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Item: i31834
Authentic Ancient
Coin of:
Greek city of Olynthos
under the Chalkidian League
Bronze 16mm (3.60 grams) Struck before 348 B.C.
Reference: Sear 1433 var.
Laureate head of Apollo right.
Lyre
(kithara).
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Authenticity.
The lyre is a
stringed musical instrument
known for its use
in Greek
classical antiquity
and later. The word comes
from the
Greek
(lyra)
and the earliest reference to the word is the
Mycenaean Greek
ru-ra-ta-e, meaning
“lyrists”, written in
Linear B
syllabic script.
The earliest picture of a lyre with seven strings appears in the famous
sarcophagus
of
Hagia Triada
(a
Minoan
settlement in
Crete
). The sarcophagus was used during the
Mycenaean
occupation of Crete (1400 BC).
The recitations of the
Ancient Greeks
were acco mpanied
by lyre playing. The lyre of classical antiquity was ordinarily played by being
strummed with a plectrum
, like a
guitar
or a
zither
, rather than being plucked, like a
harp. The fingers of the free hand silenced the unwanted strings in
the chord. The lyre is similar in appearance to a small harp but with distinct
differences.
The word lyre can either refer specifically to a common
folk-instrument, which is a smaller version of the professional
kithara
and eastern-Aegean
barbiton
, or lyre can refer generally to
all three instruments as a family.
The term is also used
metaphorically
to refer to the work or skill of
a poet
, as in
Shelley’s
“Make me thy lyre, even as the forest
is”
or Byron’s
“I wish to tune my quivering lyre,/To
deeds of fame, and notes of fire”
Apollo Belvedere
,
ca. 120–140 CE
Apollo
is one of the most important and complex of the
Olympian deities
in
ancient Greek
and
Roman religion
,
Greek
and
Roman mythology
, and
Greco
–Roman
Neopaganism
. The ideal of the
kouros
(a beardless, athletic youth),
Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun, truth and
prophecy, healing, plague, music, poetry, and more. Apollo is the son of
Zeus and Leto
, and has a twin sister, the chaste
huntress Artemis
. Apollo is known in Greek-influenced
Etruscan mythology
as Apulu.
As
the patron of Delphi
(Pythian Apollo), Apollo was an
oracular
god�the prophetic deity of the
Delphic Oracle
. Medicine and healing are
associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his
son Asclepius
, yet Apollo was also seen as a god
who could bring ill-health and deadly
plague
. Amongst the god’s custodial charges,
Apollo became associated with dominion over
colonists
, and as the patron defender of herds
and flocks. As the leader of the
Muses (Apollon Musegetes) and director of their choir, Apollo
functioned as the patron god of music and poetry.
Hermes
created the
lyre for him, and the instrument became a common
attribute of Apollo
. Hymns sung to Apollo were
called paeans
.
Apollo (left) and
Artemis
.
Brygos
(potter signed), Tondo of an
Attic red-figure cup c. 470 BC,
Musée du Louvre
.
In Hellenistic times, especially during the 3rd century BCE, as Apollo
Helios he became identified among Greeks with
Helios
,
Titan
god of the sun
, and his sister Artemis
similarly equated with
Selene
, Titan
goddess of the moon
In Latin texts, on the other hand,
Joseph Fontenrose
declared himself unable to
find any conflation of Apollo with
Sol
among the
Augustan poets
of the 1st century, not even in
the conjurations of Aeneas
and
Latinus
in
Aeneid
XII (161–215).
Apollo and Helios/Sol remained separate beings in literary and mythological
texts until the 3rd century CE.
Etymology
Statuette of the Apollo Lykeios type,
Museum of the Ancient Agora of Athens
(inv. BI 236).
Apollo was worshipped throughout the
Roman Empire
. In the traditionally
Celtic
lands he was most often seen as a
healing and sun god. He was often equated with
Celtic gods
of similar character.
Apollo Atepomarus
(“the great horseman”
or “possessing a great horse”). Apollo was worshipped at
Mauvières
(Indre).
Horses were, in the Celtic world, closely linked to the sun.[23]
Apollo Belenus
(‘bright’ or
‘brilliant’). This epithet was given to Apollo in parts of
Gaul
, Northern Italy and
Noricum
(part of modern Austria). Apollo
Belenus was a healing and sun god.[24]
Apollo Cunomaglus
(‘hound lord’). A
title given to Apollo at a shrine in
Wiltshire
. Apollo Cunomaglus may have been
a god of healing. Cunomaglus himself may originally have been an independent
healing god.[25]
Apollo Grannus
. Grannus was a healing
spring god, later equated with Apollo.- Apollo Maponus. A god known from inscriptions in Britain. This
may be a local fusion of Apollo and
Maponus
.
