The 'Hiera Orgas' ( grc, ἱερὰ ὀργάς), meaning ‘sacred meadow’, was a site, which featured in at least two conflicts between

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

and

Megara Megara (; el, Μέγαρα, ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis Island, Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, befo ...

Identification

The ''Hiera Orgas'' was a circular, fertile area of land sacred to the

Eleusinian Elefsina ( el, Ελευσίνα ''Elefsina''), or Eleusis (; Ancient Greek: ''Eleusis'') is a suburban city and municipality in the West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is situated about northwest from the centre of Athens and is part of i ...

goddesses,

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...

and

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...

. It was probably situated on the Megarian side of the Northern reaches of the Iapis River in the borderland between Athens and Megara. As no boundary markers ('' ὅρος, ὅροι'') have survived, it is not possible to be more specific. Its location between the two states meant that control of the site was always going to be controversial. Megara and Athens had a history of territorial conflict dating back to the sixth century BC, including armed conflict over the island of Salamis.

Restrictions on the use of sacred land

Prohibitions on the use of sacred land outside the cities, similar to the ''Orgas'', were common in Greek states (''

poleis ''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 ...

'') throughout the Classical period. A range of laws and customs protected the integrity of many country sites from deliberate or accidental contamination by people and livestock. The Athenians seem to have considered it to be a sacred precinct (''

temenos A ''temenos'' (Greek: ; plural: , ''temenē''). is a piece of land cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs, or a piece of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to a god, such as a sanctuary, holy gro ...

''), which deserved to be kept inviolate and protected under religious law. This view does not seem to have been shared by the Megarians. The Athenians, at least, deemed the cultivation of the ''Hiera Orgas'' as a distinct religious pollution ('' miasma''), which, if left unresolved, would anger the gods and, therefore, compromise the ongoing fertility and wellbeing of the state itself. The geographer and antiquarian,

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 ...

(3.4.5-6), reported a late tradition in which the

Spartan king For most of its history, the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta in the Peloponnese was ruled by kings. Sparta was unusual among the Greek city-states in that it maintained its kingship past the Archaic age. It was even more unusual in that it ha ...

, Cleomenes, was said to have defiled the ''Orgas''. According to the tradition, for his act of impiety, Cleomenes was punished by the gods with madness.

Significance in the Peloponnesian War

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 ...

(1.139.2) and

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

(''Pericles'', 30.2) record that the cultivation of the ''Hiera Orgas'' by a number of Megarians was one of the complaints cited by the Athenians to justify the implementation of the Megarian exclusion decree, which, in turn, became one of the main causes 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 ...

. There has been considerable debate over the etiology of the war and the genuineness, or otherwise, of the Athenian response to protect the integrity of the ''Hiera Orgas'' by excluding Megarians from all ports and markets under Athenian control in 432 BC. The Megarians, themselves, are not recorded as having denied the accusation, but their ambassadors did complain of the severity of the Athenian response. It is possible that

Pericles Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelopo ...

used the dispute for his own political purposes, but the success of his public stance in protecting the ''Hiera Orgas'', serves to demonstrate the significance of the religious considerations at play in the dispute.

Fourth-century dispute

Athens and Megara came into conflict over the ''Hiera Orgas'' again in 350/49 BC. This time, there appeared to be no clear political context to bring into question Athenian motives. The orator,

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prow ...

(13.32) provided the earliest record of the recurrence of the dispute. He describes the Megarians as ‘accursed’ (''karatoi'') for their impious encroachment upon the ''Orgas''. Shortly afterwards, the

Athenian Assembly The ecclesia or ekklesia ( el, ) was the assembly of the citizens in city-states of ancient Greece. The ekklesia of Athens The ekklesia of ancient Athens is particularly well-known. It was the popular assembly, open to all male citizens as so ...

voted to settle the matter by seeking independent arbitration from Apollo’s oracle at

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...

. The Athenians stipulated complex and expensive arrangements for determining the will of Apollo concerning the site. According to the inscription (pictured), which recorded the process, Apollo was given the choice between two inscribed tin sheets concerning the question of the cultivation of the ''Hiera Orgas''. These sheets were rolled and wrapped in wool before being placed into a bronze ballot-urn. The two identical sealed packages were then placed into separate pitchers; one gold, one silver. The

Pythia Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed i ...

was then asked to choose between them on behalf of the god. Apollo’s decision would then be inscribed on a ''

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

''. As it turned out, Delphi decided that no cultivation be permitted. The Megarians seem to have been unimpressed and persisted with their encroachments. The Athenians sent a force under the general, Ephialtes, to delimit the site and its hinterland and to enforce the god’s decision.G.L. Cawkwell, ‘Anthemocritus and the Megarians and the Decree of Charinus’, ''REG'', vol. 82 (1969), p. 331.

References

{{reflist Ancient Megara Eleusinian Mysteries Geography of ancient Attica Peloponnesian War Religion in ancient Athens