Sciritis or Skiritis ( grc, ἡ Σκιρῖτις) was a rugged and barren mountainous district in the north of
ancient Laconia, between the upper
Eurotas on the west and the
Oenus on the east, and extending north of the highest ridge of the mountains, which were the natural boundary between Laconia and
Arcadia. The name probably expressed the wild and rugged nature of the country, for the word signified hard and rugged (σκίρον, σκεῖρον, σκληρόν, Hesych). It was bounded by
Maenalia on the north, and by
Parrhasia
In rhetoric, parrhesia is a figure of speech described as "speak ngcandidly or ... ask ngforgiveness for so speaking". This Ancient Greek word has three different forms, as related by Michel Foucault. ''Parrhesia'' is a noun, meaning "free speec ...
on the west, and was originally part of Arcadia, but was conquered at an early period, and its inhabitants reduced to the condition of
Lacedaemonian Perioeci. According to
Xenophon they were subjected to
Sparta even before the time of
Lycurgus.
They were distinguished above all the other Perioeci for their bravery; and their contingent, called the Σκιρίτης λόχος, 600 in number, usually occupied the extreme left of the Lacedaemonian wing. They were frequently placed in the post of danger, and sometimes remained with the king as a body of reserve. On the first invasion of Laconia by the
Thebans the
Sciritae, together with the Perioeci of
Caryae and
Sellasia, revolted from Sparta, in consequence of which their country was subsequently ravaged by the Lacedaemonians. The only towns in the Sciritis appear to have been
Scirus and
Oeum
Oeum or Oion ( grc, Οἰόν or Οἶον), also known as Ium or Ion (Ἰόν), was the chief town of the district Sciritis in ancient Laconia. It commanded the pass through which was the road from Tegea to Sparta.
When the Theban army under Ep ...
called Ium by Xenophon. The latter is the only place in the district mentioned in historical times. Scirus may perhaps have been the same as
Scirtonium (Σκιρτώνιον), in the district of
Aegytis.
The road from Sparta to
Tegea led through the Sciritis.
References
Geography of ancient Arcadia
Geography of ancient Laconia
Historical regions in Greece
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