Onchestos or Onchestus ( el, Ογχηστός) was a Greek town in

ancient Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...

northwest of Thebes. In ancient times it was famous for its sanctuary of

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...

. The site has been excavated intermittently since the 1960s. It was in the territory of

Haliartus Haliartus or Haliartos (), also known as Ariartus or Ariartos or Hariartus or Hariartos (Ἀρίαρτος or Ἁρίαρτος), was a town of ancient Boeotia, and one of the cities of the Boeotian League. It was situated on the southern side of La ...

, said to have been founded by

Onchestos Onchestos or Onchestus ( el, Ογχηστός) was a Greek town in ancient Boeotia northwest of Thebes, Greece, Thebes. In ancient times it was famous for its sanctuary of Poseidon. The site has been excavated intermittently since the 1960s. It w ...

, a son of Poseidon.

History

Onchestos is mentioned in the famous " Catalogue of Ships" 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 '' Odys ...

'' where it is referred to as Poseidon’s "bright grove."Strabon, ''Geōgraphiká'' 9.2.33. The town was a meeting place for the

Boeotian League Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its la ...

in the Macedonian period. The town was burned by the Persians under

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 D ...

, and probably again by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

in 171 BC when nearby

was destroyed. In the early 1st century AD Strabo wrote that the temple was standing although Poseidon's sacred grove was "devoid of trees". In the 2nd century

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 ...

wrote that he was still able to see Poseidon’s temple, cult image, and grove.

Archaeology

Its site is located near modern Steni. Sporadic archaeological excavations have taken place at the site from the 1960s onwards. Since 2014 a new Onchestos Excavation Project has begun to systematically examine the site. The excavations attest to sanctuary’s prosperity in the 6th and 5th centuries BC.

References

External links

Onchestos Excavation Project
Columbia University Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece Populated places in ancient Boeotia Former populated places in Greece Locations in the Iliad {{AncientBoeotia-geo-stub