Lilaea or Lilaia ( grc, Λίλαια), also Lilaeum or Lilaion (Λίλαιον), was one of the most important ancient

Phocian Phocis was an ancient region in the central part of Ancient Greece, which included Delphi. A modern administrative unit, also called Phocis, is named after the ancient region, although the modern region is substantially larger than the ancient ...

towns, and a

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), built on the north slopes of

Mount Parnassus Mount Parnassus (; el, Παρνασσός, ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is and historically has been especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers ...

, and at the sources of the Cephissus.

Description

The name Lilaea appears for the first time in Homer's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

'' (in the

Catalogue of Ships The Catalogue of Ships ( grc, νεῶν κατάλογος, ''neōn katálogos'') is an epic catalogue in Book 2 of Homer's ''Iliad'' (2.494–759), which lists the contingents of the Achaean army that sailed to Troy. The catalogue gives the na ...

) as one of the nine Phocian towns which had participated at the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...

. Lilaea was named after the Naiad Lilaea, the daughter of the river-god Cephissus, since the city itself was situated close to the sources of the river. A sanctuary dedicated to

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...

and another one, dedicated to the deified river stood there in antiquity. The inhabitants of Lilaea believed that the water of Castalian spring in Delphi was a gift of Cephissus, so some days in the year they threw sweets in the river, thinking that they would surface in Castalia.

History

The broader region of Lilaea had been inhabited since the 3rd millennium BCE.

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

does not mention it among the Phocian cities which had been destroyed by 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. ...

, possibly because in those days it was attached to Doris, which made its submission to

Xerxes I Xerxes I ( peo, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ξέρξης ; – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of ...

, or because it was so well fortified that the Persians never subdued it. Based upon numismatic and epigraphic evidence, the latter appears the more likely. The city is also mentioned by

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 ...

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 ...

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

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 '' ...

, and

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

. Lilaea was destroyed during the

Third Sacred War The Third Sacred War (356–346 BC) was fought between the forces of the Delphic Amphictyonic League, principally represented by Thebes, and latterly by Philip II of Macedon, and the Phocians. The war was caused by a large fine imposed in 3 ...

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king ('' basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

in 346 BCE, but it was rebuilt during the following years in the course of the project for the reconstruction of the Phocian citadels. It was besieged by

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 ...

and the city had to accept that a Macedonian garrison but soon after an uprising, led by Patron, managed to defeat the Macedonians and they withdrew after the formalization of a pact.

Description

When

visited Lilaea, in the second century, he reported seeing a theatre, an agora, and baths, with temples of Apollo and Artemis, containing statues of Athenian workmanship and of Pentelic marble.

Archaeology

Lilaea is located near the modern namesake village of Lilaia. Its walls and gates are to the east of the modern settlement. Among the visible antiquities of the region count the architectural members by the springs of Agia Eleoussa, where a fountain and the temple of Cephissus lay, as well as the early Byzantine remains of a basilica dedicated to St. Christopher. Another Byzantine church, dated to the 10th-11th century was dedicated to St. Eleoussa. The fortification of the city is evident on the hill "Pyrgos" or "Palaeokastro". During the Frankish period the site was fortified with a new wall.

Attribution

References

External links

{{coord, 38.62687, N, 22.50592, E, source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/22755.html, display=title, format=dms Locations in the Iliad Cities in ancient Greece Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Central Greece Phocian city-states Mount Parnassus