Psophis (
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
: , ''
Eth.'' ) was an
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
city in the northwest end of
Arcadia
Arcadia may refer to:
Places Australia
* Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
* Arcadia, Queensland
* Arcadia, Victoria
Greece
* Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese
* Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...
, bounded on the north by Arcadia, and on the west by
Elis
Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...
.
It was located near the modern village
Psofida
Psofida (Greek: Ψωφίδα) is a village and a community in the municipal unit of Aroania in the southern part of Achaea, Greece. The community consists of the villages Psofida, Ano Psofida, Tripotama, Ano Tripotama, Kato Tripotama and Vasiliki. ...
, part of the municipality
Kalavryta
Kalavryta ( el, Καλάβρυτα) is a town and a municipality in the mountainous east-central part of the regional unit of Achaea, Greece. The town is located on the right bank of the river Vouraikos, south of Aigio, southeast of Patras and ...
.
City name and mythology
Psophis was said to have been originally called Erymanthus, and its territory to have been ravaged by the
Erymanthian Boar
In Greek mythology, the Erymanthian boar (Greek: ὁ Ἐρυμάνθιος κάπρος; Latin: ''aper Erymanthius'') was a mythical creature that took the form of a "shaggy and wild" "tameless" "boar" "of vast weight" "and foaming jaws". It was a ...
.
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 ...
, ''Description of Greece'' viii. 24. § 2-10 It afterwards received the name of Phegia or Phegeia ( or ), apparently from the oaks (
Gr. ''phegoi'', ) which at least up until the 19th century could still be found upon the site of the town. The ancients, as usual, derived the name from an
eponym
An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''.
Usage of the word
The term ''epon ...
ous founder,
Phegeus In Greek mythology, Phegeus (Ancient Greek: Φηγεύς) was the name of the following characters:
* Phegeus, another name for Aegialeus, son of Inachus and king of Sicyon.Augustine, '' City of God'18.3/ref>
*Phegeus, king of Psophis.Apollodorus, ...
.
The city was said to have been renamed "Psophis" by
Echephron Echephron (; Ancient Greek: Ἐχέφρων, ''gen''.: Ἐχέφρωνος) is the name of three characters in Greek mythology.
*Echephron, a prince of Pylos and son of King Nestor and Eurydice (or Anaxibia). He was the brother of Thrasymedes, Pis ...
and
Promachus In Greek mythology and history, Promachus (; Ancient Greek: Πρόμαχος; English translation: "who leads in battle" or "champion") is a name that refers to several different people.
''Mythology''
*Promachus, son of Aeson. King of Iolcus, and ...
, two sons of
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 ...
, who are said to have come from
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, and who named the town after their mother,
Psophis
Psophis (Ancient Greek: , '' Eth.'' ) was an ancient Greek city in the northwest end of Arcadia, bounded on the north by Arcadia, and on the west by Elis. It was located near the modern village Psofida, part of the municipality Kalavryta.
City n ...
.
The city, while still called "Phegia", was celebrated as the residence of
Alcmaeon, who fled here from
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
...
after
murdering his mother. Here Alcmaeon married Arsinoe (named
Alphesiboea
Alphesiboea (Ancient Greek: Ἀλφεσιβοίας) was the name of several characters in Greek mythology:
*Alphesiboea, mother of Adonis with Phoenix.
*Alphesiboea, a Psophian princess as the daughter of King Phegeus in Arcadia. She was the sis ...
in some versions), daughter of Phegeus.
In consequence of their connection with Alcmaeon, the Psophidians took part in the second expedition against
Thebes, and refused to join the other Greeks in the
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...
.
History
Psophis is rarely mentioned in history. In 219 BC, it was in the possession of the
Eleians
Elis () or Eleia ( el, Ήλιδα, Ilida, grc-att, Ἦλις, Ēlis ; Elean: , ethnonym: ) is an ancient district in Greece that corresponds to the modern regional unit of Elis.
Elis is in southern Greece on the Peloponnese, bounded on ...
, and was taken by
Philip V of Macedon
Philip V ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 238–179 BC) was king ( Basileus) of Macedonia from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by an unsuccessful struggle with the emerging power of the Roman Republic. He would lead Macedon ag ...
, who was then in alliance with the
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 ...
ns. In narrating this event,
Polybius
Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail.
Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
gives a detailed description of the town:
About 300 feet below the junction of the two rivers the united stream is joined by a third, smaller river, called the ''Lopesi'', or ''Skupi'', which rises on the frontiers of
Cleitor Cleitor or Kleitor ( grc, Κλείτωρ or Κλήτωρ), also known as Clitorium, was a town in ancient Arcadia.