Apollo Moritasgus
(‘masses of sea
water’). An epithet for Apollo at Alesia, where he was worshipped as god of
healing and, possibly, of physicians.
Apollo Vindonnus
(‘clear light’).
Apollo Vindonnus had a temple at
Essarois
, near
Châtillon-sur-Seine
in
Burgundy
. He was a god of healing,
especially of the eyes.
Apollo Virotutis
(‘benefactor of
mankind?’). Apollo Virotutis was worshipped, among other places, at Fins
d’Annecy (Haute-Savoie)
and at Jublains
(Maine-et-Loire).
Origins
The Omphalos
in the Museum of
Delphi
.
The cult centers of Apollo in Greece,
Delphi
and
Delos
, date from the 8th century BCE. The Delos
sanctuary was primarily dedicated to
Artemis
, Apollo’s twin sister. At Delphi,
Apollo was venerated as the slayer of
Pytho
. For the Greeks, Apollo was all the Gods
in one and through the centuries he acquired different functions which could
originate from different gods. In
archaic Greece
he was the
prophet
, the oracular god who in older times
was connected with “healing”. In
classical Greece
he was the god of light and of
music, but in popular religion he had a strong function to keep away evil.
From his eastern-origin Apollo brought the art of inspection from “symbols
and omina
” (Ã�ƒÎ·Î¼ÎµÎ¯Î± και Ã�„ÎÂÃ��αÃ�„α : semeia kai
terata), and of the observation of the
omens of the days. The inspiration oracular-cult was probably
introduced from Anatolia
. The
ritualism
belonged to Apollo from the
beginning. The Greeks created the
legalism
, the supervision of the orders of the
gods, and the demand for moderation and harmony. Apollo became the god of
shining youth, the protector of music, spiritual-life, moderation and
perceptible order. The improvement of the old
Anatolian
god, and his elevation to an
intellectual sphere, may be considered an achievement of the
Greek
people.
Healer and
god-protector from evil
The function of Apollo as a “healer” is connected with
Paean
, the physician of the Gods
in the Iliad
, who seems to come from a more
primitive religion. Paeοn is probably connected with the
Mycenean
Pa-ja-wo, but the etymology is the
only evidence. He did not have a separate cult, but he was the personification
of the holy magic-song sung by the magicians that was supposed to cure disease.
Later the Greeks knew the original meaning of the relevant song “paean”.
The magicians were also called “seer-doctors”, and they used an
ecstatic prophetic art which was used exactly by the god Apollo at the oracles.
In the Iliad, Apollo is the healer under the gods, but he is also the
bringer of disease and death with his arrows, similar to the function of the
terrible
Vedic
god of disease
Rudra
.He sends a terrible plague to the
Achaeans
. The god who sends a disease can also
prevent from it, therefore when it stops they make a purifying ceremony and
offer him an “hecatomb” to ward off evil. When the oath of his priest appeases,
they pray and with a song they call their own god, the beautiful Paean.
Some common epithets of Apollo as a healer are “paion” , “epikourios”, “oulios”, and “loimios” . In
classical times, his strong function in popular religion was to keep away evil,
and was therefore called “apotropaios” and “alexikakos” ,
throw away the evil).
In later writers, the word, usually spelled “Paean”, becomes a mere epithet of
Apollo in his capacity as a god of
healing
.
Homer illustrated Paeon the god, and the song both of
apotropaic
thanksgiving or triumph. Such songs were originally addressed to
Apollo, and afterwards to other gods: to
Dionysus
, to Apollo
Helios
, to Apollo’s son
Asclepius
the healer. About the 4th century
BCE, the paean became merely a formula of adulation; its object was either to
implore protection against disease and misfortune, or to offer thanks after such
protection had been rendered. It was in this way that Apollo had become
recognised as the god of music. Apollo’s role as the slayer of the
Python
led to his association with battle and
victory; hence it became the
Roman
custom for a paean to be sung by an army
on the march and before entering into battle, when a fleet left the harbour, and
also after a victory had been won.
Dorian origin
The connection with Dorians and their initiation festival
apellai
is reinforced by the month
Apellaios in northwest Greek calendars,
but it can explain only the Doric type of the name, which is connected with the
Ancient Macedonian
word “pella” (Pella),
stone. Stones played an important part in the cult of the god, especially
in the oracular shrine of Delphi (Omphalos).
