![Locris ancient map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Locris_ancient_map.jpg)
Ozolian Locris ( grc, Ὀζολία Λοκρίς) or Hesperian Locris ( grc, Λοκρίς Ἑσπερία, 3=Western Locris) was a region in
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
, inhabited by the Ozolian Locrians ( grc-gre, Ὀζολοὶ Λοκροί; la, Locri Ozoli) a tribe of the
Locrians The Locrians ( el, Λοκροί, ''Locri'') were an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region of Locris in Central Greece, around Parnassus. They spoke the Locrian dialect, a Doric-Northwest dialect, and were closely related to their neighbour ...
, upon the
Corinthian Gulf
The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf ( el, Κορινθιακός Kόλπος, ''Korinthiakόs Kόlpos'', ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isth ...
, bounded on the north by
Doris, on the east by
Phocis
Phocis ( el, Φωκίδα ; grc, Φωκίς) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardo ...
, and on the west by
Aetolia
Aetolia ( el, Αἰτωλία, Aἰtōlía) is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional units of Greece, regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania.
Geography
The Achelous ...
.
Name
Various etymologies were proposed by the ancients about the origin of the name of the region's inhabitants, the ''Ozolai'' (). Some derived it from the Greek verb (''ozein'') which means "to smell". According to
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 ...
, this version could be explained by the stench arising from a spring at the foot of
Mount Taphiassus, beneath which
Nessus and other
centaur
A centaur ( ; grc, κένταυρος, kéntauros; ), or occasionally hippocentaur, is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse.
Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being ...
s had been buried, while according to
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
, that was due to the
asphodel which scented the air. For the first of these two versions,
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 ...
said that, as he had heard, Nessus, ferrying on
Evenus, was wounded by
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...
but not killed on the spot, making him escape to this country and when he died, his body rotted unburied, imparting a stench to the atmosphere of the place.
Other variations about the origin of the name from the above verb that Pausanias included in his work ''Description of Greece'' are:
:(a) that the exhalations of a river had a peculiar smell and
:(b) that the first dwellers of the region did not know how to weave garments, so they wore untanned skins which were smelly.
Another version mentioned by Pausanias was that
Orestheus Orestheus (Ancient Greek: derived from ''oresteros'' "mountainous" from όρος ''oros'' "mountain, hill"), in Greek mythology, was a name attributed to two individuals.
*Orestheus, a king of the Ozolian Locrians in Aetolia. He was the son of Deu ...
, son of
Deucalion
In Greek mythology, Deucalion (; grc-gre, Δευκαλίων) was the son of Prometheus; ancient sources name his mother as Clymene, Hesione, or Pronoia.A scholium to ''Odyssey'' 10.2 (='' Catalogue'' fr. 4) reports that Hesiod called Deucalion ...
, king of the land, had a bitch which gave birth to a stick instead of a puppy and Orestheus buried it from which a vine grew in the spring, and from its branches called (''ozoi'') in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
, the people got their name.
[
]
Geography
Ozolian Locris is mountainous and for the most part unproductive. The declivities 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 ...
from Phocis
Phocis ( el, Φωκίδα ; grc, Φωκίς) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardo ...
on the east, Aselinon oros in the centre and Mount Corax from Aetolia
Aetolia ( el, Αἰτωλία, Aἰtōlía) is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional units of Greece, regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania.
Geography
The Achelous ...
on the west, occupy the greater part of it. The only rivers whose names are mentioned in antiquity are Hylaethus and Daphnus, the latter is nowadays called Mornos
The Mornos ( el, Μόρνος) is a river in Phocis and Aetolia-Acarnania in Greece. It is long. Its source is in the southwestern part of the Oiti mountains, near the village Mavrolithari, Phocis. It flows towards the south, and enters the Morno ...
, which runs in a southwesterly direction, and flows into the Corinthian gulf
The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf ( el, Κορινθιακός Kόλπος, ''Korinthiakόs Kόlpos'', ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isth ...
near Naupactus
Nafpaktos ( el, Ναύπακτος) is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, situated on a bay on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, west of the mouth of the river Mornos.
It is named for Naupaktos (, Latinize ...
. The frontier of the Ozolian Locrians on the west was close to the promontory Antirrhium
Antirrio ( el, links=no, Αντίρριο, pronounced , la, links=no, Antirrhium) is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nafpaktia, of wh ...
, opposite the promontory Rhium
Rio ( el, Ρίο, ''Río'', formerly , ''Rhíon''; Latin: ''Rhium'') is a town in the suburbs of Patras and a former municipality in Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Patras, of ...
on the coast of Achaea
Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The ...
. The eastern frontier of Locris, on the coast, was close to the Phocian town of Crissa
Crissa or Krissa ( grc, Κρίσσα) or Crisa or Krisa (Κρῖσα) was a town in ancient Phocis. Crissa was regarded as one of the most ancient cities in Greece. It was situated inland a little southwest of Delphi, at the southern end of a proj ...
