HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Phigalia or Phigaleia or Phigalea ( grc, Φιγαλεία or ΦιγαλέαSo in Polybius, '' The Histories, iv. 3. or Φιγάλεια or ΦιγαλίαSo in
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 ...
), also known as Phialia (Φιαλία or Φιάλεια), was an ancient Greek city in the south-west corner of
ancient Arcadia Arcadia ( el, Ἀρκαδία) is a region in the central Peloponnese. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas, and in Greek mythology it was the home of the gods Hermes and Pan. In European Renaissance arts, Arcadia was celebrat ...
, in the region of ancient Parrhasia close to the frontiers of Messenia, and upon the right bank of the Neda, about halfway between the sources and the mouth of this river. It is also the present name of a nearby modern village, known up to the early 20th century as Pavlitsa (Παύλιτσα). In modern geography it is located in southeastern
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 w ...
. It is situated on an elevated rocky site, among some of the highest mountains in the Peloponnese, the most conspicuous being Mt Cotylium and Mt Elaeum; the identification of the latter is uncertain.


Name

The name Phigalia was more ancient than that of Phialia, but the original name had again come into use in the time of
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 ...
.Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'', 8.39.2 The city was said to have derived its more ancient name to from Phigalus, a son of Lycaon, its legendary original founder, and its later name from Phialus, a son of Lycaon, its second founder. Stephanus of Byzantium, ''Ethnica'', ''s.v.''


History

In 659 BC, Phigalia was taken by the Lacedaemonians, but soon after recovered its independence by the help of the Oresthasians, who, according to an oracle, perished fighting against the Lacedaemonians.Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'', 8.39.4-5. In 375 BC, Phigalia was rent asunder by hostile factions; and the supporters of the Lacedaemonian party, being expelled from the city, took possession of a fortress in the neighbourhood named Heraea, from which they made excursions against Phigalia. During the struggle between the Achaean and
Aetolian 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 unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous River separates Aetolia f ...
leagues in 221 BC it was held by
Dorimachus Dorimachus ( grc, Δωρίμαχος) was an Aetolian general who took an active part in the Social War (220–217 BC) The Social War, also War of the Allies and the Aetolian War, was fought from 220 BC to 217 BC between the Hellenic League un ...
, who left it on the approach of Philip V of Macedon. In common with the other cities of Arcadia, it appears in Strabo to have fallen into utter decay under
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 ...
rule.


