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 lar ...
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 ch ...
. The site has been excavated intermittently since the 1960s. It was in the territory of
Haliartus, said to have been founded by
Onchestos
Onchestos or Onchestus ( el, Ογχηστός) was a Greek town in ancient Boeotia northwest of Thebes. In ancient times it was famous for its sanctuary of Poseidon. The site has been excavated intermittently since the 1960s. It was in the terri ...
, a son of Poseidon.
History
Onchestos is mentioned in the famous "
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 ...
" 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 ...
'' 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 lar ...
in the
Macedonian
Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia.
Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to:
People Modern
* Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...
period.
The town was burned by the Persians under
Xerxes I, and probably again by the
Romans in 171 BC when nearby
Haliartus was destroyed.
In the early 1st century AD
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 ...
wrote that the temple was standing although Poseidon's sacred grove was "devoid of trees".
In the 2nd century
Pausanias wrote that he was still able to see Poseidon’s temple, cult image, and grove.
Archaeology
Its site is located near modern
Steni
Steni may refer to:
Places
* Steni, Paphos, village in the Paphos District of Cyprus
* Steni Dirfyos, village on Euboea island, Greece
* Steni Vala, village on the Greek island of Alonnisos
People
* Antonella Steni (1926 –2016), Italian ac ...
.
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