; and the Crissaean gulf washed on its western side the Locrian, and on its eastern the Phocian coast. Ozolian Locris is said to have been a colony from the Opuntian Locrians
Opuntian Locris or Eastern Locris was an ancient Greek region inhabited by the eastern division of the Locrians, the so-called tribe of the Locri Epicnemidii ( el, ) or Locri Opuntii (Greek: ).
Geography
Opuntian Locris consisted of a narrow ...
.
The chief town of the Ozolians was Amphissa and their most important port Naupactus
Nafpaktos ( el, Ναύπακτος) is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, situated on a bay on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, west of the mouth of the river Mornos.
It is named for Naupaktos (, Latinize ...
. Other important towns of the region were: the coastal town of Chalaeum, on the west of the modern town Itea, Myonia and Tritaea on the foot of Aselinon oros southwest of Amphissa, on the western slope of Parnassus the towns Ipnus, Hessus and Messapia, the coastal town Oeantheia Oeantheia or Oiantheia ( grc, Οἰάνθεια) or Oeanthe (Οἰάνθη) or Euanthis (Εὐανθίς)''Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax'', p. 14. or Euanthia (Εὐανθία) was an important town of the Ozolian Locrians, situated at the western entra ...
on the western edge of the Crissaean gulf and farther on the west Phaestus, Tolophon Tolophon ( grc, Τολοφών), also Tolphon (Τολφών), was a town of the Ozolian Locrians, possessing a large harbour according to Dicaearchus
Dicaearchus of Messana (; grc-gre, Δικαίαρχος ''Dikaiarkhos''; ), also written Dika ...
, Anticirrha, Erythrae
Erythrae or Erythrai ( el, Ἐρυθραί) later Litri, was one of the twelve Ionian cities of Asia Minor, situated 22 km north-east of the port of Cyssus (modern name: Çeşme), on a small peninsula stretching into the Bay of Erythrae ...
, Eupalium Eupalium or Eupalion ( grc, Εὐπάλιον), or Eupolium or Eupolion (Εὐπόλιον), or Euplaia (Εὐπαλία) was one of the chief towns of Ozolian Locris, situated near the sea, and between Naupactus and Oeantheia. It was the place chos ...
, Oeneon, Macynia and Molycreio which owned Antirrhium
Antirrio ( el, links=no, Αντίρριο, pronounced , la, links=no, Antirrhium) is a town and a former municipality in Aetolia-Acarnania, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nafpaktia, of wh ...
. More inland from west to east, were Aegitium Aegitium or Aigition (Αἱγἱτιον) was a town in Aetolia Epictetus, on the borders of ancient Locris, Locris, situated in the midst of mountains, about 80 stadion (unit), stadia from the sea. Here, in the Peloponnesian War, the ancient Athens ...
, Croculeium, Teichium Teichium or Teichion ( grc, Τείχιον) was a town in Aetolia Epictetus, on the borders of Locris
Locris (; el, label=Modern Greek, Λοκρίδα, Lokrída; grc, Λοκρίς, Lokrís) was a region of ancient Greece, the homeland of the L ...
, Olpae
Olpae or Olpai ( grc, Ὄλπαι) was a town of ancient Amphilochia, where the Battle of Olpae was fought between the Spartans and the Athenians in 426 BC during the Peloponnesian War. Olpae sat upon a fortified hill, in the territory of A ...
and Hyle
In philosophy, hyle (; from grc, ὕλη) refers to matter or stuff. It can also be the material cause underlying a change in Aristotelian philosophy. The Greeks originally had no word for matter in general, as opposed to raw material suitable ...
.
History
They first appear in history in the time of the Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...
, when they are mentioned by 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 ...
as a semi-barbarous nation, along with the Aetolians and Acarnania
Acarnania ( el, Ἀκαρνανία) is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today i ...
ns, whom they resembled in their armour and mode of fighting. In 426 BCE, the Locrians promised to assist Demosthenes
Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prow ...
, the Athenian
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
commander, in his invasion of Aetolia; but, after the defeat of Demosthenes, most of the Locrian tribes submitted without opposition to Sparta
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 referre ...
n Eurylochus, who marched through their territory from Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
to Naupactus. They belonged at a later period to the Aetolian League
The Aetolian (or Aitolian) League ( grc-gre, Κοινὸν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν) was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered in Aetolia in central Greece. It was probably established during the early Hellen ...
.[Polyb. xviii. 30.]
See also
* Regions of ancient Greece
*Locris
Locris (; el, label=Modern Greek, Λοκρίδα, Lokrída; grc, Λοκρίς, Lokrís) was a region of ancient Greece, the homeland of the Locrians, made up of three distinct districts.
Locrian tribe
The city of Locri in Calabria (Italy), ...
References
*{{SmithDGRG
*On the geography of the Locrian tribes, see Leake, ''Northern Greece'', vol. ii. pp. 66, ''seq.'', 170, ''seq.'', 587, ''seq.''
Peloponnesian War
Ancient peoples