The “Homeric hymn” represents Apollo as a Northern intruder. His arrival must
have occurred during the “dark ages” that followed the destruction of the
Mycenaean civilization
, and his conflict with
Gaia
(Mother Earth) was represented by the
legend of his slaying her daughter the serpent
Python
.
The earth deity had power over the ghostly world, and it is believed that she
was the deity behind the oracle.
The older tales mentioned two dragons who were perhaps intentionally conflated.
A female dragon named
Delphyne
who is obviously
connected with Delphi and Apollo Delphinios, and a male serpent
Typhon
, the adversary of
Zeus in the
Titanomachy
, who the narrators confused with
Python
.
Python was the good daemon of the temple as it appears in
Minoan
religion,
but she was represented as a dragon, as often happens in Northern European
folklore as well as in the East.
Apollo and his sister
Artemis
can bring death with their arrows. The
conception that diseases and death come from invisible shots sent by
supernatural beings, or magicians is common in
Germanic
and
Norse
mythology.[35]
In
Greek mythology
Artemis was the leader of the
nymphs
, who had similar functions with the
Nordic
Elves.The “elf-shot” originally indicated disease or death attributed to the elves,
but it was later attested denoting
arrow
-heads which were used by witches to harm
people, and also for healing rituals.
The
Vedic
Rudra has some similar functions with
Apollo. The terrible god is called “The Archer”, and the bow is also an
attribute of Shiva
.
Rudra could bring diseases with his arrows, but he was able to free people of
them, and his alternative Shiba, is a healer physician god.
However the
Indo-European
component of Apollo, does not
explain his strong relation with omens, exorcisms, and with the oracular cult.
Minoan origin
It seems an oracular cult existed in Delphi from the
Mycenaean
ages.[53]
In historical times, the priests of Delphi were called
Labryaden
, “the double-axe men”, which
indicates
Minoan
origin. The double-axe (λάβ���…�‚:labrys)
was the holy symbol of the
Cretan
labyrinth
.[54][55]
The Homeric hymn adds that Apollo appeared as a dolphin and carried Cretan
priests to Delphi, where they evidently transferred their religious practices.
Apollo Delphinios was a sea-god especially worshiped in Crete and in the
islands, and his name indicates his connection with Delphi[56]
and the holy serpent
Delphyne
(womb). Apollo’s sister
Artemis
, who was the Greek goddess of hunting,
is identified with
Britomartis
(Diktynna),
the
Minoan
“Mistress of the animals”. In her
earliest depictions she is accompanied by the “Mister of the animals”, a male
god of hunting who had the bow as his attribute. We don’t know his original
name, but it seems that he was absorbed by the more powerful Apollo, who stood
by the “Mistress of the animals”, becoming her brother.[49]
The old oracles in Delphi seem to be connected with a local tradition of the
priesthood, and there is not clear evidence that a kind of inspiration-prophecy
existed in the temple. This led some scholars to the conclusion that Pythia
carried on the rituals in a consistent procedure through many centuries,
according to the local tradition. In that regard, the mythical seeress
Sibyl
of
Anatolian
origin, with her ecstatic art, looks
unrelated to the oracle itself.[57]
However, the Greek tradition is referring to the existence of vapours and
chewing of laurel-leaves, which seem to be confirmed by recent studies.[58]
Plato
describes the priestesses of Delphi and
Dodona
as frenzied women, obsessed by “mania” (μανία:frenzy),
a Greek word connected with “mantis” (μάνÃ�„ιÃ�‚:prophet). Frenzied women like
Sibyls from whose lips the god speaks are recorded in the
Near East
as
Mari
in the second millennium BC.[59]
Although Crete had contacts with Mari from 2000 BC,[60]
there is no evidence that the ecstatic prophetic art existed during the Minoan
and Mycenean ages. It is more probable that this art was introduced later from
Anatolia
and regenerated an existing oracular
cult that was local to Delphi and dormant in several areas of Greece.[61]
Anatolian origin
A non-Greek origin of Apollo has long been assumed in scholarship.[3]
The name of Apollo’s mother
Leto has Lydian
origin, and she was worshipped on the
coasts of
Asia Minor
. The inspiration oracular cult was
probably introduced into Greece from
Anatolia
, which is the origin of
Sibyl
, and where existed some of the oldest
oracular shrines. Omens, symbols, purifications, and exorcisms appear in old
Assyro
–Babylonian
texts, and these rituals were spread into the empire of the
Hittites
. In a Hittite text is mentioned that
the king invited a Babylonian priestess for a certain “purification”.[33]
A similar story is mentioned by
Plutarch
. He writes that the
Cretan
–
seer
Epimenides
, purified
Athens
after the pollution brought by the
Alcmeonidae
, and that the seer’s expertise in
sacrifices
and reform of funeral practices were
of great help to Solon
in his reform of the Athenian state.[62]
The story indicates that Epimenides was probably heir to the shamanic religions
of Asia, and proves together with the
Homeric
hymn, that Crete had a resisting
religion up to the historical times. It seems that these rituals were dormant in
Greece, and they were reinforced when the Greeks migrated to
Anatolia
.
