Caryae or Karyai ( grc, Κάρυαι) was a town of
ancient Laconia 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 unit w ...
, 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 referred t ...
and annexed to their territory. Caryae revolted from Sparta after the
Battle of Leuctra (371 BCE), and offered to guide a
Theban army into Laconia; but shortly afterwards it was severely punished for its treachery, for
Archidamus III
Archidamus III ( grc-gre, Ἀρχίδαμος ) was the son of Agesilaus II and king of Sparta from 360 to 338 BC.
Biography
While still a prince, he was the eispnelas (εἰσπνήλας, inspirer, or pederastic lover) of Cleonymus, son of ...
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,
Aristomenes
Aristomenes ( grc-gre, Ἀριστομένης) was a king of Messenia, celebrated for his struggle with the Spartans in the Second Messenian War (685–668 BC), and his resistance to them on Mount Eira for 11 years. At length the mountain fell t ...
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 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 attribute ...
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, 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