Orneae or Orneai ( grc, Ὀρνέαι) was a town in ancient Argolis, mentioned by

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

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 ...

in the ''

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 ...

'', which is said to have derived its name from

Orneus In Greek mythology, Orneus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρνεύς) may refer to two different personages: * Orneus, an Athenian prince as the son of King ErechtheusPausanias, 2.25.6; Plutarch, ''Theseus'' 32.1; Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. Orneiai'' Euse ...

, the son of

Erechtheus Erechtheus (; grc, Ἐρεχθεύς) in Greek mythology was the name of an archaic king of Athens, the founder of the ''polis'' and, in his role as god, attached to Poseidon, as "Poseidon Erechtheus". The mythic Erechtheus and the historical Ere ...

. Orneae retained its ancient

Cynuria Cynuria ( – ''Kynouria'' or – ''Kynouriake'') is an ancient district on the eastern coast of the Peloponnese, between the Argolis and Laconia, so called from the Cynurians, one of the most ancient tribes in the peninsula. It was believed to ...

n inhabitants, when

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

was conquered by the

Dorians The Dorians (; el, Δωριεῖς, ''Dōrieîs'', singular , ''Dōrieús'') were one of the four major ethnic groups into which the Hellenes (or Greeks) of Classical Greece divided themselves (along with the Aeolians, Achaeans, and Ionians) ...

. According to

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 ...

, it continued independent of Argos for a long time; but it was finally conquered by the Argives, who removed the Orneatae to their own city.

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...

mentions the Orneatae and Cleonaei as allies (σύμμαχοι) of the Argives in 418 BCE; and the same historian relates that Orneae was destroyed by the Argives in 416 BCE. It might therefore be inferred that the destruction of Orneae by the Argives in 416 BCE is the event referred to by Pausanias. But

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 ...

states that Orneae had been conquered by Argos long before; that its inhabitants were reduced to the condition of

Perioeci The Perioeci or Perioikoi (, ) were the second-tier citizens of the ''polis'' of Sparta until 200 BC. They lived in several dozen cities within Spartan territories (mostly Laconia and Messenia), which were dependent on Sparta. The ''perioeci'' ...

; and that all the Perioeci in the Argeia were called Orneatae from this place. But the Orneatae mentioned by Thucydides could not have been Perioeci, since they are called allies. "The Cynurians," says Herodotus, "have become Doricized by the Argives and by time, being Orneatae and Perioeci." These words would seem clearly to mean that, while the other Cynurians became Perioeci, the Orneatae continued independent, an interpretation which is in accordance with the account of Thucydides. With respect to the site of Orneae we learn from Pausanias that it was situated on the confines of

Phliasia Phlius (; grc-gre, Φλιοῦς) or Phleius () was an independent polis (city-state) in the northeastern part of Peloponnesus. Phlius' territory, called Phliasia (), was bounded on the north by Sicyonia, on the west by ancient Arcadia, Arcadia, o ...

and

Sicyonia ''Sicyonia'' is a genus of prawns, placed in its own family, Sicyoniidae. It differs from other prawns in that the last three pairs of its pleopods are uniramous, rather than biramous as seen in all other prawns. ''Sicyonia'' contains 52 extant ...

, at the distance of 120

stadia Stadia may refer to: * One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums" * The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes''). * Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey * Stadi ...

from Argos, being 60 stadia from

Lyrceia Lyrceia or Lyrkeia ( grc, ἡ Λύρκεια), or Lyrceium or Lyrkeion (Λυρκεῖον), was a town in ancient Argolis, distant 60 stadia (a little less than 7 miles) from Argos, and 60 stadia from Orneae, and situated on the road Climax, whi ...

, which was also 60 stadia from Argos.

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 ...

says that Orneae was situated on a river of the same name above the plain of the Sicyonians. Orneae stood on the northern of the two roads, which led from Argos to

Mantineia Mantineia (also Mantinea ; el, Μαντίνεια; also Koine Greek ''Antigoneia'') was a city in ancient Arcadia, Greece, which was the site of two significant battles in Classical Greek history. In modern times it is a former municipality in ...

. This northern road was called Climax, and followed the course of the

Inachus In Greek mythology, Inachus, Inachos or Inakhos (Ancient Greek: Ἴναχος) was the first king of Argos, Peloponnese, Argos after whom a river was called Inachos (river), Inachus River,Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus), Apollodorus2.1.1/ref> t ...

. Its site is located near the modern

Lyrkeia Lyrkeia ( el, Λυρκεία) is a village and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines Argos-Mykines ( el, Άργος-Μυκήνες) is a municipa ...

References

Populated places in ancient Argolis Former populated places in Greece Cities in ancient Peloponnese {{AncientArgolis-geo-stub