Homer
pictures Apollo on the side of the
Trojans, fighting against the
Achaeans
, during the
Trojan War
. He is pictured as a terrible god,
less trusted by the Greeks than other gods. The god seems to be related to
Appaliunas, a tutelary god of
Wilusa
(Troy)
in Asia Minor, but the word is not complete.[63]
The stones found in front of the gates of
Homeric
Troy were the symbols of Apollo. The
Greeks gave to him the name αγ�…ιε���‚
agyieus
as the protector god of public places
and houses who wards off evil, and his symbol was a tapered stone or column.[64]
However, while usually Greek festivals were celebrated at the
full moon
, all the feasts of Apollo were
celebrated at the seventh day of the month, and the emphasis given to that day (sibutu)
indicates a
Babylonian
origin.[65]
The
Late Bronze Age
(from 1700 to 1200 BCE)
Hittite
and
Hurrian
Aplu was a god of
plague
, invoked during plague years. Here we
have an
apotropaic
situation, where a god originally
bringing the plague was invoked to end it. Aplu, meaning the son of, was
a title given to the god
Nergal
, who was linked to the
Babylonian
god of the sun
Shamash
.[12]
Homer interprets Apollo as a terrible god (δειν�Œ�‚ θε�Œ�‚) who brings death and
disease with his arrows, but who can also heal, possessing a magic art that
separates him from the other Greek gods.[66]
In Iliad
, his priest prays to Apollo
Smintheus,[67]
the mouse god who retains an older agricultural function as the protector from
field rats.[68][69]
All these functions, including the function of the healer-god
Paean
, who seems to have Mycenean origin, are
fused in the cult of Apollo.
Oracular cult
Columns of the
Temple of Apollo
at Delphi, Greece.
Unusually among the Olympic deities, Apollo had two cult sites that had
widespread influence: Delos
and
Delphi
. In cult practice,
Delian Apollo
and
Pythian Apollo
(the Apollo of Delphi) were so
distinct that they might both have shrines in the same locality.[70]
Apollo’s
cult
was already fully established when written
sources commenced, about 650 BCE. Apollo became extremely important to the Greek
world as an oracular deity in the
archaic period
, and the frequency of
theophoric names
such as Apollodorus or
Apollonios and cities named Apollonia testify to his popularity.
Oracular sanctuaries to Apollo were established in other sites. In the 2nd and
3rd century CE, those at
Didyma
and
Clarus
pronounced the so-called “theological
oracles”, in which Apollo confirms that all deities are aspects or servants of
an
all-encompassing, highest deity
. “In the 3rd
century, Apollo fell silent.
Julian the Apostate
(359 – 61) tried to revive
the Delphic oracle, but failed
In
Greek
and
Roman mythology
, Apollo
,
is one of the most important and diverse of the
Olympian deities
. The ideal of the
kouros
(a
beardless youth), Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the
sun; truth and prophecy;
archery
;
medicine and healing; music, poetry, and the arts; and more. Apollo is the son
of Zeus
and
Leto, and has a
twin
sister, the chaste huntress
Artemis
.
Apollo is known in Greek-influenced
Etruscan mythology
as Apulu. Apollo was worshiped in both
ancient Greek
and
Roman religion
, as well as in the modern
Greco
–Roman
Neopaganism
.
As the patron of Delphi
(Pythian Apollo), Apollo was an
oracular
god � the prophetic deity of the
Delphic Oracle
.
Medicine and healing were associated with Apollo, whether through the god
himself or mediated through his son
Asclepius
,
yet Apollo was also seen as a god who could bring ill-health and deadly
plague
as well as one who had the ability to cure. Amongst the god’s
custodial charges, Apollo became associated with dominion over
colonists
, and as the patron defender of herds and flocks. As the leader of
the Muses
(Apollon
Musagetes) and director of their choir, Apollo functioned as the patron god
of music and poetry
.
Hermes
created
the lyre
for him,
and the instrument became a common
attribute
of Apollo. Hymns sung to Apollo were called
paeans
.
In Hellenistic times, especially during the third century BCE, as Apollo
Helios he became identified among Greeks with
Helios
,
god of
the sun
, and his sister Artemis similarly equated with
Selene
,
goddess
of the moon
.