Situation and remains

Phigalia was surrounded by mountains, of which Pausanias mentions two by name, Cotylium or Cotilium (τὸ Κωτίλιον) and Elaeum (τὸ Ἐλάϊομ), the former to the left of the city, at the distance of 30 stadia, and the latter to the right at the distance of 30 stadia. As Cotilium lies to the northeast of Phigalia, and Pausanias in this description seems to have looked towards the east, Mt. Elaeum should probably be placed on the opposite side of Phigalia, and consequently to the south of the Neda, in which case it would correspond to the lofty mountain of Kúvela. Mt. Elaeum contained a cavern sacred to the Black Demeter, situated in a grove of oaks. Of the position of Mt. Cotilium there is no doubt. On it was situated the temple of Apollo Epicurius, which was built in the Peloponnesian War by
Ictinus Ictinus (; el, Ἰκτῖνος, ''Iktinos'') was an architect active in the mid 5th century BC. Ancient sources identify Ictinus and Callicrates as co-architects of the Parthenon. He co-wrote a book on the project – which is now lost – in col ...
, the architect of the Parthenon at Athens. It was erected by the Phigaleans in consequence of the relief afforded by Apollo during the plague in the Peloponnesian War, whence he received the surname of ''Epicurius''. The temple stood in a place called Bassae, and according to Pausanias excelled all the temples of Peloponnesus, except that of Athena Alea at Tegea, in the beauty of the stone and the accuracy of its masonry. He particularly mentions that the roof was of stone as well as the rest of the building. This temple still remains almost entire, and is next to the
Theseum The Temple of Hephaestus or ''Hephaisteion'' (also "Hephesteum" or "Hephaesteum"; grc, Ἡφαιστεῖον, ell, Ναός Ηφαίστου, and formerly called in error the Theseion or "Theseum"; grc, Θησεῖον, ell, Θησείο), ...
at Athens the best preserved of the temples of Greece. It stands in a glen (whence the name Βᾶσσαι,
Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...
for Βήσση, Βῆσσαι) near the summit of Mt. Cotilium, in the midst of a wilderness of rocks, studded with old knotty oaks. Nineteenth-century British scholar William Mure who visited the site wrote that “there is certainly no remnant of the architectural splendour of Greece more calculated to fascinate the imagination than this temple; whether by its own size and beauty, by the contrast it offers to the wild desolation of the surrounding scenery, or the extent and variety of the prospect from its site.” William Mure, ''Journal of a Tour in Greece and the Ionian Islands'' (1842, Edinburgh), vol. ii. p. 270. A spring rises about ten minutes walk southwest of the temple, and soon afterwards loses itself in the ground, as Pausanias has described. North of the temple was the highest summit of the mountain, which one reaches in ten minutes' time by a broad road constructed by the Greeks. This summit was called Cotilum (Κώτιλον), whence the whole mountain derived the name of Cotilian; here was a sanctuary of
Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...
, of which there are still some traces. The grandeur of the ruins of the temple have given to the whole of the surrounding district the name of the Columns (στοὺς στύλους or κολόνναις). The temple is at least two and a half hours walk from the ruins of the city, and consequently more than the 40 stadia, which Pausanias mentions as the distance from Phigalia to Cotilium; but this distance perhaps applies to the nearest part of the mountain from the city. Several curious cults were preserved near Phigalia, including that of the fishtailed goddess
Eurynome Eurynomê (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυνόμη, from , ''eurys'', "broad" and , ''nomos'', "pasture" or "law") is a name that refers to the following characters in Greek mythology: * Eurynome, pre-Olympian queen and wife of Ophion *Eurynome (Ocea ...
and the Black Demeter with a horse's head, whose image was renewed by
Onatas Onatas was an ancient Greek sculptor of the time of the Persian Wars and an exponent of the flourishing school of Aegina. Many of his works are mentioned by Pausanias; they included a Hermes carrying the ram, and a strange image of the Black Dem ...
. Notices of it in Greek history are rare and scanty. Though its existing ruins and the description of
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 ...
, who describes it as situated upon a lofty and precipitous hill, the greater part of the walls being built upon the rocks, show it to have been a place of considerable strength and importance, no autonomous coins of Phigalia are known. Nothing remained above ground of the temples of Artemis or Dionysus and the numerous statues and other works of art which existed at the time of Pausanias' visit, about AD 170. A great part of the city wall, built in fine Hellenic masonry, partly
polygonal masonry Polygonal masonry is a technique of stone wall construction. True polygonal masonry is a technique wherein the visible surfaces of the stones are dressed with straight sides or joints, giving the block the appearance of a polygon. This techniqu ...
and partly isodomic
ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
, and a large square central fortress with a circular projecting tower, are the only remains now traceable, at least without the aid of excavation. The walls, once nearly in circuit, are strongly placed on rocks, which slope down to the little river Neda. The rock, upon which the city stood, slopes down towards the Neda; on the western side it is bounded by a ravine and on the eastern by the torrent Lymax, which flows into the Neda. The walls are of the usual thickness, faced with masonry of the second order, and filled in the middle with rubble. On the summit of the acropolis within the walls are the remains of a detached citadel, in length, containing a round tower at the extremity, measuring in the interior diameter. In ancient times a temple of Artemis Soteira stood on the summit of the acropolis. On the slope of the mountain lay the gymnasium and the temple of Dionysus Acratophorus; and on the ground below, where the village of upper Figaleia stands, was the agora, adorned with a statue of the pancratiast Arrachion, who lost his life in the Olympic Games, and with the sepulchre of the Oresthasians, who perished to restore the Phigaleans to their native city.Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'', 8.39.5-6, 8.40.1. Upon a rock, difficult of access, near the union of the Lymax and the Neda, was a temple of
Eurynome Eurynomê (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυνόμη, from , ''eurys'', "broad" and , ''nomos'', "pasture" or "law") is a name that refers to the following characters in Greek mythology: * Eurynome, pre-Olympian queen and wife of Ophion *Eurynome (Ocea ...
, supposed to be a surname of Artemis, which was opened only once a year. In the same neighbourhood, and at the distance of 12 stadia from the city, were some warm baths, traces of which are visible at the village of Tragói, but the waters have long ceased to flow.Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'', 8.41.4 ''et seq.''


References


Sources

* * {{Authority control Populated places in ancient Arcadia Arcadian city-states Parrhasia Former populated places in Greece Cities in ancient Greece Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Greece