Panopeus (), or Phanoteus (the name is given in a variety of forms in the ancient sources), was a Greek town of
ancient Phocis, near the frontier of
Boeotia, and on the road from
Daulis to
Chaeronea.
Pausanias said that Panopeus was 20
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 Chaeronea and 7 from Daulis; but the latter number is almost certainly a mistake. The ruins at the village of Agios Vlasios (or Aio Vlasi) (), which are clearly those of Panopeus, are about 20 stadia distant from Chaeronea, but as much as 27 stadia distant from Daulis.
Panopeus was a very ancient town, which according to
Greek mythology was originally inhabited by the
Phlegyae
In Greek mythology, Phlegyas (; Ancient Greek: Φλεγύας means 'fiery') was a king of the Lapiths (or the Phlegyans).
Family
Phlegyas was the son of Ares and Chryse, daughter of Halmus, or of Dotis. He was the brother of Ixion, another ...
.
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 ...
relates that it was founded by
Panopeus.
Homer lists Panopeus 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''.
Schedius, king of Panopeus, and his brother, were the leaders of the
Phocians in the
Trojan War.
[ Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' x. 4. § 1-5.] Panopeus was also celebrated for the grave of
Tityos, who was slain by
Apollo and
Artemis at this place, because he attempted to rape their mother
Leto on her way to
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 ...
.
Panopeus was destroyed in the
Greco-Persian Wars by
Xerxes in 480 BCE. In 395 BCE, ts territory was sacked by the
Boeotians, who tried to raid the city but could only take the suburbs by force. In 346 BCE, it was destroyed again by
Philip II of Macedon at the close of 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 ...
. It was taken by the
Romans in 198 BCE, on the first attack; and was destroyed for the third time in the campaign between
Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force.
Sulla had ...
and
Archelaus, the general of
Mithridates VI of Pontus
Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator ( grc-gre, Μιθραδάτης; 135–63 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an e ...
, in the 1st century BCE.
Pausanias said that the city was 7 stadia in circumference, but in his time the place only consisted of a few huts situated on the side of a river. Up until at least the 19th century there were still considerable remains of the ancient walls on the rocky heights above Agios Vlasios. The masonry is of different periods, as one might expect given the repeated destruction of the city. There are no longer any remains of the tomb of Tityos, which, according to Pausanias, was 1/3 of a stade in circumference, and stood on the side of the river. Pausanias also mentions on the side of the Sacred Way a building of unbaked bricks, containing a statue of the Pentelic marble, which was supposed to be intended either for
Prometheus or
Asclepius. It was believed by some that Prometheus made the human race out of the sand-colored rocks in the vicinity of this town, and that they still carried the smell of human flesh.
William Martin Leake
William Martin Leake (14 January 17776 January 1860) was an English military man, topographer, diplomat, antiquarian, writer, and Fellow of the Royal Society. He served in the British military, spending much of his career in the
Mediterrane ...
, ''Travels in Northern Greece'' vol. ii, p. 109.
References
Sources
*
{{coord, 38.49551, N, 22.79418, E, source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/29426.html, display=title, format=dms
Populated places in ancient Phocis
Ancient Greek cities
Cities in ancient Greece
Former populated places in Greece
Locations in the Iliad
Locations in Greek mythology