In Latin texts, on the other hand, Joseph Fontenrose declared himself unable to
find any conflation of Apollo with
Sol
among the
Augustan poets
of the first century, not even in the conjurations of
Aeneas
and
Latinus
in
Aeneid
XII
(161–215).
Apollo and Helios/Sol remained separate beings in literary and mythological
texts until the third century CE.
The Chalkidian League Koinon
of the Chalkideans” or Olynthians or ‚
Chalcidians in
Thrace
to
distinguish them from
Chalcidians
in
Euboea
) was a
federal state that existed on the shores of the
north west Aegean from around 430 BCE until it was
destroyed by
Philip II of Macedon
in
348 BCE
.
History
Macedonia and the Chalkidice
In
432 BCE
Olynthos
broke away
from
Athens
. Along with
several other cities, some form of united state was
formed with Olynthos. Exactly what form it took is a
matter of academic dispute. By the terms of the
Peace of Nicias
of
421 BCE
, Athens and
Sparta agreed that it should be broken up but it
seems clear that Athens failed to enforce this.
However, because the
Chalkidike
was no
longer the arena of conflict between Athens and
Sparta, nothing is heard of it from that time until
393 BCE
.
In 393,
Amyntas III of Macedon
temporally transferred some territory to Olynthos
during a period when he was driven out of Macedon by
Illyrians. It was restored when Amyntas regained
power. Eight years later, Amyntas again in trouble
handed over territory, this time to the league. The
League were not so ready to return what they held
which now included
Pella
the capital
of Macedonia. In
383 BCE
, Amyntas
appealed to Sparta and at the same time a similar
appeal came from
Akanthos
and
Apollonia
, two
League members who claimed that that membership of
the League was not voluntary but enforced at the
point of a sword. Sparta was keen to respond to the
request. Amongst Sparta’s allies there was no
animosity against the Chalkidian League.
Nevertheless, when the question was put, fear of
annoying Sparta ensured that the proposal was
carried. A force of 10,000 was authorized to be
sent. An advance force of 2000 was sent under
Eudamidas which succeeded in separating Potidaea
from the League.
The fighting was long and arduous.
Teleutias
, the half
brother of the Spartan king, Agesilaos (or
Agesilaus II
), was
killed and King
Agesipolis
suffered
heavy losses before dying of fever. However, in
379 BCE
the cities
of the former League became “autonomous” and subject
allies of Sparta. Freeman regards the Spartan
dissolution of the League as one of the most
“calamitous events” in Hellenic history for, in his
view, the League uniting the northern Greek cities
with the most hellenised cities of Macedonia would
have prevented the rise of
Philip II of Macedon
,
who later destroyed the Chalkidian League.
Internal
Organization
The actual form of the League is uncertain. It
seems it was a genuinely federal state with common
laws and coinage and was probably based on the
Boeotian League
.
Political rights are likely to have been reserved to
a group of 8000 designated by a property
qualification. It included most but not all the
Euboean colonies of Chalcidice. The symbol of the
Chalcidians was the
lyre
, struck upon
the coins the League.
Olynthushus , named for the olunthos, a fig
which ripens early; the area abounded in figs) was
an ancient city of
Chalcidice
, built
mostly on two flat-topped hills 30–40m in height, in
a fertile plain at the head of the
Gulf of Torone
,
near the neck of the peninsula of
Pallene
, about 2.5
kilometers from the sea, and about 60 stadia
(c. 9–10 kilometers) from
Poteidaea
.
History
Olynthus
, son of
Heracles, was considered the mythological founder of
the town. The South Hill bore a small
Neolithic
settlement; was abandoned during the
Bronze Age
; and was
resettled in the seventh century BC. Subsequently,
the town was captured by the
Bottiaeans
, a
Thracian tribe ejected from Macedon by
Alexander I
. The
town of Olynthus remained in their possession until
479 BC
. In that
year the Persian general
Artabazus
, on his
return from escorting
Xerxes
to the
Hellespont
,
suspecting that a revolt from the Great King was
meditated, handed the town over to Kritovoulos from
Toroni
and to a
fresh population consisting of Greeks from the
neighboring region of Chalcidice (Herod.
viii. 127). Though Herodotus reports that Artabazus
slaughtered them, Boetiaeans continued to live in
the area.
Olynthus became a Greek polis, but it remained
insignificant (in the quota-lists of the
Delian League
it
appears as paying on the average 2 talents, as
compared with 6 to 15 paid by
Scione
, 6 to 15 by
Mende
, 6 to 12 by
Toroni
), and 3 to 6
by
Sermylia
from 454
to 432 .
