Bura (also Boura, Bira; grc, Βοῦρα) was an ancient

polis ''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...

(city-state) of Achaea,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, one of the 12 cities of the

Achaean League The Achaean League ( Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern P ...

. It is said to have derived its name from Bura, a daughter of

Ion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...

and Helice. The city was situated on a height 40 stadia from the sea, and southeast of

Helike Helike (; el, , pronounced , modern ) was an ancient Greek polis (city-state) that was submerged by a tsunami in the winter of 373 BC. It was located in the regional unit of Achaea, northern Peloponnesos, two kilometres (12 stadia) from the ...

. Its name occurs in a line of

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...

, preserved by Strabo. It was swallowed up by the earthquake which destroyed Helike in 373 BCE, and all its inhabitants perished except those who were absent at the time. On their return they rebuilt the city, which was visited by

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

, who mentions its temples dedicated to Demeter,

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols inclu ...

Eileithyia Eileithyia or Ilithyiae or Ilithyia (; grc-gre, Εἰλείθυια; (''Eleuthyia'') in Crete, also (''Eleuthia'') or (''Elysia'') in Laconia and Messene, and (''Eleuthō'') in literature)Nilsson Vol I, p. 313 was the Greek goddess of ch ...

and

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

. Strabo relates that there was a fountain at Bura called "Sybaris", from which the river and

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in Magna Graecia,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

derived its name. On the revival of the Achaean League in 280 BCE, Bura was governed by a

tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to re ...

, whom the inhabitants slew in 275 BCE, and then joined the confederacy. A little to the east of Bura was the river Buraïcus; and on the banks of this river, between Bura and the sea, was an oracular cavern of

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...

surnamed Buraicus. The ruins of Bura have been discovered nearly midway between the rivers of Bokhusia (Cerynites), and of

Vouraikos The Vouraikos ( el, Βουραϊκός, la, Buraïcus, ''Erasinus'' ( grc, Ἐρασῖνος, Erasinos) according to Strabo) is a river in Achaea, Greece. In ancient times it was called Erasinos. Its source is in the Aroania mountains, near th ...

(Buraicus) near Trupia. Ovid says that the ruins of Bura (which he calls ''Bira''), like those of Helike, were still to be seen at the bottom of the sea.

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

makes the same assertion. Hence it has been supposed that the ancient Bura stood upon the coast, and after its destruction was rebuilt inland; but neither Pausanias nor Strabo states that the ancient city was on the coast, and their words render it improbable. Modern scholars tentatively identify the ruins at the ''kastro'' near Diakofto with Bura.

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* * Cities in ancient Peloponnese Populated places in ancient Achaea Former populated places in Greece Achaean city-states {{AncientAchaea-geo-stub

See also

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