The Homarium was the common temple 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 Pel ...

, built ''c.'' 371 BC at

Aegium Aegium or Aigion ( grc, Αἴγιον), or Aegeium or Aigeion (Αἴγειον), was a town and polis (city-state) of ancient Achaea, and one of the twelve Achaean cities. It was situated upon the coast west of the river Selinus, 30 stadia from Rhy ...

. While it was dedicated to Zeus Homarius or Homergyrius (the exact meaning of the name being uncertain, but probably "who unites"), the temple was, according to

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

, used for meetings and debates on Achaean lines.

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 ...

describes it as a grove, near a temple of

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 ...

Panchaea.

Descriptions

Again, according to Polybius :93resolutions to internal Achaean disputes during the Social War were recorded 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 ...

erected near the altar of

Hestia In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Hestia (; grc-gre, Ἑστία, meaning "hearth" or "fireside") is the virgin goddess of the hearth, the right ordering of domesticity, the family, the home, and the state. In myth, she is the firstborn ...

or Vesta.

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 ...

described the Homarium at Aegium in the 2nd century: :"By the sea at Aigion

n Akhaia N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

is a sanctuary of . . . Zeus Homagyrios (the Assembler). Here are images of Zeus, of Aphrodite and of Athena. The surname Assembler was given to Zeus because in this place Agamemnon assembled the most eminent men in Greece, in order that they might consult together how to make war on the empire of Priamos. Among the claims of Agamemnon to renown is that he destroyed Troy and the cities around her with the forces that followed him originally, without any later reinforcements . . . Even in my time the Akhaian assembly still meets at Aigion, just as the Amphiktyones do at Thermopylai and at Delphoi." He also mention the priesthood and organisation of the temple: :"There are at Aigion

other images made of bronze, Zeus as a boy and Herakles as a beardless youth, the work of Ageladas of Argos. Priests are elected for them every year, and each of the two images remains at the house of the priest. In a more remote age there was chosen to be priest for Zeus from the boys he who won the prize for beauty. When his beard began to grow the honor for beauty passed to another boy. Such were the customs."Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 24. 4 The Acahean colonies in Italy,

Sybaris Sybaris ( grc, Σύβαρις; it, Sibari) was an important city of Magna Graecia. It was situated in modern Calabria, in southern Italy, between two rivers, the Crathis (Crati) and the Sybaris (Coscile). The city was founded in 720 BC ...

Caulon Caulonia or Caulon ( grc, Καυλωνία, Kaulōnía; also spelled Kaulonia or Kaulon) was an ancient city of Magna Graecia on the shore of the Ionian Sea. At some point after the destruction of the city by Rome in 200 BC, the inhabitants moved ...

and

Crotona Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and '' comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages u ...

similarly established a Homarium as a common forum. Pope, in his 1715 ''Essay'' introducing his translation of Homer's Iliad, refers a temple erected to Homer as "the true Homærium", and comments on dispute over its locality. By 1872 this was described as a

back-formation In etymology, back-formation is the process or result of creating a new word via inflection, typically by removing or substituting actual or supposed affixes from a lexical item, in a way that expands the number of lexemes associated with the c ...

Zeus Homarius

Nineteen states of the Achaean League minted triobols (or hemidrachms), small silver coins worth three

obols The obol ( grc-gre, , ''obolos'', also ὀβελός (''obelós''), ὀβελλός (''obellós''), ὀδελός (''odelós''). "nail, metal spit"; la, obolus) was a form of ancient Greek currency and weight. Currency Obols were u ...

, carrying a bust of Zeus Homarius on the obverse. Later bronze coins were minted by the members of the league, also bearing the image of Zeus Homarius, holding a miniature

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

, presenting him a wreath. The later bronze mintage is remarkable for the number of towns and villages that produced coins, some forty five, and the number of die used, estimated at 1600.

Achaean oath

The Achaean oath was taken upon the trinity of Hamarium Zeus, Hamarium Athena and Aphrodite.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017 4th-century BC religious buildings and structures Achaean League Aigio Temples of Zeus