 2005 from the Municipality of Tithorea URL below
LARYMNA (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
In the fourth century B.C. a port was built at Larymna making it the easternmost harbor of Locris...Larymna is a village of Opuntian Locris which sits on the north coast of the Euboean Gulf. In the fourth century B.C. a port was built at Larymna making it the easternmost harbor of Locris.
AMFIKLIA (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
Pausanias states that the correct form of the name was Amphikleia,
and appeared in the Dogma of the Amphiktyons on the destruction of the Phokian
cities; but Herodotos men Amphikaian ekalesen hepomenos toi archaiotatoi ton logon.
Amphikaia was certainly the epichorian form, as is proved by the local legend
narrated by Pausanias. This form was associated with a cult of Dionysos, and cures
were effected di oneirhaton. The site is identified, apparently, on the hills
to the south of Kephisos, below and east of Lilaia, just above the modern Dadi
(Frazer v. 420): Pausanias' measurements here appear untrustworthy: Bursian i.
162
ELATIA (Ancient city) FTHIOTIDA
KYNOS (Ancient city) FTHIOTIDA
YAMPOLIS (Ancient city) ATALANTI
On the main road from Boiotia and Phokis to Opus, and so to Thermopylai;
Pausanias 10. 35. 5 records that the city was a settlement of Huantes from Thebes,
and that the full name of the city was Huanton polis. Kleonai, the actual scene
of the Thessalian defeat (Plutarch, l.c. c. 28) a little higher up the pass, was
presumably a dependency of Hyampolis; remains of Hyampolis are identifiable (Leake
ii. 167, Bursian i. 165, Frazer v. 442). The city would be the first exposed to
the attack of a force coming from Thermopylai, and probably in 480 B.C. (with
Abai) was destroyed, not by the Persian column which had crossed from Malis into
Doris, and then worked down the Kephisos valley, spreading ruin and death wherever
it came, but by the main column, which must have advanced from Thermopylai along
the coast, and through the pass of Hyampolis.
VOUMELITIA (Ancient city) ATALANTI
Perhaps, it is situated near the modern village Proskynas.
ALES (Ancient city) FTHIOTIDA
Located near Haghios Theologos, on a deep sheltered bay on the E side
of the gulf below Atalandi (Opus). Like many other coastal sites, Halai was evidently
heavily damaged by the great earthquakes of 426-425 (Thuc. 3.89; Diod. Sic. 12.59).
In Late Classical or Early Hellenistic times it passed into the Boiotian orbit,
and was sacked by Sulla in 85 but immediately resettled (Plut. Sulla 26.3ff).
The city area beside the sea, and the cemeteries to the N and E, were excavated
between 1911 and 1935. The lower levels of the site yielded Bronze Age and Neolithic
material. Iron Age Halni may have been one of the strongholds of the notorious
Lokrian pirates. The sheltered deepwater harbor would have been an excellent pirate's
nest, the existence of which would account both for the modest size of the settlement
and for its having been heavily fortified at quite an early period.
The fortified area is not an acropolis in the normal sense, for it
lies on virtually level ground right on the seashore, with the highest point only
a few meters above the ancient sea level. As a result of the rise in sea level
since antiquity, the preserved lower courses of some of the walls are now under
water. Clearly the natural strength of the site was less important than ready
access to the sea. The wall circuit in its final form was approximately a rectangle,
measuring about 325 m E-W and 160 m N-S.
The main entrance was always at the NE corner; there was also a secondary
gate towards the W end of the N wall. Two distinct styles of construction are
represented. The first circuit seems to have been built in the early 6th c. and
remodeled towards the end of the century. The second wall, of massive ashlar with
internal cross walls, is probably early Hellenistic work; it had additional towers,
of square plan except for the S tower of the NE gate, and enclosed additional
territory at the SE corner. The NE gate was rebuilt on a much larger scale.
From this gate a street always led W towards the Temenos of Athena
Poliouchos, located just inside the W wall of the citadel (identified by votive
inscriptions). The first temple and altar were built soon after the first wall
circuit. The temple was quite small, with very flat archaic Doric capitals. Abundant
deposits of pottery, terracottas, sculpture, and other objects came to light,
including an inscribed base in the form of an archaic Doric shaft and capital.
The second temple, built ca. 510, was apparently destroyed in the
earthquakes of 426-425. The surviving elements were broken up and spread over
the temenos as part of a new pavement, and a third temple then constructed. Unlike
its predecessors, which were rather rough provincial work, Temple III was built
in good late 5th c. style and technique.
Also excavated were the E and W buildings, on either side of the
street leading in from the N gate. The latter building was built in the late 4th
c., and remodeled in the early 2d. In late Roman times a small bath was built
over the ruins of the NE corner defenses.
The N and E cemeteries probably flanked roads leading out from the
N and NE gates. The graves yielded a long series of terracottas ranging in date
from the late 6th c. to ca. 200 B.C.
F. E. Winter, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Sep 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains 2 image(s), bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
AVES (Ancient city) ATALANTI
Important city near Exarcho village in the upper reaches of a tributary of the Kephisos. Abai and nearby Hyampolis were on the main Orchomenos-Opous road, and astride the main route from E Lokris into NE Phokis. The valley was the scene of two famous Phokian victories over the Thessalians, shortly before 480. Half of the spoils and several colossal figures were dedicated to Apollo at Abai; this oracular shrine was famous enough to be consulted by Croesus.