In 432 King
Perdiccas II of Macedon
encouraged several nearby coastal towns to disband
and remove their population to Olynthus, preparatory
to a revolt to be led by Potidaea against Athens (Thuc.
1.58). This
synoecism
was effected, though against Perdiccas’s wishes the
contributing cities were preserved. This increase in
population led to the settlement of the North Hill,
which was developed on a grid plan. In 423 Olynthus
became the head of a formal
Chalkidian League
,
occasioned by the synoecism or by the beginning of
the
Peloponnesian War
and fear of Athenian attack. During the
Peloponnesian war it formed a base for
Brasidas
in his
expedition of 424 and refuge for the citizens of
Mende
and
Poteidaea
that had
rebelled against the Athenians (Thu.
ii, 70).
After the end of the
Peloponnesian War
the development of the league was rapid and ended
consisting of 32 cities. About 393 we find it
concluding an important treaty with
Amyntas III of Macedon
(the father of
Philip II
), and by
382 it had absorbed most of the Greek cities west of
the Strymon, and had even got possession of
Pella
, the chief
city in
Macedon
. (Xenophon,
Hell. V. 2, 12).
In this year Sparta was induced by an embassy
from
Acanthus
and
Apollonia
, which
anticipated conquest by the league, to send an
expedition against Olynthus. After three years of
indecisive warfare Olynthus consented to dissolve
the confederacy (379). It is clear, however, that
the dissolution was little more than formal, as the
Chalcidians (“Χαλκιδá¿â€ �‚ á¼€�€Ã² Θ��ᾴκη�‚”) appear, only a
year or two later, among the members of the Athenian
naval confederacy of 378-377. Twenty years later, in
the reign of Philip, the power of Olynthus is
asserted by
Demosthenes
to have
been much greater than before the Spartan
expedition. The town itself at this period is spoken
of as a city of the first rank ,
and the league included thirty-two cities.
When the
Social War
broke
out between Athens and its allies (357), Olynthus
was at first in alliance with Philip. Subsequently,
in alarm at the growth of his power, it concluded an
alliance with Athens. Olynthus made three embassies
to Athens, the occasions of Demosthenes’s three
Olynthiac Orations. On the third, the Athenians sent
soldiers from among its citizens. After Philip had
deprived Olynthus of the rest of the League, by
force and by the treachery of sympathetic factions,
he besieged Olynthus in 348. The siege was short; he
bought Olynthus’s two principal citizens,
Euthycrates and Lasthenes,[1]
who betrayed the city to him. He then looted and
razed the city and sold its population�including the
Athenian garrison�into slavery. According to the
latest researches only a small area of the North
Hill was ever re-occupied, up to 318, before
Cassander
forced
the population to move in his new city of
Kassandreia
.
Though the city was extinguished, through
subsequent centuries there would be men scattered
through the Hellenistic world who were called
Olynthians.
Topography
and archaeology
Floor mosaic depicting
Bellerophon
scene in a house of ancient city of
Olynthos.
The city of Olynthus lies in the hill named
Megale Toumba near the village of Myriophyto. The
probable site of Olynthus was identified as early as
1902. Between 1914 and 1916 plans were made for an
excavation by the British School at Athens, but
these fell through.
The ancient city extends in two hills that detach
from a small coulee and possess an area with 1500 m
long and 400 m in width. Excavations began in 1928.
Prof. D. M. Robinson of
Johns Hopkins
,
under the American School for Classical Studies at
Athens, conducted four seasons of work: in 1928,
1931, 1934, and 1939. The results of the excavations
were digested into fourteen folio volumes. The
excavation had uncovered more than five hectares of
Olynthus and a portion of Mecyberna (the harbor of
Olynthus). On the North Hill this hurried pace
proved relatively harmless due to the simple
stratigraphy of an area of the city occupied only
for 84 years and subjected to a sudden, final
destruction; but the data from the South Hill was
badly muddled. Nonetheless the work was excellent
for its time, and remains supremely valuable. Much
of the stratigraphy of the North Hill has been
reconstructed by Nicholas Cahill. The site is now in
the charge of Dr. Julia Vokotopoulou, and the XVI
Ephorate of Classical Antiquities.
The Neolithic settlement is located in the edge
of the southern hill and was dated in the 3rd
millennium BC. The houses were built by stone blocks
and had one or two rooms. The pottery that was found
was the typical of that period comprising monochrome
ceramic vases. The end of this rural settlement was
abrupt and is placed around the first millennium..
