Pellene (; grc, Πελλήνη; grc-x-doric, Πελλάνα or Πελλίνα) was a city and

polis ''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...

(city-state) of

ancient Achaea Achaea () or Achaia (; el, Ἀχαΐα, ''Akhaia'', ) was (and is) the northernmost region of the Peloponnese, occupying the coastal strip north of Arcadia. Its approximate boundaries were to the south the mountain range of Erymanthus, to the s ...

, the most easterly of the twelve Achaean cities (the

Achaean League The Achaean League ( Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern P ...

). Its territory bordered upon that of

Sicyon Sicyon (; el, Σικυών; ''gen''.: Σικυῶνος) or Sikyon was an ancient Greek city state situated in the northern Peloponnesus between Corinth and Achaea on the territory of the present-day regional unit of Corinthia. An ancient mon ...

on the east and upon that of

Aegeira Aigeira ( el, Αιγείρα) (, grc, Αἰγείρα or Αἴγειρα, la, Aegeira) is a town and a former municipality in northeastern Achaea, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been a municipal unit of the ...

on the west. Pellene was situated 60 stadia from the sea, upon a strongly fortified hill, the summit of which rose into an inaccessible peak, dividing the city into two parts. Its port was at Aristonautae.

Mythology and proto-history

Its name was derived by the inhabitants themselves from the giant Pallas, and by the Argives from the Argive Pellen, a son of Phorbas. Pellene was a city of great antiquity. It is mentioned in the

Homeric 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 ...

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 ''Ody ...

''; and according to a tradition, preserved 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 " scienti ...

, the inhabitants of Scione in the peninsula of Pallene in Macedonia professed to be descended from the Achaean Pallenians, who were driven on the Macedonian coast, on their return from

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Ç ...

History

At the commencement 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 ...

, Pellene was the only one of the Achaean towns which espoused the Spartan cause, though the other states afterwards followed their example. It was a member of the first

until that League was dissolved by

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

. In the time of

, Pellene fell under the dominion of one of its citizens of the name of Chaeron, a distinguished athlete, who raised himself to the tyranny by Alexander's assistance. Around 270/265 BCE it was again a democracy joining the revived Achaean League. In the wars which followed the re-establishment of the Achaean League, Pellene was several times taken and re-taken by the contending parties. In 241 BCE, Pellene was briefly conquered by 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 ...

, but the raiding party was expelled by Aratus of Sicyon in the Battle of Pellene. In 225 BCE, it was captured by

Cleomenes III Cleomenes III ( grc, Κλεομένης) was one of the two kings of Sparta from 235 to 222 BC. He was a member of the Agiad dynasty and succeeded his father, Leonidas II. He is known for his attempts to reform the Spartan state. From 229 to ...

of Sparta, but after the successful intervention of

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 ...

it was returned to Achaea the following year. Pellene remained a member of the Achaean League until the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

conquest in 146 BCE.

Description

The buildings of Pellene are described by Pausanias. Of these, the most important were a temple of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of v ...

, with a statue of the goddess, said to have been one of the earlier works of

Pheidias Phidias or Pheidias (; grc, Φειδίας, ''Pheidias''; 480 – 430 BC) was a Greek sculptor, painter, and architect. His Statue of Zeus at Olympia was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Phidias also designed the st ...

; a temple of Dionysus Lampter, in whose honour a festival, Lampteria, was celebrated; a temple of Apollo Theoxenius, to whom a festival, Theoxenia, was celebrated; a gymnasium, and more. Sixty stadia from the city was the Mysaeum (Μύσαιον), a temple of the Mysian Demeter; and near it a temple of

Asclepius Asclepius (; grc-gre, Ἀσκληπιός ''Asklēpiós'' ; la, Aesculapius) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Greek religion and mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis, or Arsinoe, or of Apollo alone. Asclepius represen ...

, called Cyrus (Κῦρος): at both of these places there were copious springs. Between

Aegium Aegium or Aigion ( grc, Αἴγιον), or Aegeium or Aigeion (Αἴγειον), was a town and polis (city-state) of ancient Achaea, and one of the twelve Achaean cities. It was situated upon the coast west of the river Selinus, 30 stadia from R ...

and Pellene, ancient writers mention a village also called Pellene, celebrated for the manufacture of a particular kind of cloaks, which were given as prizes in the agonistic contests in the city. Others, however, questions this second Pellene, supposing that Strabo is describing Pellene as both citadel and village.E.g., K. O. Müller ''Dor.'' vol. ii. p. 430.

Situation

The ruins are southwest of Xylokastro on the northern coast of the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge which ...

Notable people

Phanas of Pellene Phanas of Pellene was an ancient Greek athlete and Olympic winner listed by Eusebius of Caesarea as a victor in the stadion race of the 65th Olympiad (512 BC). He was the first to win all three races, the stadion race, the double race ( Diaulos) an ...

(6th century BC), runner (Olympic victor 512 BC) * Sostratus of Pellene (5th century BC), runner (Olympic victor 460 BC) *

Promachus of Pellene {{Other uses, Promachus Promachus ( el, Πρόμαχος - ''Promachos'') was a pankration athlete of the Ancient Olympic Games in Olympia, Greece. Son of Dryon, he was from Pellene in Achaea. He was a winner of the 94th Olympiad in 404 BC. He a ...

(5th century BC), pakratiast (Olympic victor 404 BC) * Chaeron of Pellene (4th century BC), wrestler and tyrant (Olympic victor between 356 and 344 BC)

References