The hill of Abai is encircled by two well-preserved lines of wall; a considerable portion of these has been regarded as archaic. Some parts, and probably also the walls descending the E and NE slopes to the plain, can hardly be earlier than the mid 4th c. There are scattered remains inside these latter walls, and Pausanias saw an ancient theater and agora.
Some 600 m NW of the city a temenos was explored, probably that of Apollo. In addition to a classical stoa, it contained two buildings, identified as the old temple, burned by Xerxes and again in the Third Social War, and a small Hadrianic replacement. IG IX 1.78 is a letter from Philip V reconfirming the ancient tax-exemption of the sanctuary.
Cemeteries have been found W of the sanctuary, and also near Exarcho.
F. E. Winter, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Sep 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
DRYMEA (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
Probably on the frontier with Doris; located on S foothills of Mt.
Kallidromos, on the side road to Glounista village. Several inscriptions are built
into a church in the village (IG IX 1.226-23 refers to the name). Drymaia was
burned by the Persians in 480 B.C.
The citadel was on a projecting spur, the lower town in the plain
to the S, where the walls can be traced around an area of ca. 0.20 sq. km. Among
the foundations in the plain are some that Frazer conjectured may have belonged
to a temple; Pausanias (10.33.12) mentions a temple and festival of Demeter Thesmophoros,
with an archaic cult-statue. Sherds run into Roman Imperial times. The walls are
well preserved on the summit and S slopes of the hill. The masonry is massive
trapezoidal; some towers still stand 7-8 m high. Loopholes preserved in the middle
of the field face may have been designed for bolt-throwing artillery (oxybeleis);
for the existing circuit, like many others in Phokis, seems to date from the last
third of the 4th c. There is a gate (partly ancient) in the cross wall separating
the acropolis from the city, and traces of another gate seem to be preserved in
the E wall, at the foot of the acropolis. .
F.E. Winter, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Sep 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ELATIA (Ancient city) FTHIOTIDA
The first city of the ancient region, not counting the Delphic sanctuary.
Controlling the natural route from the N into the Kephisos valley, Elateia was
repeatedly attacked, sacked, burned, occupied; earthquakes destroyed what enemies
had spared. The one attempt at excavation of the Classical town revealed few remains;
only the Temple of Athena Kranaia, located some 3 km SE of the city, yielded important
remains. Numerous inscriptions, including grave stelai from plundered cemeteries,
complement the textual evidence concerning Classical Elateia. However, the wellwatered
valley attracted primitive men and many mounds attest their early settlements.
Those near modern Drachmani, below ancient Elateia, were explored early in this
century and one of these mounds was again excavated in 1959. Occupation here began
about 6000 B.C. and lasted the three millennia of the Neolithic Period, establishing
stratigraphically its three main phases.
S.S. Weinberg, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Sep 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
NARYX (Ancient city) LOKRIDA
A city in the E part of the region known chiefly as the site of the
cult of Ajax Stammheros. It was destroyed by the Phokians in 352 B.C. during their
war against Boiotia, but was rebuilt perhaps as early as 335 B.C. and survived
at least until the time of Hadrian. An inscription found in excavating a late
temple at Haghios Joannis, below the mediaeval castle of Rengini, has fixed the
location, thought by Bursian to be the predecessor of Pharygai at modern Mendenitsa.
The Classical city, which had an outlet to the sea at Thronion, would have commanded
the route from N to central Greece. There are a few visible remains of the Roman
and Christian periods, with traces of Hellenic walls on the E slope of the acropolis.
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.
TITHOREA (Ancient city) FTHIOTIDA
A city on the S side of the Kephissos Plain, where the ground rises
to Mt. Parnassos; the local olive oil was noted for color and sweetness. It has
been identified with Velitsa by 3d and 2d c. B.C. inscriptions, dated by the archon
of Tithorea. Several refer to Isis, Serapis, and Anubis, recalling the sanctuary
that Pausanias (10.32) said was the holiest of those built to Isis in Greece.
Varying opinions have arisen from Herodotos' statement (8.32) that a number of
Phokians fleeing Xerxes took refuge on the isolated peak of Tithorea, near Neon.
It is probable that Velitsa was then called Neon, Tithorea referring to the heights
above the great cliff rising S of the village, later applied by extension to the
whole district. Others, however, have supposed Velitsa was the refuge site, and
that Neon is to be identified with the remains of a walled site of considerable
size at Palnia Pheva on the right bank of the Kephissos about 5 km to the N. Plutarch
(Sull. 15) described Tithorea as merely a fortress in the early 1st c. B.C. but
of much greater importance a century later. It had declined again by the time
of Pausanias, who saw a theater, an ancient market, a Temple and Grove of Athena,
and the tomb of Antiope and Phokos. In the vicinity, there was also a Temple of
Asklepios Archagetos (Founder). Scattered theater seats have been noted outside
the walls as well as other foundations for large buildings. The most important
remains are those of the fortifications, classed with Messene and Eleutherai as
the finest examples of 4th c. work. The walls, supplementing the natural defenses
of cliff to the S and gorge to the E, are of trapezoidal ashlar masonry, as much
as 14 courses high. On the steep W slope, the top is both inclined and stepped,
and crowned with coping blocks. The towers are square with windows and loopholes.
Neon is listed by Pausanias as one of the Phokian towns razed in 346 B.C.; the
walls were probably rebuilt soon after the battle of Chaironeia eight years later.
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.
Receive our daily Newsletter with all the latest updates on the Greek Travel industry.
Subscribe now!