The
archaic
city was
built under a provincially
urban planning
and
extended throughout the whole south hill. Two
avenues were revealed along the eastern and western
edges of the hill that intersected with crossing
streets. Along the south avenue shops and small
houses were found while the administrative part was
located in the north part of the hill, where the
agora
and a
deanery
were found.
The
classical
city was
established on the must larger north hill and to its
eastern slope. The excavations, which cover only the
1/10 of the city’s total area, have revealed a
Hippodamian
grid plan
. Two
large avenues were discovered, with an amplitude of
7 meters, along with vertical and horizontal streets
that divided the urban area into
city blocks
. Each
one had ten houses with two floors and a paved yard.
Very important for the archaeological research are
considered the rich
villas
that were
excavated in the aristocratic suburb of the city
located in the eastern part of the north hill since
there was found some of the earliest
floor mosaics
in
Greek art
.
Both the archaic and classical city were
protected by an extended land wall. Parts of the
foundations of the wall were revealed in the north
hill and elsewhere, but they are not enlightening on
which method was followed for their construction.
Archaeologists suppose that it was built with
sun-dried bricks with a stone base, but it’s
difficult to tell, since the city was literally
leveled by
Phillip
.
As it concerns the public buildings, the
Agora
is placed in
the south edge of the north hill, near the eastern
gate, along with a public fountain, an
arsenal
Notable
people
-
Callisthenes
(c. 360-328 BC), historian
-
Ephippus
(4th
century BC), historian
-
Euphantus
(4th
century BC), philosopher
Modern
Olynthos
The modern city, formerly Myriophyto, now called
Olynthos or Nea Olynthos, sits on a small
plateau
on the
western side of the river Olynthios or Resetenikia
(in ancient times known as Sandanus), across from
the ruins of the ancient city.
Sourcess
The chief passages in ancient literature are the
Olynthiac Orations of Demosthenes, and
Xenophon, , Hell..
v. 2.
Thrace (demonym Thracian
/
ənθreɪʃ�ˈ/;
Bulgarian
:
�¢Ñ€�°�º�¸Ñ�, Trakiya,
Greek
: Θ��άκη,
Thráki,
Turkish
:
Trakya) is a historical and geographic area in southeast
Europe
. As a geographical concept, Thrace
designates a region bounded by the
Balkan Mountains
on the north,
Rhodope Mountains
and the
Aegean Sea
on the south, and by the
Black Sea
and the
Sea of Marmara
on the east. The areas it
comprises are southeastern
Bulgaria
(Northern
Thrace), northeastern
Greece
(Western
Thrace), and the European part of
Turkey
(Eastern
Thrace). The biggest part of Thrace is part of present-day Bulgaria.
In Turkey, it is also called
Rumelia
. The name comes from the
Thracians
, an ancient
Indo-European
people inhabiting Southeastern
Europe.
The historical boundaries of Thrace have varied. Noteworthy is the fact that,
at an early date, the
ancient Greeks
employed the term “Thrace” to
refer to all of the territory which lay north of
Thessaly
inhabited by the
Thracians
,[1]
a region which “had no definite boundaries” and to which other regions (like
Macedonia
and even
Scythia
) were added.[2]
In one ancient Greek source, the very Earth is divided into “Asia, Libya, Europa
and Thracia”.[2]
As the knowledge of world geography of the Greeks broadened, the term came to be
more restricted in its application: Thrace designated the lands bordered by the
Danube
on the north, by the Euxine Sea (Black
Sea) on the east, by northern
Macedonia
in the south and by the
Illyrian
lands (i.e.
Illyria
) to the west.[2]
This largely coincided with the Thracian
Odrysian kingdom
, whose borders varied in time.
During this time, specifically after the Macedonian conquest, the region’s old
border with Macedonia was shifted from the
Struma River
to the
Mesta River
.[3][4]
This usage lasted until the Roman conquest. Henceforth, (classical) Thrace
referred only to the tract of land largely covering the same extent of space as
the modern geographical region. In its early period, the
Roman province of Thrace
was of this extent,
but after the administrative reforms of the late 3rd century, Thracia’s much
reduced territory became the six small provinces which constituted the
Diocese of Thrace
. The medieval
Byzantine
theme
of
Thrace
contained only what today is
Eastern Thrace
.
The largest cities of Thrace are:
Ä°stanbul
(European side),
Plovdiv
,
Burgas
,
Stara Zagora
,
Haskovo
,
Edirne
,
Çorlu
and
Tekirdag
.
Most of the Bulgarian and Greek population are Christians, while most of the
Turkish inhabitants of Thrace are Muslims.