Situation
It possessed a small territory called Cleitoria or Kleitoria (Κλειτορία), bounded on the east by the territory of ...
near Seirae.
From these three rivers the place is now called
Tripotama. The banks of the Erymanthus are precipitous, but not very high; and between them and the steep summit of the hill upon which the town stood there is a small space of level or gently-rising ground. The summit is a sharp ridge, sending forth two roots, one of which descends nearly to the angle of junction of the two streams, the other almost to the bank of the Erymanthus at the eastern extremity of the city.
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
, in his attack on Psophis, crossed the bridge over the Erymanthus, and then drew up his men in the narrow space between the river and the walls. While the
Macedon
Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...
ians were attempting to scale the walls in three separate parties, the
Eleians
Elis () or Eleia ( el, Ήλιδα, Ilida, grc-att, Ἦλις, Ēlis ; Elean: , ethnonym: ) is an ancient district in Greece that corresponds to the modern regional unit of Elis.
Elis is in southern Greece on the Peloponnese, bounded on ...
made a sally from the gate in the upper part of the town. Euripidas and the garrison then retreated into the Citadel of
Zakynthos
Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Za ...
, and shortly afterwards surrendered to Philip.
Ruins
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 th ...
saw at Psophis a ruined temple of
Aphrodite Erycina,
heroa of
Echephron Echephron (; Ancient Greek: Ἐχέφρων, ''gen''.: Ἐχέφρωνος) is the name of three characters in Greek mythology.
*Echephron, a prince of Pylos and son of King Nestor and Eurydice (or Anaxibia). He was the brother of Thrasymedes, Pis ...
and
Promachus In Greek mythology and history, Promachus (; Ancient Greek: Πρόμαχος; English translation: "who leads in battle" or "champion") is a name that refers to several different people.
''Mythology''
*Promachus, son of Aeson. King of Iolcus, and ...
, the tomb of
Alcmaeon, and near the Erymanthus a temple sacred to that stream.
In the early 19th century,
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 ...
also noticed a part of a theatre unmentioned by Pausanias, on the side of a hill. Nine hundred feet upstream from the junction of the two rivers, and near the walls on the bank of the Erymanthus, Leake also found some remains of a public building, 96 feet in length, below which there is a source of water in the bank. He conjectured that they may be the remains of the temple of Erymanthus.
Psophis was about two miles in circumference. The town walls followed the crest of the ridge to the north, and the bank above the two rivers on the opposite side; and at least up through the 19th century they were traceable nearly throughout the entire circuit of the place. On the north-eastern side of the town, which is the only part not protected by the two rivers or by the precipices at the back of the hill, there was a double enclosure surrounding the citadel, although this has since entirely disappeared.
At a distance of 30
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 ...
(roughly 3.4 miles) from Psophis was the Seirai (), which
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 ...
describes as the boundary of the Psophians and the
Clitorians Cleitor or Kleitor ( grc, Κλείτωρ or Κλήτωρ), also known as Clitorium, was a town in ancient Arcadia.
Situation
It possessed a small territory called Cleitoria or Kleitoria (Κλειτορία), bounded on the east by the territory of ...
. On the road from Psophis to
Thelpusa Thelpusa or Thelpousa ( grc, Θέλπουσα), or Telphusa or Telphousa (Τέλφουσα), was a town in the west of ancient Arcadia, situated upon the left or eastern bank of the river Ladon. Its territory was bounded on the north by that of Pso ...
lay Tropaea, upon the left bank of the
Ladon River
The Ladon (Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: , ''Ládōn''; Demotic Greek: , ''Ládōnas'') is a river in the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It features in Greek mythology. It is a tributary to the river Alfeios, which empties into the Ionian ...
, near which was the grove Aphrodisium, after which came a column with an ancient inscription upon it, marking the boundaries of Psophis and Thelpusa.
Ernst Curtius
Ernst Curtius (; 2 September 181411 July 1896) was a German archaeologist, historian and museum director.
Biography
He was born in Lübeck. On completing his university studies he was chosen by Christian August Brandis, C. A. Brandis to acco ...
, ''Peloponnesos'' (1851) vol. i. p. 384, seq.
Notable residents
Aglaus
Aglaus ( Gr. ) was a semi-mythological poor citizen of Psophis in Arcadia. When King Gyges, king of Lydia asked the Delphic oracle whether any man was happier than he was, the oracle pronounced Aglaus to be happier on account of his contentedness ...
, a peasant found in mythology, was from Psophis.
References
Sources
*
External links
{{coord, 37.8717, N, 21.8929, E, format=dms, display=title, source:http://dare.ht.lu.se/places/24868.html
Populated places in ancient Arcadia
Arcadian city-states
Former populated places in Greece
Locations in Greek mythology