Dyme ( grc, Δύμη), or Dymae, was a town and
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
ancient Achaea
Achaea () or Achaia (; el, Ἀχαΐα, ''Akhaia'', ) was (and is) the northernmost region of the Peloponnese, occupying the coastal strip north of Arcadia. Its approximate boundaries were to the south the mountain range of Erymanthus, to the so ...
, and the most westerly of the 12 Achaean cities, from which circumstance it is said to have derived its name.
The location of Dyme is near the modern
Kato Achaia
Kato Achaia ( el, Κάτω Αχαΐα) is a town and a community in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality West Achaea, of which it is the seat of administration. The community Kato Acha ...
.
Location
![Teixos Dymaion](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Teixos_Dymaion.JPG)
It was situated near the coast, according to
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
60
stadia
Stadia may refer to:
* One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums"
* The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes'').
* Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey
* Stadi ...
from the promontory
Araxus
Cape Araxos ( el, Ακρωτήριον Άραξος), also known as Cape Pappas (Άκρα Πάππα), is a cape in the northwest of the Peloponnese in Greece. It is the northwesternmost point of Peloponnese and separates the Gulf of Patras from th ...
, and according to
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 ...
30 stadia from the river
Larisus, which separated its territory from
Elis
Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...
.
Names
It is further said by Strabo to have been formed out of a union of 8 villages, one of which was called Teuthea (Τευθέα); and it is probable, that some of the different names, by which the city is said to have been called, were originally the names of the separate villages. Thus, its more ancient name is stated by Pausanias to have been Paleia (Πάλεια), and by Strabo to have been Stratus or Stratos (Στρατός). The poet
Antimachus
Antimachus of Colophon ( el, Ἀντίμαχος ὁ Κολοφώνιος), or of Claros, was a Greek poet and grammarian, who flourished about 400 BC.
Life
Scarcely anything is known of his life. The Suda claims that he was a pupil of the p ...
gave it the epithet Cauconis, which was derived by some from the iron Caucon in the neighbourhood, and by others from the
Caucones
The Caucones ( grc-gre, Καύκωνες ''Kaukônes'') were an autochthonous tribe of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), who later migrated to parts of the Greek mainland (Arcadia, Triphylian Pylos and Elis).
The phonology of the name Caucones may ...
, who were supposed to have originally inhabited this district.
[, ''et seq.'']
History
Greek history
The first resident of note was
Oebotas who was said to be the first Achaean to win at the
Ancient Olympic Games
The ancient Olympic Games (Ὀλυμπιακοὶ ἀγῶνες; la, Olympia, neuter plural: "the Olympics") were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of city-states and were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. ...
. He was not honored for his victory by the Achaeans and legendarily cursed the Achaeans to never win the Olympics for that and the Achaeans did not have an Olympic winner until
Sostratus of Pellene Sostratus ( grc-gre, Σώστρατος, ''Sostratos'') was an Ancient Greek athlete from Pellene, Achaea. He won the footrace for boys at the Ancient Olympic Games. He was the first Achaean to win at the Olympics since Oebotas of Dyme. According ...
won the race.
Thucydides
Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...
indicates it was near a great naval battle of the
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...
and that some fleeing the battle found shelter there. After the death of
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
, Dyme fell into the hands of
Cassander
Cassander ( el, Κάσσανδρος ; c. 355 BC – 297 BC) was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 305 BC until 297 BC, and ''de facto'' ruler of southern Greece from 317 BC until his death.
A son of Antipater and a cont ...
, but his troops were driven out of the city by
Aristodemus
In Greek mythology, Aristodemus (Ancient Greek: Ἀριστόδημος) was one of the Heracleidae, son of Aristomachus and brother of Cresphontes and Temenus. He was a great-great-grandson of Heracles and helped lead the fifth and final attack ...
, the general of
Antigonus, 314 BCE. This city had the honour, along with
Patrae
)
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, demographics1_title2 =
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, utc_offset1 = +2
, ...
, of reviving 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 Pel ...
in 280 BCE; and about this time or shortly afterwards its population received an accession from some of the inhabitants of
Olenus
In Greek mythology, Olenus (; Ancient Greek: Ὤλενος ''Olenos'') was the name of several individuals:
*Olenus, son of Hephaestus and father of Helike and Aex, two nurses of infant Zeus. A city in Aulis was named for him.
*Olenus, son of Ze ...
, who abandoned their town.
A battle took place at Dyme in between the
Sparta
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 referre ...
ns under King
Cleomenes III and the Achaean League under the command of
Aratus of Sicyon
Aratus of Sicyon (Ancient Greek: Ἄρατος ὁ Σικυώνιος; 271–213 BC) was a politician and military commander of Hellenistic Greece. He was elected strategos of the Achaean League 17 times, leading the League through numerous mili ...
and ended in a Spartan victory. In the
Social War (220-217 BCE), the territory of Dyme, from its proximity to Elis, was frequently laid waste by the Eleans.
Roman era
In the
First Macedonian War
The First Macedonian War (214–205 BC) was fought by Rome, allied (after 211 BC) with the Aetolian League and Attalus I of Pergamon, against Philip V of Macedon, contemporaneously with the Second Punic War (218–201 BC) against Carthage. The ...
Cycliadas and
Philip V of Macedon
Philip V ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 238–179 BC) was king ( Basileus) of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. He would lead Macedon ag ...
would prepare for an attack on
Elis
Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...
near Dyme; but in consequence of Dyme being the only one of the Achaean cities which espoused the cause of the Macedonian king, it was plundered by the Romans under
Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus
Publius Sulpicius Galba Maximus (fl. late 3rd to early 2nd century BC) was a Roman military officer and Senator who was elected Roman consul
A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancien ...
.
[ From this blow it never recovered; and it is said to have been without inhabitants when ]Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
settled here a large number of Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...
n pirates. In the civil wars that followed, some of these new inhabitants were expelled from their lands and resumed their old occupations. Both Strabo and 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 '' ...
call Dyme a Roman colony; but this statement appears to be a mistake, since it is known that Dyme was one of the towns placed under the authority of Patrae, when it was made a Roman colony by Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
;[ and it is expressly told that no other Achaean town except Patrae was allowed the privilege of self-government.
]
See also
* Dymaean Wall
*List of ancient Greek cities
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
References
External links
A description from Greek Travel Pages
{{Authority control
Cities in ancient Peloponnese
Former populated places in Greece
Populated places in ancient Achaea
Achaean city-states
Greek city-states