Thrace in
ancient Greek mythology
Ancient Greek mythology
provides them with a
mythical ancestor, named
Thrax
, son of the war-god
Ares, who was said to reside in Thrace. The Thracians appear in
Homer
‘s
Iliad
as
Trojan allies, led by
Acamas
and
Peiros
. Later in the Iliad,
Rhesus
, another Thracian king, makes an
appearance. Cisseus
, father-in-law to the Trojan elder
Antenor
, is also given as a Thracian king.
Homeric Thrace was vaguely defined, and stretched from the River
Axios
in the west to the
Hellespont
and
Black Sea
in the east. The
Catalogue of Ships
mentions three separate
contingents from Thrace: Thracians led by Acamas and Peiros, from
Aenus
;
Cicones
led by
Euphemus
, from southern Thrace, near
Ismaros
; and from the city of
Sestus
, on the Thracian (northern) side of the
Hellespont, which formed part of the contingent led by
Asius
. Greek mythology is replete with Thracian
kings, including
Diomedes
,
Tereus
,
Lycurgus
,
Phineus
,
Tegyrius
,
Eumolpus
,
Polymnestor
,
Poltys
, and
Oeagrus
(father of
Orpheus
). In addition to the tribe that Homer
calls Thracians, ancient Thrace was home to numerous other tribes, such as the
Edones
,
Bisaltae
,
Cicones
, and
Bistones
.
Thrace is also mentioned in Ovid’s Metamorphoses in the episode of
Philomela
, Procne, and
Tereus
. Tereus, the King of Thrace, lusts after
his sister-in-law, Philomela. He kidnaps her, holds her captive, rapes her, and
cuts out her tongue. Philomela manages to get free, however. She and her sister,
Procne, plot to get revenge, by killing Itys (son of Tereus and Procne) and
serving him to his father for dinner. At the end of the myth, all three turn
into birds�Procne, a swallow; Philomela, a nightingale; and Tereus, a
hoopoe
.
History
Ancient history
Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak
The indigenous population of Thrace was a people called the
Thracians
, divided into numerous tribal groups.
Thracian troops were known to accompany neighboring ruler
Alexander the Great
when he crossed the
Hellespont
which abuts Thrace, and took on the
Persian Empire
of the day.
The Thracians did not describe themselves as such and Thrace and
Thracians are simply the names given them by the Greeks.[5]
Divided into separate tribes, the Thracians did not manage to form a lasting
political organization until the
Odrysian state
was founded in the 4th century
BC. Like Illyrians
, Thracian tribes of the mountainous
regions fostered a locally ruled warrior tradition, while the tribes based in
the plains were purportedly more peaceable. Recently discovered funeral mounds
in Bulgaria suggest that Thracian kings did rule regions of Thrace with distinct
Thracian national identity.
During this period, a subculture of
celibate
ascetics
called the
Ctistae
lived in Thrace, where they served as
philosophers, priests and prophets.
Medieval history
By the mid 5th century, as the Roman Empire began to crumble, Thracia fell
from the authority of Rome and into the hands of Germanic tribal rulers. With
the fall of Rome, Thracia turned into a battleground territory for the better
part of the next 1,000 years. The eastern successor of the
Roman Empire
in the Balkans, the
Byzantine Empire
, retained control over Thrace
until the 8th century when the northern half of the entire region was
incorporated into the
First Bulgarian Empire
. Byzantium regained
Thrace in the late 10th century and administered it as a
theme
, until the Bulgarians regained
control of the northern half at the end of the 12th century. Throughout the 13th
century and the first half of the 14th century, the region was changing in the
hands of the Bulgarian and the Byzantine Empire(excl. Constantinopole). In 1265
the area suffered a Mongol raid from the
Golden Horde
, led by
Nogai Khan
. In 1352, the
Ottoman
Turks
conducted their first incursion into the
region subduing it completely within a matter of two decades and occupying it
for five centuries.
Modern history
With the
Congress of Berlin
in 1878, Northern Thrace was
incorporated into the semi-autonomous Ottoman province of
Eastern Rumelia
, which united with Bulgaria in
1885. The rest of Thrace was divided among Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey at the
beginning of the 20th century, following the
Balkan Wars
,
World War I
and the
Greco-Turkish War
. Today Thracian is a
strong regional identity in Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria and other neighbouring
countries.
Famous Thracians and people from Thrace
- A number of
Roman emperors
of the 3rd-5th century were
of Thraco-Roman
backgrounds (Maximinus
Thrax,
Licinius
,
Galerius
,
Aureolus
,
Leo the Thracian
, etc.). These emperors
were elevated via a military career, from the condition of common soldiers
in one of the
Roman legions
to the foremost positions of
political power
.
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