Caryae or Karyai ( grc, Κάρυαι) was a town of

ancient Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word '' laconic''—to speak in a blunt, co ...

upon the frontiers of

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

. It was originally an Arcadian town belonging to

Tegea Tegea (; el, Τεγέα) was a settlement in ancient Arcadia, and it is also a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the Tripoli municipality, of which it is a municipal un ...

, but was conquered by the

Spartans Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referr ...

and annexed to their territory. Caryae revolted from Sparta after the

Battle of Leuctra The Battle of Leuctra ( grc-gre, Λεῦκτρα, ) was a battle fought on 6 July 371 BC between the Boeotians led by the Thebans, and the Spartans along with their allies amidst the post- Corinthian War conflict. The battle took place in the vici ...

(371 BCE), and offered to guide a Theban army into Laconia; but shortly afterwards it was severely punished for its treachery, for Archidamus III took the town and put to death all the inhabitants who were made prisoners. Caryae was celebrated for its temple of Artemis Caryatis, and for the annual festival of this goddess, at which the Lacedaemonian virgins used to perform a peculiar kind of dance. This festival was of great antiquity, for in the

Second Messenian War The Second Messenian War was a war which occurred ca. 660–650 BC between the Ancient Greek states of Messenia and Sparta, with localized resistance possibly lasting until the end of the century. It started around 40 years after the end of the F ...

, Aristomenes is said to have carried off the Lacedaemonian virgins, who were dancing at Caryae in honour of Artemis. It was, perhaps, from this ancient dance of the Lacedaemonian maidens, that the Greek artists gave the name of

Caryatid A caryatid ( or or ; grc, Καρυᾶτις, pl. ) is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term ''karyatides'' literally means "ma ...

to the female figures which were employed in architecture instead of pillars. The tale of

Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled '' De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribut ...

respecting the origin of these figures, is not entitled to any credit. He relates that Caryae revolted to the

Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...

after the

Battle of Thermopylae The Battle of Thermopylae ( ; grc, Μάχη τῶν Θερμοπυλῶν, label=Greek, ) was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I. Lasting o ...

; that it was in consequence destroyed by the allied Greeks, who killed the men and led the women into captivity; and that to commemorate the disgrace of the latter, representations of them were employed in architecture instead of columns. The exact position of Caryae has given rise to dispute. It is evident from the account of

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 th ...

, and from the history of more than one campaign that it was situated on the road from Tegea to Sparta. Modern scholars place its site near the modern

Karyes Karyes (Greek: Καρυές, before 1930: Αράχωβα - ''Arachova'') is a village of the Peloponnese peninsula, which is located in the southern part of Greece. The Peloponnese is made up of a number of states and Karyes belongs to the state ...

, formerly Arachova, but renamed to reflect association with the ancient town.

References

Populated places in ancient Arcadia Populated places in ancient Laconia Former populated places in Greece {{AncientLaconia-geo-stub